What do readers think of The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan? Write your own review.

Anais is an amazing character, she is now 15 and has been shuffled from one foster home to another, she arrives at the Panopticon because of her suspected part in the severe injury done to a policewoman. At the prison she will meet other youth, just like herself. There is plenty of swearing, drug use and sex, so I can see that this book will not be for everyone. Yet Anais, whose narrative voice takes some getting used to, and her friends have a story that need to be told.

So many of our youth are throwaway kids, and it is a sad state of affairs, in this country as well as others. At times the prevalent drug use serves to slow the narrative down, they are so detailed. This is a maddening book, in that some of the people involved in hers and the others cases are so unsympathetic or maybe just burned out. Maybe seeing too just much makes them less compassionate.

Interesting concept for a book, and I loved the grittiness and toughness of Anais, yet she can still makes friends and despite all she has gone through, can still be compassionate. Would have rated this higher, but I had a problem with the ending. I thought too many strands of the story were left dangling, unexplained. That was frustrating, but I am still very glad to have met Anais.