4. No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row

Kuklin, Susan. No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2008. Print.


Annotation:

"I'm trying to stay as close to human as I can. I don't want to become a monster." An insider look at death row, as told by the teenagers sent there. In their own words.


Justification for Nomination:

Susan Kuklin’s No Choirboy is a raw and emotionally powerful book which profiles teenagers who are (or were) on death row for committing murder. Each chapter in No Choirboy is devoted to an individual’s story. In most cases, Kuklin uses a tape recorder so the interviews are uncensored and in the words of the men themselves. Some of the men remain on death row and some of them have had their sentences changed to life in prison. There are also two stories in No Choirboy, told by two different families in which one lost a son to murder, and the other lost their son to the death penalty. The men in No Choirboy come from different walks of life -- some from poverty and broken homes, while others from loving, nurturing homes. No matter what type of background the boys had, the commonality was that they each made a split second decision as a teenager which affected the rest of their life. No Choirboy will hopefully resonate with a reader, whether that is a teenager or a parent, who recognizes either them self or a friend or family member in one of the stories.


Kuklin is a fantastic researcher, as is evidenced by the list of other books she has researched and authored. For No Choirboy, Kuklin clearly did her homework – she visited maximum security prisons and interviewed prisoners, she consulted with the expert on the death penalty, Bryan Stevenson, as well as other attorneys who represented the men in the prisons in No Choirboy, and finally, she attended seminars and audited classes relating to capital punishment.


No Choirboy is definitely worthy of a nomination. Teenagers being tried as adults is a relevant and accurate subject matter which will no doubt both fascinate and be thought provoking to a teenager, regardless if they are teenagers from white, wealthy suburbs or multicultural teens from the inner city. In reading No Choirboy, the men’s stories may be read as cautionary tales, or quite simply, they could be used as an educational tool for what life is like in prison, what it may be like to have a family member in prison, and even to learn more about the court systems. Since the stories are transcribed from the men and their families directly, their narratives are told in their own voices, complete with slang and their mannerisms of speaking. Kuklin’s style of writing the men’s stories, with her comments sparingly sprinkled in for explanation, is written in such a way that is at a reading level consistent with being appropriate for young adults. Kuklin’s organization of No Choirboy (each chapter being reserved for an individual story) will no doubt appeal to young adults. If a teen is not inclined to being a reader, having each chapter as its own short story within the book allows him or her to feel like they are not reading such a large book. They are in control of which stories they may choose to read within the book. Further, at the end of the book, there is a glossary of legal terms, which is helpful as you read about some of the men’s court proceedings and appeals. Finally, Kuklin offers a suggested reading list at the back of the book of other fiction (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) and nonfiction books (Doing Life: Reflections of Men and Women Serving Life Sentences by Howard Zehr and Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South by Dan T. Carter), as well as websites she thinks may be helpful to the reader.


No Choirboy may be viewed by some as a biased presentation of how barbaric the death penalty is, especially when young men are being executed for crimes they committed as teenagers. However, each man’s story shines through that potential bias. Regardless of where a person stands politically in regard to the death penalty, the bottom line is: each man has a story. None of them are asking for forgiveness or pity. They simply want their stories heard. Each man has grown out of and beyond his adolescence. They understand their youth may have been wasted, but they continue to aspire having dreams of getting married, having children, and contributing to society. Most of all, they aspire to be free.


Genre Category: Non-Fiction, Biography, Multicultural, Realistic/Edgy, Coming of Age, Search for Identity