Review in the Weekend Post, Nov 12 2005

'This is the story of Simon Austen, an 19 year old, illiterate carpet layer, who, in a fit of incomprehensible rage, killed his girlfriend. Page sets her story inside a high security facility, which is where Simon is now confined. He's a lifer. He's also an abused, angry and scary young man, trying to survive day to day. But a spark of hope flickers when he begins to learn to read and write.

Page takes her time fanning the spark. She doesn't make rehabilitation easy for her anti-hero - he initially uses his new found literacy skills to carry on troubling correspondences with women outside the prison. But it's Page's patience, her attention to detail, physical as well as psychological, that make her story such compelling reading.

It's not hard to guess what got Alphabet on the GG short list: sheer chutzpah. Page brashly takes up residence in the head and heart of a convicted murderer, a confirmed woman-hater and desperately lost soul. In fact, it's a bit unnerving how well we get to know Simon, his darkest moments, his most improbable hopes, and how much we come to care about his effort to change.'

~ Joel Yanofsky