Wards of the State (Hardcover)

Claudia Rowe

ISBN 10: 1419763156 / ISBN 13: 9781419763151

Editore: Abrams, New York, 2025

Riguardo questo articolo

Hardcover. Told through the stories of eight former foster youth, a jolting exploration of a broken system from an award-winning journalist Through the stories of eight former foster kids, Claudia Rowe illustrates exactly where, when, and how the system is failing the children that it parents. With accounts from psychologists to advocates to judges to the former foster children themselves, Wards of the State paves a road to reform by pulling back the curtain on the heartbreaking realities faced by children in a system that fails its most vulnerable youth. By the time Maryanne was 19 years old, she was on trial for murder. After having been in and out of the foster homes for nearly a decade, she was trafficked and assaulted, and ultimately pointed a gun at her assailantand pulled the trigger. She fled, but with no family and no real friends, it didnt take long for the police to catch up with her. In court, the defense blamed not the traffickers, nor Maryanne, but the state itselfor rather, the foster care system, which turns the state into the parent of hundreds of thousands of children. The state of Washington didnt listen, but Claudia Rowe did.Wards of the State by journalist and author Claudia Rowe widens an eye-opening case from a true-crime lens to an exploration of the foster care-to-prison pipeline. The system is brokenhundreds of thousands of children every year leave Americas $30 billion dollar foster care system and enter its prisons, where in some cases, 75 percent of inmates are former foster kids. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Codice articolo 9781419763151

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Wards of the State (Hardcover)
• Editore: Abrams, New York
• Data di pubblicazione: 2025
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1419763156
• ISBN 13: 9781419763151
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Condizione: new

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

Longlisted for the 2025 National Book Awards in Nonfiction

“An immersive, devastating look at foster children’s lives.” (Seattle Times)

A compelling exploration of the broken American foster care system, told through the stories of six former foster youth. This powerful narrative nonfiction book delves into the systemic failures that lead many foster children into the criminal justice system, highlighting the urgent need for reform.

?This book is a must-read for anyone interested in child welfare, social justice, and the transformative power of the best narrative nonfiction.

In Wards of the State, award-winning journalist Claudia Rowe's storytelling is both vivid and unflinching, offering readers a deep understanding of the foster care-to-prison pipeline. Through interviews with psychologists, advocates, judges, and the former foster children themselves, Rowe paints a heartbreaking picture of the lives shaped by this broken system.

By the time Maryanne was 16 years old, she had been arrested for murder. In and out of foster and adoptive homes since age 10, she’d run away, been trafficked and assaulted, and finally pointed a gun at a man and pulled the trigger. She fled, but it didn’t take long for the police to catch up with her.

In court, the defense blamed neither traffickers, nor Maryanne, but Washington state itself—or rather, its foster care system, which parents thousands of children every year. The courts didn’t listen to that argument, but award-winning journalist Claudia Rowe did.

Washington state isn’t alone. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children grow up in America’s $30 billion foster care system, only to leave and enter its prisons, where a quarter of all inmates are former foster youth.

Weaving Maryanne’s story with those of five other foster kids across the country—including an 18-year-old sleeping on the New York City subways; a dropout turned graduate student; and a foster child who is now a policy advisor to the White House—Rowe paints a visceral survival narrative showing exactly where, when, and how the system channels children into locked cells.

Rowe brings her extensive experience and investigative prowess to this eye-opening work. With a career spanning over 25 years, Rowe has written for publications such as The New York Times and Mother Jones, and her reporting has influenced policy changes in Washington State. Her previous book, The Spider and the Fly, was a gripping true-crime memoir that showcased her ability to blend personal narrative with broader social issues.

Informazioni sull'autore

Claudia Rowe has been writing about the hallways where kids and government clash for 25 years. Her reporting on racially skewed school discipline for The Seattle Times helped to change education laws in Washington State, and her coverage of Latino youth gangs was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Claudia has also written for the New York Times and Mother Jones. She was recently hired as a columnist focused on foster care, juvenile justice, and public education at the online news site Crosscut, where her work is seen by nearly 1 million viewers a month. She received the Washington State Book Award for her true crime memoir The Spider and the Fly, and published the successful Amazon Original Story Time Out in 2018.