Making It Right: Building Peace, Settling Conflict

by Marilee Peters

What if there were no prisons? Alternative approaches to dealing with crime are underway around the world to explore how victims, offenders, and communities can heal rifts and repair damage. It’s often called restorative justice. It’s a way to think about the deeper reasons behind crimes, and suggests that by building more caring communities, it’s possible to change our societies—and ourselves.

Making It Right relates true stories of young people who are working in innovative ways to further peaceful resolution of conflict and to heal past wounds. The book begins with individual injustices, such as bullying, and works up to collective ones, like wars. Each chapter begins with a dramatic fictional account, making the topic engaging and relevant for kids.

Restorative justice isn’t going to change the world overnight, nor will it end all crime or prevent all wars. But it’s a powerful way to get teens thinking about how they can participate in building a more peaceful society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade, Anti Racist, Activism, Justice, Childrens, Social Justice

136 pages, Hardcover

Published October 11, 2016

Reviews

[Francesca Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was moved and impressed by this well-written book describing how restorative justice can work, in situations of societal tension, after the commission of a crime, and in the aftermath of war. The author uses a series of representative, fictional cases to introduce situation and then goes on to talk about actual cases in which restorative justice has worked.

She starts with a brief history of how the US justice system evolved. In the modern US justice system, the state stands between the person accused of a crime and the victim of a crime: the state, not the victim, is the aggrieved party. As Peters describes it,

When [the standard US justice system] takes a case through the court system, they're trying to answer three big questions:

Which laws were broken?
Who did it?
What punishment do they deserve?

When a restorative justice facilitator sits down with an offender, the person they've hurt, and family members, friends, and community members, they all look for answers to a different set of questions. The facilitator asks people to talk about:

Who was hurt?
What needs to happen to repair the harm?
Whose responsibility is it to see that the harm is repaired?

Peters points out that "restorative justice" is just a name given to what serves as a traditional justice system in many parts of the world. She acknowledges that it's not perfect--like any system, it can be subverted, and as in any system, the powerful have a way of getting more justice than the powerless. However. If both parties are willing to agree to the process, restorative justice can have huge benefits for communities--and for victims and those who've harmed them.

Many of the case studies moved me, but the one I want to find out more about is the story of George Carter, a child in the New Orleans school system, who, after Hurricane Katrina, joined with other children to form Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools ("Rethinkers" for short), who focused on one big problem a year to improve their schools. George suggested getting rid of metal detectors at schools--which treat kids like criminals--and having "mood detectors" instead. This suggestion was acted on, and after the metal detectors were removed, violent crime in the schools dropped. (Sadly, George himself died a victim of gun violence on a street near his home.)

I was impressed that, at least as Peters tells it, this was a student-led initiative. I was impressed by the insight George had, and I was impressed by the results.

This book heartens me. I know restorative justice isn't a panacea, but it can work, in some cases. And it involves people talking to one another, sorting things out among themselves, making things right. It's powerful. I highly recommend this for teachers, kids, grown-ups--anyone.

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marilee Peters's book on restorative justices practices travels across the world and time to offer examples and templates of this conflict management and approach to making amends. The introductory information suggests some of the stories in the book used to illustrate restorative justice in action are fictional, though the anecdotes are written in such a way to seem very real. This book is a great resource particularly for students researching the concept of restorative justice and related ideas if students can differentiate between the real information and the anecdotes provided as examples.

For other uses, such as using the book as a way to guide real-life restorative justice efforts, this book may not be the best choice. Its organization is somewhat confusing, starting with a history and then veering off into other vaguely-defined categories that did not especially help the delivery of information (at least for the way my brain works). Within chapters, information flowed sensibly enough, but chapter-to-chapter made somewhat less sense. Some attempt at chronological order seems present, but it never fully sticks which adds to the confusion.

The issue of organization isn't an overwhelming one, though it also contributes to the goal of the book being lost. Especially because it's intended for teens, it seems the goal of this book should be clearer and more clearly achieved. Is it intended to serve as a resource for students writing papers on restorative justice? Is it intended to serve as a resource for students looking to build restorative justice practices in their community? Is it intended to serve as a more casual pop-sociology read? Maybe something else? It was never too clearly defined for me, so it's hard to say whether or not the book achieved it. I read it in part to see how restorative justice was being discussed with teens, but also to continue my research in the practices and see what I didn't already know that I might apply in my own work with teens. I intended to take a lot of notes, but ultimately found that there wasn't a whole lot worth writing down that would be valuable to refer back to later, especially when I was never sure any given anecdote was true or one made up as had been explained in the introduction.

But for all these faults, it was an engaging book. Despite the heavy content and a topic that may lend itself to not a great deal of interest, I found myself easily turning the pages and running through the chapters quickly. Even without a clear purpose, the book does serve as a great appetizer for its topic. Teens interested in justice and culture and so on may find this as an easy entry to more involved and curated texts while learning about historical and other events they may not yet be familiar with. For teachers, I'd recommend keeping this in the classroom if only to set the tone and possibly refer to here and there, particularly as we see increasingly politically and socially engaged teens.

[Joel Bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted an introduction to Restorative Justice, and, though this one was for kids, it did a great job of laying out the ideas and giving lots of examples from around the world. It also didn't claim that RJ was always the right solution, or always did what it set out to do. But it sounds like an important part of the road forward, if we want real justice in our society. Well done.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are concerned by cries to defund the police, I think this might be your book. An introduction to restorative justice, the short snapshots of how this system works are designed for kids and teens. But they might also expand the imagination of an adult, and encourage a reader to at least entertain the idea that our current justice system can work better for everyone.

I found it especially eye-opening when the author describes ways that restorative justice can help the victim as well as the perpetrator of a crime. The idea that our current system is designed with the state (once upon a time, the King) as the victim of all crimes, frequently leaving the actual victim in the dust, was very striking.

And the description of empathy was enlightening. It went a long way to possibly explaining why some people *feel* that they are very empathetic but don’t actually appear to *be* very empathetic. (They have the inner matryoshka doll, possibly the middle one, but lack the outer shell)

But basically, this gave me an outline of what a criminal justice system might look like that is more focused on justice and less on punishment. I definitely came out of this feeling as though there are more options than our current system.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making It Right is a great introduction to various concepts surrounding restorative justice. It is short, accessible, and interesting. It provides a variety of examples and stories, with science and criminal cases to back up much of the evidence. Although this book is upper middle grade to young adult (about ages 10 to 15 would be the target audience), I think it's a great intro to restorative justice for older teens and adults who are looking to learn more but aren't sure where to start (especially since many of the books on the subject approach textbook territory).

I would definitely recommend this.

[Deltora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is what we need right now.
Restorative justice needs to be poured generously over every aspect of our lives.
Obviously we need criminal justice reform, like yesterday, but even interpersonally, there are people who I have had hard relationships with and I haven’t ever fully laid out why or really talked to them about it. Now having read this book I feel like if I just sat down and told them how I’ve felt that it would be so freeing.
This is a fantastic book probably for anyone middle school and up, it does make reference to some very dark patches throughout different countries histories but it leaves you with a great feeling of hope for things to come.

[Am Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primarily a book about "restorative justice". Contains many examples of both fictional and real life scenarios in which different forms of restorative justice have been applied, in countries all around the world. A surprisingly easy read despite the length, as the author refrains from using too much jargon and phrases sentences in a straightforward, easy to process manner.

[kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and accessible introduction to restorative justice concepts that I would recommend to anyone(adult or teen) struggling to wrap their head around what life without prisons or policing would look like.

[Sydney Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great kid-friendly primer of restorative justice. I enjoyed that each chapter had a theme and integrated examples from multiple countries. This inclusive approach to understanding restorative justice shows a way that all humans can connect. This would be a great book to have in an upper elementary or middle grade classroom.

[Adriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Restorative Justice for Middle Graders. Excellent text and images.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is an amazing and well-researched introduction to restorative justice. I can't wait to share this with teens (and adults!) who want to learn more!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intersectional book explaining methods of restorative justice. Examples from indigenous societies as well as modern ones.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It explains justice in an easy to follow way, with examples from around the world and different ways to think about the problem. I appreciate that it wasn't just about how the modern justice system is so flawed, but looks at places where people are creating their own model of justice on the small to big scale...it gives us a possible solution. I found it to be clearly written and good for my sometimes confused brain. I suspect that not many children or teens will pick up the book on their own, but I could see this being used for conflict mediators in schools, and potentially by those struggling with bullies. I hope more look at this book, because I think the ideas within need to be considered.

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book on restorative justice. It is easy to read, has decent graphics, and is good for upper elementary to high school students. Each chapter opens with a story of injustice in some place in the the world, from bullying in North America, to genocide in Rwanda to Apartheid in South Africa, for example. The chapter then gives some history of the conflict and various ways it has been addressed and how people, particularly young people, are trying to make a difference using restorative rather than punitive practices. Worth a read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for kids and adults to read together and discuss. The layout is clean and interesting.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.