THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES

An unjustly imprisoned Mexican immigrant to the United States fights to get back to her baby daughter in Frazier’s debut novel.

In 2003, teenager Juana Ivanov lands in a California prison, just three years after leaving Mexico. A U.S. court ruled that she left her abusive husband to die after he fell down the stairs; she fled the scene, resulting in a six-year prison sentence for voluntary manslaughter. Behind bars, she’s under constant threat as she struggles to grasp the workings of prison life, including the various factions of guards and gangs. She soon finds that befriending one inmate may earn her a new enemy. Her greatest worries, however, are for Katrina, her baby girl, who’s currently under her sister’s care in Mexico. If her sibling moves to Arizona as planned, Katrina’s bereaved paternal grandmother may file for custody, which could lead to a legal battle that undocumented Juana just might lose. As she struggles to survive her sentence, she finds that getting letters to her sister is difficult. She tries hard to stay below everyone’s radar, but there’s a good chance that she’ll eventually have to protect herself in a physical confrontation. Frazier masterfully limns Juana’s waning hope as she comes to terms with the fact the government that’s locked her away will likely kick her out of the country after she’s released. This story unfolds less than two years after the 9/11 attacks, when immigrants all over America suddenly found themselves under increased scrutiny. This makes for a persistently tense story, as sympathetic Juana has nowhere to turn for help, even as she sees the capacity for good in many of her fellow inmates. The author offers several unforgettable moments along the way, such as Juana catching glimpses of other people’s everyday lives as she rides to jail; at another point, a missing utensil from the prison dining area seems certain to return to the story as a shank. The ending is both narratively and emotionally satisfying.

A resilient protagonist carries this sometimes-profound tale of incarceration and survival.