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TOTH, JENNIFER, WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHNNIE JORDAN? The Story of a Child Turning Violent. New York, NY: The Free Press, 2002, 291 pp., $25.00 hardcover.
This intense narrative account of the life of Johnnie Jordan draws the reader into the experience of a complex and disturbed child who had all the wrong turns in his path. Being raised partly on the streets with parents involved in drugs and crime was only the beginning of Johnnic's disadvantages. As the story unfolds, the reader is captivated not only by the horrific neglect he experiences but also by the incredible failure of Children's Services which leads to a young adolescent murdering his foster mother. Jennifer Toth utilizes her journalism skills to unpack the question of "What happened to Johnnie Jordan?" She bases her answer to that question on interviews with his foster father and other key informants, and also has multiple interviews with Johnnie himself.
The account of Johnnie's life...