I have to admit that Pomegranate was a slog for me, even though I liked that central image. A review called it a fresh look at the problems faced by newly released prisoners, but that does not reflect my problem. It all seemed very predictable and trite to me.
Ranita is a Black woman who has recently been released from four years in prison on a drug charge. Although her Aunt Jessie has offered her a temporary place to stay, she faces the challenges of staying clean, getting a job, getting her own place, and regaining custody of her children. Her social worker expects her to fail, and although her therapist seems more open, she is not ready to open up. She also is having difficulty with her sexual identity, having had her first meaningful relationship in prison with a woman.
The novel flashes back to incidents in her life that explain how she ended up in jail, starting with a cold and disapproving mother.
As compelling as I feel this story could have been, it was not. I didn’t really feel pulled into it. Even the revelatory moments seemed contrived.
whatmeread 
I looked her up, and apparently, she has some experience with prisons – not being jailed in them, but working in them. That would make me think this would be insightful, but… it doesn’t sound like that’s what you got. Hm… too bad. The premise has promise.
I read that about her, too. I think the problem is, her information is all secondhand.
Yeah, I can imagine that prisoners aren’t always… er… totally honest about their personal lives with anyone.
Well, more that her experience is all second-hand, so it didn’t feel as authentic. But I guess most authors deal with that.
Oh good! One I’m not tempted to read at all! Keep up the good work! 😉
Ha ha ha!