Just Mercy: A True Story of the Fight for Justice: Adapted for Young Adults

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In this young adult adaptation of the acclaimed bestselling Just Mercy, which the New York Times describes as "as compelling as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways, more so," one of the most important lawyers of our time delves deep into the broken US justice system. AS SEEN ON CBS THIS MORNING! Bryan Stevenson's incredible fight to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality comes to life in this young adult adaptation of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestseller that was adapted into a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx, and Brie Larson. In this very personal work--adapted from the original #1 bestseller, which the New York Times calls "as compelling as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so"--renowned lawyer and social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson offers a glimpse into the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned and his efforts to fight for their freedom as the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Stevenson's story is one of working to protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society--the poor, the wrongly convicted, and those whose lives have been marked by discrimination and marginalization. Through this adaptation, young people of today will find themselves called to action and compassion in the pursuit of justice. A portion of the proceeds of this book will go to charity to help in Stevenson's important work to benefit the voiceless and the vulnerable as they attempt to navigate the broken U.S. justice system. A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE FEATURED ON CBS THIS MORNING A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY- A TRUE STORY OF THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE- "It's really exciting that young people are getting a version tailored for them." --Salon "A deeply moving collage of true stories. . . . This is required reading." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Compassionate and compelling, Stevenson's narrative is also unforgettable." --Booklist, starred review PRAISE FOR JUST MERCY- A STORY OF JUSTICE AND REDEMPTION- "Gripping. . . . What hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation." --DESMOND TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate "Important and compelling." --Pulitzer Prize-winning author TRACY KIDDER "Inspiring and powerful." --#1 New York Times bestselling author JOHN GRISHAM

Reviews

Praise for JUST MERCY: A STORY OF JUSTICE AND REDEMPTION:

Just Mercy is every bit as moving as To Kill a Mockingbird, and in some ways more so. . . . [It] demonstrates, as powerfully as any book on criminal justice that Ive ever read, the extent to which brutality, unfairness, and racial bias continue to infect criminal law in the United States. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope. . . . Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.David Cole, The New York Review of Books

A searing, moving and infuriating memoir . . . Bryan Stevenson may, indeed, be Americas Mandela. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. . . . Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up. And that is why we need a Mandela in this country.Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times

Unfairness in the justice system is a major theme of our age. . . . This book brings new life to the story by placing it in two affecting contexts: [Bryan] Stevensons life work and the deep strain of racial injustice in American life. . . . You dont have to read too long to start cheering for this man. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. . . . The book extols not his nobility but that of the cause, and reads like a call to action for all that remains to be done. . . . The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one mans refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made.Just Mercywill make you upset and it will make you hopeful. . . . Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.Ted Conover,The New York Times Book Review

Inspiring . . . a work of style, substance and clarity . . . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, hes also a gifted writer and storyteller.The Washington Post

As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.The Financial Times

Brilliant.The Philadelphia Inquirer

Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Though larger than life, Atticus exists only in fiction. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing Gods work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope.Just Mercyis his inspiring and powerful story.John Grisham

Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, andJust Mercyis extraordinary. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.Michelle Alexander, author ofThe New Jim Crow

A distinguished NYU law professor and MacArthur grant recipient offers the compelling story of the legal practice he founded to protect the rights of people on the margins of American society. . . . Emotionally profound, necessary reading.Kirkus Reviews (starred review, Kirkus Prize Finalist)

A passionate account of the ways our nation thwarts justice and inhumanely punishes the poor and disadvantaged.Booklist (starred review)

From the frontlines of social justice comes one of the most urgent voices of our era. Bryan Stevenson is a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch who, through his work in redeeming innocent people condemned to death, has sought to redeem the country itself. This is a book of great power and courage. It is inspiring and suspensefula revelation.Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns

Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with ones hopes for humanity.Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains

Bryan Stevenson is Americas young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. Just Mercy should be read by people of conscience in every civilized country in the world to discover what happens when revenge and retribution replace justice and mercy. It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation.Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Author Bio

Bryan Stevenson is the executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Since graduating from Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government, he has secured relief for dozens of condemned prisoners, argued several times before the Supreme Court, and won national acclaim for his work challenging bias against the poor and people of color. He has won numerous awards, including the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant. He lives in Alabama.