Let me quote the inside of the book jacket to introduce you to this story:
"On a spring afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a fifteen-year-old girl kills an elderly woman in a violent home invasion. In a city with a history of racial tensions and white flight, the girl, Paula Cooper, is Black, and her victim, Ruth Pelke, is white and a beloved Bible teacher. The press swoops in.
When Paula is sentenced to death, no one decries the impending execution of a tenth grader. But the tide begins to shift when the victim's grandson Bill forgives the girl, against the wishes of his family, and campaigns to spare her life."
As that introduction conveys, this is a compelling story in so many ways. There are twists and turns featuring side stories that themselves deserve their own novel.
Full disclosure - I became aware of this book after the author called me as she was doing research. I am not quoted nor did I provide anything more than background information during our conversation, that if memory serves lasted between a half hour and an hour.
The reason Ms. Mar contacted me was due to my role as a Region denominational leader with The Brethren Church. And the victim, Ruth Pelke, grew up in one of our Brethren churches in the Wabash/Peru area (Center Chapel). The book incorrectly ascribes the church as belonging to our sister denomination, Church of the Brethren - but that is a common mistake. The book does accurately describe our foundational values of peacemaking, forgiveness, and desire to imitate Christ. These values became the driving force behind Bill Pelke's advocacy campaign on behalf of his grandmother's murderer.
The story can be summarized in straightforward ways like in the quote above. But Mar does an excellent job highlighting all of the complicated factors that contributed to this tragedy as well as the myriad of people and issues that that pulled it towards redemption.
Be prepared though, this is a real life story and does not have a convenient fairy-tale ending.
It is hard to give a concise review of this book because of its complexity. This is a fascinating story that features religion, politics, capital punishment debates, media hysteria, family trauma, and the prison industrial complex.
Kudos to Alex Mar for her intrepid research and her gracious perspective in retelling this story. She confronts the good, bad, and ugly parts of this case with curiosity, honesty, and integrity. Extra credit from me for her end of book "A Note on Sources" that describes her own process and how she made certain decisions in approaching this project. Overall, she connects dots of various parts of this world in ways that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is an easy read and a book that in so many ways can be summarized by the simple label of "compelling". I highly recommend anyone to purchase and read this book. You will walk away from it challenged and changed.
It will stand as one of the favorite books I have ever read because it is so expertly written and because it is such a profound look at how hard it is to actually apply Jesus' call to forgiveness:
"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." - Matt. 18:22
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