Jerry Spinelli

Living with her warden father in an apartment above a 1950s prison, Cammie O'Reilly struggles to come to terms with the loss of her mother, who died saving her from harm when she was a baby, and interacts with some of the reformed inmates.

The Warden's Daughter

Annalee Harris

The Warden's Daughter follows Cammie, a young spitfire whose mother has died and father is the warden of a prison, decides that she is going to make one of the inmates her mother.

Jerry Spinelli is easily one of my favorite authors, but this novel was a nightmare to get through. Cammie is self-centered, atrocious, spoiled rotten, a bully, and overall unlikable; she has absolutely no redeeming qualities, yet we're supposed to sympathize with her because when she was a baby, her mother died to protect her. She treats her friends poorly, verbally and physically abuses those close to her, and she gets away with everything--why? Because she's "figuring herself out".

While I cannot say if this novel accurately portrays loss and grief, I can say that it almost encourages abuse, if the excuse is loss and grief. Cammie, on multiple occasions: hits her friends; talks down to, insults, and berates her friends, father, and trustee; destroys or steals property that is not hers; disrespects authority; steals; and lies. I understand she's bitter that she does not have a mother and is upset that she's known for being the warden's daughter, but this type of behavior is not warranted. She never faces the consequences of her actions: her bullying is ignored; her stealing is brushed under the rug; and her other abusive behavior is shrugged off.

Overall, I was disappointed with this novel. The way women of color are also described and depicted left a bad taste in my mouth. A poor effort from an otherwise excellent author.

Emily Walker

From Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli (Maniac Magee, Stargirl) comes the "moving and memorable" (Kirkus Reviews, starred) story of a girl searching for happiness inside the walls of a prison. Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison--not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's excercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends. But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her thirteenth birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom. A prison might not be the best place to search for a mother, but Cammie is determined and she's willing to work with what she's got. "Jerry Spinelli again proves why he's the king of storytellers" (Shelf Awarenss, starred) in this tale of a girl who learns that heroes can come in surprising disguises, and that even if we don't always get what we want, sometimes we really do get what we need. "This book is never boring and never predictable. Fame, good and bad fortune, friendship and mental illness all make their way into [Cammie's] narrative."—The New York Times Book Review Praise for the works of Jerry Spinelli: “Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” —The New York Times “It's almost unreal how much the children's book still resonates.” —Bustle.com on Maniac Magee