I wasn't sure what to expect when starting INCARCERATED. The idea of an African American woman continuing a relationship with a man who has a strict belief that people of different races should remain separate was, in my mind, going to be a big stretch. I didn't know how Iversen would be able to make a man like Logan appealing in any way but she managed to do it.
Logan has reasons for believing the way that he does. His reasoning is flawed but after suffering physically at the hands of people he felt so different from, Logan felt that the only way to protect himself was to stay with "his own kind". I liked that Iversen didn't try to make his issues overly reasonable. His reasoning was explained not justified. The hurdles that Logan will face with Katie were for the most part realistic and the way that he faced his demons believable.
Katie on the other hand is almost too open, naive, and idealistic. Having found herself secluded and sheltered by her own doing, Katie often doesn't want take the effort to be a part of the world at large. She feels comfortable and safe as long as she isn't taking risks. As a writer Katie has found success but with only a few friends and a close relationship with her stepfather she hasn't really established herself as an independent woman who can take care of herself. Katie has issues standing up for herself which comes across clearly in her relationship with both her stepfather Jan-Erik and her best friend Teal. Although both Teal and Jan-Erik have Katie's best interest at heart, they don't fully respect or trust her enough to be able to take care of herself by making her own decisions.
Although I really enjoyed the story I do think that the conflicts that could have happened between Katie and Logan, their friends and family, and the major issue of Logan's inability to trust people who aren't white were too easily resolved. I expected bigger blowups with more complicated circumstances that would result in larger consequences to their relationship. Even with that small complaint I will definitely get Inevitable which is book 2 when it becomes available on audio. The narrator, Olivia Peppersmith, who narrated INCARCERATED did an excellent job. I thoroughly enjoyed listening and can see myself revisiting the story again.
Happy Reading!
Monica
Synopsis:
One of the few white kids in a rural Kentucky town, Logan Whyte always kept to his own kind out of self-preservation. He never considered himself racist, but that didn’t stop him from falling in with the wrong crowd—who celebrated hate as much as he fought it—or from ending up in prison for eight years on an armed robbery charge.
A successful, educated black woman, Katie Andreassen was tired of being accused of betraying her own race. Her lonely isolation, coupled with her grief over losing her mother, inspire her to create a new pen pal program at Capshaw State Penitentiary, where her father is a warden.
The program brings the unlikely pair together, but Logan and Katie soon find themselves forced to overcome past fears and prejudices. Their friendship doesn’t come easily … threatened by a crooked lawyer with a grudge and a best friend who betrays her promise to help.
When faced with a world that forces them apart, Logan and Katie must show everyone else what they have discovered: that love is, in fact, colorblind.
INCARCERATED is also available as an audio title!
About the Author
Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.
No comments:
Post a Comment