Letter to Jude

703 East Churchville Road

Bel Air, Maryland 21014

9-8-10

Dear Jude,

My name is Daniel. I am fourteen years old and am a freshman at the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland. It was great being able to read about your experiences over the past years in the book by Kate Morgenroth. Being that you were in prison for five long years, I’m assuming you did not get out very much. I, on the other hand, traveled all along the eastern seaboard this past summer and vacationed in places like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Buffalo, New York with my brother’s baseball team. It was extremely fun for me, but I could not help feeling sorry for you, sitting alone in solitary confinement.

Overall, reading Kate Morgenroth’s book about you was an enjoyable experience. I felt that she described your experiences very well, and the story seemed to flow exceptionally for the first three quarters of the book. However, the final quarter seemed relatively lacking compared to the other three. The pacing was suddenly slowed to a crawl, and I started having to push myself to continue reading. However, when I did finish the book, it left an impact on me.

On a different level, I felt that Kate Morgenroth did an exceptional job conveying your character. Every line of dialogue your character spoke seemed extremely realistic and exactly what you would think a teenager would say in a situation. Most authors have trouble doing this, and the fact that Kate Morgenroth did it perfectly greatly enhance the reading experience.

I only have a few questions. What exactly happened with you and your mom in the end?  Are you two still getting along? Why didn’t you answer the phone when she called? It seems puzzling to me that you would simply ignore her since the whole point of the book is that you are trying to redeem yourself to your mother and repair your relationship. With Harry being sent to jail and her losing the mayor election, her life isn’t going very well. Sorry to drop a guilt bomb on you, but in my opinion, you should be there for her in a time where she would otherwise be alone.

I also think your prosecution was a real mess. An issue nowadays that’s rapidly becoming more and more significant is the teenage justice system. As far as my stand on this issue, I haven’t really made up my mind. Yes, teenagers are not adults and thus should not be tried as one, but the law is the law. If you break it, you take the responsibility of the consequences. However, that’s just my opinion. We need to get more people to take a stand on this issue, because most people don’t think much about it. Your book conveys this issue beautifully, leaving room for the reader to form their own opinion on it without any bias from the author, so it seems a perfectly plausible example to share with others. Hopefully it would shake them out of their apathy for the issue and cause them to form their opinion and stick to it.

Well, it was great to read about your experiences, and I hope we can talk together again in the near future. Oh, and just a little advice— talk to your mom!

Your friend,

Daniel