Address: House of Corrections

Award-winning writer Monice Mitchell Simms' engrossing debut novel, "Address: House of Corrections" seamlessly shifts through time and locale to follow the empowering, entertaining journey of Merry, a stubborn 32-year-old ex con and recovering addict, who moves to 1947 Detroit as a spunky twelve-year-old with her estranged mother and comes full circle as Merry fights to stay sane, stay straight and make peace with her children and her torrid past. Gritty, yet hopeful, Mitchell Simms ingeniously births refreshing characters in this, her first book in a trilogy series, and elevates what could have easily become a stereotypical hard luck tale into a literary triumph.