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Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
Life had been going well for young James Fields until his father died in 1984, when James was thirteen. Bills began to pile up, and since his mother’s meager salary could only cover so much, life became a tough struggle. They moved to Oakland in 1985, and James continued his schooling there. However, unlike in Sacramento, Oakland is rife with crime, and life in the new neighborhood and school is chaotic and dangerous. Four years later, before graduating from high school, James is forced into an ugly situation that lands him in serious trouble with the law. He is sentenced to 35 years to life, with parole possible only after serving 85% of the sentence. Three decades later, while awaiting his parole hearing at San Quentin Prison, James shares his story with Allison Anderson, a teacher tutoring there. When James is denied parole, Allison decides to break him out of prison. Can she pull it off? Find out in San Quentin Exodus by Bill Smoot.
If you are looking for a literary novel flavored with drama, gritty realism, crime, history, psychological thrills, suspense, and a compelling, poignant, coming-of-age tale, San Quentin Exodus by Bill Smoot is a must-read. Right from the start, Smoot draws readers into James’ tragic world with raw, intimate prose. The vivid imagery took me back to the 1980s in Sacramento and Oakland, and to the 2000s, before, during, and after the COVID pandemic. I was shocked by the level of violence and crime in Oakland during the '80s. However much as I hated the culture and its toxic cycle, I also understood the motivations behind the communities, the leading ones being socioeconomic and legal injustices. Smoot does a great job of highlighting the dysfunction of the justice system when it comes to black people and how even the innocent fall victim to it. I learned a lot about life in prison in the ‘90s-‘00s, the perspective of society toward the LGBTQ community during the early 2000s, and America’s correctional system. I loved this gripping read.
