Forgive Me Not

The day after sentencing, I get a crash course in the Trials the beginning, the triumphs, the expected outcomes. Me, Serena, and another girl newly sentenced to Trials listen to my counselor give us the rundown. We re in the room used for our mandatory schooling during the week. Counselor Susan stands at the front. A whiteboard is behind her, with a projection of her presentation: What You Need to Know about the Trials. My eyes dart from the board to the notebook Counselor Susan gifted me at our first meeting. We re not allowed to bring the study books to our cells. This offering from Counselor Susan is the only extra thing I have since I haven t received commissary funds. Petra gave me a couple of her colored golf pencils one blue and one red. Combined they make purple, my favorite color. This helped me color-code my thoughts, including what my counselor will say about the Trials.
 
I was always good at taking notes in school. Only this time it s my life, not a quiz. I want to make sure I remember everything she tells us. Apparently, I m the only one writing all this down. The girl sitting up front and Serena stare ahead, waiting for this to be over.
 
This room is pretty tight for instruction, not like Claremont High School, where desks are spaced out and the walls are painted beige so it feels roomier. Here, three wide bookcases line dull green walls and block all except for a sliver of the windows. Tattered textbooks and donated paperbacks, some worn and some in pretty good condition, fill the shelves, along with student workbooks. Our school notebooks are stacked based on the group we re in. Detention holds two sets of classes Monday through Friday, where our instructor stuffs math, history, composition, and earth science into three and a half hours. Serena is part of the morning group, from nine to twelve thirty, before lunch. I m in the afternoon batch with Petra and Eve, from one thirty to five, before dinner, at six.
 
If I

Jennifer Baker is a publishing professional of almost 20 years, creator/host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast, and faculty member of the MFA program in Creative Nonfiction at Bay Path University. Formerly a contributing editor to Electric Literature, she received a 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Fellowship and a Queens Council on the Arts New Work Grant for Nonfiction Literature. In 2019, she was named Publishers Weekly Superstar for her contributions to inclusion and representation in publishing. She has volunteered with organizations such as We Need Diverse Books and I, Too Arts Collective, and spoken widely on topics of inclusion, the craft of writing/editing, podcasting, and the inner-workings of the publishing industry. Her fiction, nonfiction, and criticism have appeared in various print and online publications.

Praise for Forgive Me Not:
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist 
A 2023 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
A 2024 Texas TAYSHAS Reading List Pick
Electric Lit's Top 5 Novels of 2023
Black Caucus American Library Association Best of the Best 2023 Pick!

Though the justice system in the novel is clearly fiction, the parallels with our current system especially Baker's depiction of the unequal way justice is applied are unmistakable. A sharp indictment, Baker makes a powerful and passionate statement about real justice embedded in a well-constructed plot populated by vivid characters. Booklist, starred review

Jennifer Baker crafts a riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive tale with nuanced characters that are perfectly flawed and relatable. Forgive Me Not is an astute social commentary on the juvenile justice system and a powerful reflection on who deserves second chances. A groundbreaking debut that will stay with the reader long after the story ends.   Renée Watson, #1 New York Times bestselling author, The 1619 Project: Born on the Water

Unflinching and character-driven, Forgive Me Not confronts difficult questions about identity, family, and forgiveness. A potent reminder of the personal and societal harm caused by dehumanizing systems.   Randy Ribay, National Book Award Finalist, Patron Saints of Nothing

Brilliant, bold, and deeply moving, Forgive Me Not shines a necessary and dignifying light on the young people trapped in a broken system of justice. This novel radiates with the redemptive power of love and forgiveness. Brendan Kiely, co-author of the New York Times bestselling All American Boys and The Other Talk
 
Eye-opening draws parallels to the inequality of the justice system in the United States, particularly its treatment of Black people and people of color