Reading Group Roundup: The Donor

The report this month comes from HMP Frankland where members of the Champions for Reading group read Clare Mackintosh’s The Donor. It’s a story about two mothers, two children with one heart between them, and a sinister undertow.

The book is one of the Quick Read series and is only 101 pages; but it packs a big punch and the group loved it: ‘Brilliant!’ ‘Wow – twist after twist after twist!’ It also manages to combine powerful suspense with emotional heft: ‘I’ve got daughters the same age as the main character so it pulled at my heartstrings’, ‘It had us grown men tearing up.’

After the meeting, two of the members wrote a review to share the group’s enjoyment with other readers of Inside Time:

‘A fascinating, compelling, wickedly funny, snappy, fast-paced story…It creates a thrilling, emotionally-charged dilemma, taking you on a bobsleigh ride through the lives of the protagonists. When you read it, you won’t be able to resist taking sides.’

The review also included high praise for the group in general and what it offers its members:

‘The HMP Frankland library has put together an Emergent Readers Group which has been running for two years, for both English and foreign nationals who wish to improve and develop their reading skills…The books encourage and spark interesting debate about different aspects of the subjects, which in turn has resulted in us learning much more about each other’s different homelands and diverse cultures. This has led to deeper understanding, mutual respect and bonding that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.

‘The library staff, mentors and group members always make reading sessions entertaining, engaging and fun, which has evolved into all of us dramatizing whatever book we are reading, pretending to be each character portrayed in the book, bringing stories to life.’

The Frankland report is powerful evidence that reading groups aren’t just for experienced readers. They can also be a great way to build confidence, community and enjoyment for those who feel less assured. If you’re interested, ask in the library and if your prison doesn’t have a reading group, encourage staff to have a look at our website and get in touch. www.prisonreadinggroups.org.uk

If you’re looking for books that are fast reads, check out the Quick Reads shelves in your library. The books are very varied and include thrillers and detective fiction, laugh out loud comedy, history, biography and self-help. The writers are top-notch: Malorie Blackman, Jo Nesbo, Peter James, Andy McNab, Kit de Waal, James Patterson and Graham Norton.

Prison Reading Groups (PRG) runs over 100 groups in more than 80 prisons nationwide. Groups choose what they read and are given new copies to keep or pass on to others.

PRG is part of Give a Book.