Mass with Mary : The Prison Years

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Summary: A Revealing, No-Holds-Barred Prison Bio
Review: Co-authors Christina Dress and Tama-Lisa Johnson give revealing, often disturbing personal accounts of life in a women's correctional facility. Their stories are refreshingly candid, and they make no excuses for the actions that landed them behind bars. Together, Dress and Johnson give the reader their unique observations of teacher, mother, and convicted child-rapist Mary Kay Letourneau and her life as an inmate. They share their personal relationships with her, and offer their straightforward insights into her enigmatic personality and motivations. An intelligent, well-written page-turner that leaves the reader wanting more!

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Summary: SOME DEEP STUFF...
Review: Great book. I expected to be entertained, instead I was thrown into a moral dilema of what to think! This was some good stuff. I'm not much on reviewing, but I've sure read a lot of books and this one has to be one of the best books I've come across in a very long time. Thank you for the adventure Ms. Dress, Johnson and Letourneau! Three amazing women. One amazing book.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: I have kept up with all the Mary Kay books and stories, but this is by far the worst one so far. The book is written based on a few hours a month that the author & buds might spend with Mary Kay at mass. Of course mass is not a visiting place, so you really don't find out much about Mary, more about the others.

Rating:
Summary: Mass with Mary The Prison Years
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought Christina Dress did a wonderful job on her first book. It was interesting, entertaining, and funny at times. It gives the reader quite an insight of what goes on inside a prison. Some of the prison staff there should be ashamed of themselves and many should be locked up. I highly recommend this book.

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Summary: GREAT READING...GREAT WRITING!
Review: I'm familiar with the Letourneau story, just as everyone else has, but I had NO IDEA about the depth of this case and all the players involved. I also had NO IDEA of what went on inside that prison.

This book was great. I was actually shocked at the writing style and the thought put into it. Page after page of good stuff. The prison life alone should be a seperate book and I'd be a reader for that one, too. I wonder what the world thinks of Mary Kay after reading this book? This is a true story, and deserves some true thought. I've given it my own and have decided to save "Judgement Day" for someone else!

Again, great book. What an accomplishment! Keep up the writing!

Rating:
Summary: Pretty shallow, and much too expensive
Review: If you really want some insight about Mary, read Gregg Olson's "If Loving You is Wrong." You won't learn much from "Mass With Mary." This book tends toward, "I saw Mary at breakfast today. She had cereal. Then the guards got mad at us for talking too much." Tama-Lisa Johnson's portion was superior; she was more or less pressed into service by Dress and her girlfriend to keep tabs on Mary when Dress could not, and she is not shy about stating her opinions on Mary and the whole mess with Vili. Dress seems to pander to Mary to stay on her good side.

In addition to the lack of depth, the editing is very poor. While I understand the desire to keep this sounding "real," because it is a diary, glaring errors should have been edited out. In one section, Tama-Lisa is angry because Mary is patronizing her, in a tone of "condensation" - angry because, as she explains, she's not stupid and she DOES understand big words. OK, I believe her but the lack of editing set up a laugh at her expense.

One huge unanswered question is why Mary is portrayed through most of the book as constantly being in trouble - flouting all rules - in seclusion - disliked by all. But in the epilogue she has suddenly morphed into Superprisoner: Toastmaster President; admired teacher of other inmates; popular, talented, and accomplished. There's no attempt at explaining how this amazing transition occurred and it's something I would actually like to know.

The book is also seriously overpriced. You'd normally expect this type of paperback to be about $7. It contains a lot of extra white space that results in it being a large book, but the content would fit in a standard paperback. I suggest requesting it from your local library, as I did, rather than spending $24.


Rating:
Summary: Fast but Interesting Read
Review: The writing is simple, but the words are powerful in describing life behind prison walls. I can see why pages had to be smuggled out, because this is what the WCCW staff would not want you to read. It details the gleefully sadistic mistreatment of Letourneau by prison staff because of who she was--though both authors point out that Letourneau's snotty, I'm-A-Celebrity Attitude did not help matters. It reveals how arbitrarily and unfairly rules were applied and broken when dealing with prisoners in general. The two main authors also discover Letourneau's bipolar/split personality--the mature, take-charge teacher versus the overaged adolescent giggling and smoking with an extremely young inmate. Although both authors were gradually drawn to Mary's charisma and considered her a friend, they did not condone her affair with Vili Fualauu. Like most people, the two authors viewed the relationship as extremely damaging to Vili and to the Letourneau children. Mary's starry-eyed, giddy account of the love affair makes her out to be sadly demented and delusional.
It is a shame Christina Dress did not continue on this book when she was sent back to prison for a second time. It would have been interesting to read about Letourneau's entire stay in prison.


Rating:
Summary: I COULD'NT PUT IT DOWN!!!!
Review: This book was wonderful! I could'nt stop reading it. It was well worth the money invested into it. I wish I could shake all there hands. Job well done ladies.

Rating:
Summary: SHOCKING AND REAL...
Review: This was a good one! The information alone in this book is scandalous...WITHOUT ADDING MARY KAY! I enjoyed every page. This writer did a great job and it's unbelievable that it comes from inside the prison. I'd read more if there was another book...keep writing. I want to know what's happening now!

Rating:
Summary: Wait for a discount table copy...
Review: Very simple language and generous spacing on the pages. I read this book in 3 hours, not due to it being that interesting, it was just that simple. I found it vague in describing what life was like in WCCW and though Tama-Lisa was true to her opinions, I found Dress to be rather starry-eyed regarding Mary and then would back peddle to rationalize what Mary did was wrong. More editing and detail would have helped. I think more information regarding Mary's experiences/situations and not the writer's admiration (on Dress's part)would have made the book MUCH more intersting.