All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook - by Leslie Connor (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful middle grade novel, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me, from Leslie Connor, the award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch.

From comes Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth--and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home.

When Perry moves to the "outside" world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?

Junior Library Guild Selection * Kids' Indie Next List Pick

Review Quotes

Starred Reviews for Waiting for Normal: "A heroine with spunk and spirit offers an inspiring lesson in perseverance and hope. First-rate." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Waiting for Normal

"A story centered around loss, heartbreak, abandonment, and new beginnings." - School Library Journal (starred review) on Waiting for Normal

"Characters as persuasively optimistic as Addie are rare, and readers will gravitate to her. Poignant." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Waiting for Normal

"The New England setting is attractively realized, and the underlying energy crisis treated seriously but not sensationally...the whole family is so engaging that anything less than the happy ending would be disappointing indeed. Charming and original." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Crunch

Bookseller and Librarian Praise for All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook: "Oh, this book! This lovely, lovely book! Leslie Connor reeled me in on the first page and did not let go. I cannot wait to celebrate this beautiful and poignant novel in 2016. I am not sure how I'll wait that long. I wish I were Perry T. Cook's teacher-librarian. I would thank him for telling the residents' stories, commend him for his bravery, and encourage him to tell his classmates about the power of counting all the small good things that happen to us every day. We all need someone like Perry T. Cook in our lives!" - John Schumacher (a.k.a. Mr. Schu), Teacher-Librarian, MrSchuReads.com

"I believe All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is Leslie Connor's finest book yet; Perry's story is a poignant one--his triumphant journey examines the challenges of fitting in and both finding and offering forgiveness. Most importantly, this heartwarming novel will resonate with readers long after the last page because it celebrates family and shows that regardless of the setting, home is simply the place we hang our hearts." - Dr. Rose Brock, Sam Houston State University

"This book offers a different kind of diversity story that is important for kids to find on the shelf." - Booklist

"I don't think there's been a book so moving and heartwarming for this age range since WONDER." - Shoshana, Reading Bug (San Carlos, CA)

★ "Rich characterizations give the novel its big heart: Jessica, Big Ed, and the other Blue River inmates are nuanced, vivid characters whose stories of perseverance after tragedy embody the novel's themes of redemption, hope, and community. This beautifully written work will send readers' spirits soaring." - School Library Journal (starred review)

★ "With complex, memorable characters, a situation that demands sympathy, and a story that's shown, not just told, this is fresh and affecting. Well-crafted, warm, and wonderful." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In a novel filled with endearing characters, sad goodbyes, and new beginnings, Connor (Crunch) expresses the depth of Perry's homesickness without romanticizing his life in a prison. The novel's pointed criticism of prisons' restrictions, especially regarding the separation of inmates from their families, could easily prompt discussions about reform and rehabilitation." - Publishers Weekly

"In a novel filled with endearing characters, sad goodbyes, and new beginnings, Connor (Crunch) expresses the depth of Perry's homesickness without romanticizing his life in a prison." - Publishers Weekly

"Readers will long remember the folks of Blue River after its gates have closed." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Every so often, a novel comes along to remind us of that what we hope is true, is true: that understanding is stronger than what seems to be justice, that kindness is deeper and fuller than anger, and that goodness can heal brokenness. This is one of those novels. Even as a young boy raises up those around him in a prison, so too does Perry's hope raise us all up. A deeply moving, even inspiring novel." - Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt

"Every so often, a novel comes along to remind us of that what we hope is true, is true: that understanding is stronger than what seems to be justice, that kindness is deeper and fuller than anger, and that goodness can heal brokenness. This is one of those novels." - Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt

"Perry Cook is a character who steps off the page, wanders through your mind, and finds his way to your heart." - Lynda Mullaly Hunt, New York Times bestselling author of Fish in a Tree

"All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a book filled with tough truths, relentless optimism, fierce love and above all else gorgeous writing. I loved every heartbreaking, joyful page." - Corey Ann Haydu, author of Rules for Stealing Stars

"A heartwarming story with an unstoppable hero, a mystery that keeps you guessing, and a unique setting. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a rich look at family and what it means to face adversity and fly--I loved it." - Kimberly Newton Fusco, author of Beholding Bee

"Leslie Connor has given young readers a gentle introduction into the world of incarcerated parents in an engaging and ultimately wonderfully rewarding story." - Nora Raleigh Baskin, author of Ruby on the Outside and Anything But Typical

"Readers will be "raised up" as they wrap themselves in this deftly woven, richly textured tapestry of the multitude of individual fibers that make up our concept of family, home and community. Connor presents a multifaceted portrayal of the pitfalls, payoffs and power of doing the right thing that will give readers much to ponder." - Starr LaTronica, Youth Services Manager, Four County Library System

"Looking for the next so-good-you'll-cry contemporary middle grade novel? Let me make a case for Leslie Connor's new book. It is the story of Perry Cook, a sixth grader who was born and raised in a minimum security correctional facility. His life, on the inside and the outside, is proof that family comes in many forms, everyone needs a Support Person (or a roomful), and a loving community really can help people rise up. The insider look at the prison system from a kid's eye view will be particularly appealing to fans of Gennifer Choldenko's Al Capone books, and anyone who rooted for Willow and her posse in Counting by Sevens will fall in love with Perry's family and friends at Blue River and beyond. As one of the characters says, 'You're one of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Perry Cook.'" - Tegan Tigani, children's book buyer, Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle

"We put people in all kinds of prisons. Some are maximum security and some are minimum security. Most of us do our best to avoid going to any type of prison. Leslie Connor's book, All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is one of the few books, and maybe the only middle grade book, in which we root for a character to find a way back to prison! Connor shows readers that another definition of 'prison' is the refusal to listen to the stories of others and the inability to share our own stories. Plenty of books exist that show the horror of maximum security prisons. It is liberating to have a look inside a minimum security prison in which the focus is directed more toward the very real characters and the choices they have made, both good and bad. For this I give Connor my standing ovation!" - Ed Spicer, Teacher, SpicyReads.com

"As I read All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook I am fairly certain that my heart leaped out of my body and embedded itself in the pages of the book. My eyes still well up with tears when I think of Perry, Jessica, Big Ed and Halsey, and I get a lump in my throat when I start talking about Surprise, Nebraska and the Blue River Coed Correctional Facility. But above all I fell in love with hope. In a time when so many stories are about endings; of life, of love, of the world, it was so heartening to read a story about a beginning. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a book that will stay with you long after you finish the last page." - Heather Hebert, children's book buyer, Children's Book World, Haverford, Pennsylvania

"The characters came off the pages and into my head and heart. They were indeed honorable, loyal, and believable. I found the book highly engaging and while Perry's circumstances were a bit unusual, my guess is that readers will recognize something of themselves in many of Connor's characters." - Maria Salvadore, Children's Literature Editor, Reading Rockets

"I enjoyed reading Leslie Connor's latest middle-grade novel. The characters are so well-developed and their stories intertwined so beautifully." - Ellen Mager, Booktenders, Doylestown, Pennsylvania