Abuse of Discretion - A Mystery That Matters - By Pamela Samuels Young

Graylin

The police!
My mouth is as dry as sand. “I don’t have a naked picture of anybody on my phone, Mrs. Keller. I swear, I don’t. Why’d you call the police on me?”
“I had no choice.”
My right knee won’t stop bouncing up and down. “Who said I had a naked picture?”
“I can’t disclose that information.”
There’s a knock on the door. When two police officers step into the room, I almost pee on myself. They introduce themselves to the principal but ignore me.
One of the cops is short and Asian with biceps that look like two boulders. He turns around and mean mugs me. “Is this the student?”
Principal Keller nods and hands him a piece of paper. He reads it, then turns back to me.
“I’m Officer Chin and this is Officer Fenton,” the Asian cop says, referring to a tall white man with slicked-back hair who’s staring down at me too. “We need to talk to you.”
Officer Chin opens the side door leading into the principal’s private conference room and tells me to go inside. I’m so nervous it feels like I’m walking on toothpicks.
The white cop sits in the chair next to me and turns sideways. He’s sitting so close to me that his knee keeps brushing against my thigh. I want to ask him to move back, but I don’t. Officer Chin sits on the other side of the long table, glaring at me like I shot somebody.
“So, Graylin, do you know why you’re here?” Officer Chin asks.
“Nope,” I mumble. Then I hear my grandmother’s voice. She’s old school and is always telling me to be respectful to adults. “I mean, no, sir.”
I don’t like looking at the Asian cop. If they try a good-cop, bad-cop act on me, he’s probably going to play the bad cop.
“First, I need to tell you that you’re in some major trouble,” the mean one says.
I’ve already decided that’s what I’m going to call Officer Chin—Mean Cop—because that’s what he is.
I don’t say anything since he hasn’t asked me a question.
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
“Your principal got a report that you have a naked picture of one of your classmates on your phone.”
“But I don’t.” Not anymore.
“Do you know Kennedy Carlyle?”
“Yes.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
I screw up my face. “No.” Kennedy is way too stuck-up to be anybody’s girlfriend.
“Well, how do you know her?”
“She’s in my English and algebra classes.”
I don’t want to talk to them because I know they aren’t on my side. I watch a lot of TV crime shows with my granny. The cops always act like they want to help you, but they’d rather shoot a black kid than help him. That’s why we need Black Lives Matter. They just need to read me my rights and—Oh snap! I suddenly remember what my dad told me to do if the police ever stopped me.
I sit up straight and try to look brave. “My dad told me not to talk to the police without his permission.”
Mean Cop rolls his eyes. “Is that right? Does your daddy know you have a naked picture of one of your classmates on your phone?”
But I don’t. I want to smile, but I know that will get me in even more trouble.
Mean Cop grips the edge of the table and leans forward. “If I were you, I’d want to defend myself. So, if you want us to hear your side of the story, you better start talking.”
I don’t know what to do. I want to defend myself, but my dad gave me strict instructions. If a cop stops you, don’t say a damn word.
Officer Fenton bumps my thigh with his knee again which makes me flinch. “Look, Graylin, we need you to be honest with us. If you do, we can cut you some slack.”
Even though I wish he wouldn’t sit so close to me, at least he talks nice to me. Still, I keep quiet.
“According to the report we received,” Mean Cop continues, “you’ve been going all over the school showing people a naked picture of your classmate.”
Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “No, I didn’t! Somebody’s lying on me!”
Of course, I’d planned to show the picture to my best friend Crayvon, but you can’t go to jail for something you were only thinking about doing.
“If you have the picture on your phone,” Officer Fenton says, “just be truthful about it and we’ll see what we can do to keep you out of trouble.”
They must think I’m stupid. I do what my dad told me to do and keep my mouth shut.
Mean Cop pounds the table with his fist, making me jump two inches out of my chair. “Where’s your phone?”
I still don’t answer. Everybody has the right to remain silent, even kids.
“I said where’s your phone?” Mean Cop repeats.
I hide my hands underneath the table, so he can’t see them shaking.
Officer Fenton pats me on the shoulder. “C’mon, Graylin, you seem like a good kid. I bet you make good grades, don’t you?”
I nod and start to tell them I got honors certificates in math and science last year, but I figure they still won’t let me go. “My dad”—I start to stutter—“my dad told me not to talk to the police without his permission.”
“Why don’t you help us out here?” Officer Fenton says. “We really need to see your phone. We’ll take a quick look and if there’s no picture, we’ll send you back to class.”
A squeaky voice comes out of my mouth. “It’s…it’s in my backpack.”
As soon as the words are out, I want to kick myself. Now I’ve just lied to the police. Again.
“And where’s your backpack?”
“In my locker.”
“Why don’t we go with you to your locker, so you can get it?” Officer Fenton says.
“My dad told me not to talk to the police without his permission,” I say for the third time.
Officer Fenton frowns. “This is a very serious matter, son.”
Mean Cop thumps his fingers on the table. “Why don’t you just—”

The voice of Young Thug singing RiRi fills the room. Ah-ah-ah work. Do the work baby do the work. Tonight baby do the work baby do the work.

When I hear my ringtone, my stomach lurches up into my throat. I’m about to throw up the oatmeal I had for breakfast.
Mean Cop scrunches up his face like a WWF wrestler. “Did your daddy also teach you to lie to the police? Give me the damn phone!”
I shakily pull it from my pocket and set it on the table.
Officer Fenton picks it up, taps the screen, then looks over at me. “What’s the password?”
I stare down at the table.
“I said what’s the password?” Now he’s turning mean too.
“LeBron forty-three.”
“For your sake, young man, I hope you’re telling us the truth.”
I keep my eyes on the table. A bead of sweat falls from my forehead into my eye, but I don’t wipe it away.
“Why’re you sweating?” Mean Cop says. “You afraid we’re going to find that naked picture?”
After a couple of minutes, Officer Fenton looks at Mean Cop and shakes his head. “Nothing in his photos or texts. I only see a few recent emails. Nothing there either.” He sets it back on the table.
Mean Cop grunts. “Let me look.” He stretches one of his short arms across the table and grabs my phone.
He taps the screen a few times, then starts smiling. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Looks like you forgot to check his deleted pictures, partner.”
Mean Cop holds up my phone and shows me the picture I thought was gone forever. A warm trickle of pee runs down my left leg.
“You’re quite the little liar, aren’t you?” Mean Cop yells at me. “Where’re the rest of the pictures?”
“There aren’t any more,” I stutter. “That was the only one I had.”
“Did you take it?”
“No.”
“You lied about your phone being in your locker, you lied about having this picture, and you’re still lying now!”
“My…my dad”—I can’t get my words out—“my dad told me not to talk to the police without his permission.”
“When your daddy told you that, he didn’t realize you’d be in this kind of trouble. If you didn’t take this picture, how’d it get on your phone?”
“Somebody sent it to me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
My throat hurts and it feels like somebody’s pressing down on my chest. If the table wasn’t in the way, I’d hug my knees to my chest.
Mean Cop pulls out his handcuffs and dangles them from his finger. “Stop lying and tell us the truth,” he barks. “If you don’t, you’re going to jail.”

~~~

Sometimes a Crime Isn't Always Criminal

Abuse of Discretion:

The Dre Thomas Series

Pamela Samuels Young

It was the character Graylin who tore at my emotions as I watched him being taken to the principal's office, based upon an anonymous call. Getting sent to the office was bad enough, but being brought there led Graylin to immediately wonder if something had happened to his mother...

Trying hard to think what it could be, he finally realized that it might be about a picture that had been sent to him also anonymously. It was a naked picture of a girl that was in some of his classes. He had saved it, but realized now that he shouldn't even have done that and deleted it while he waited.

But it wasn't the principal who would be talking to him; it was the police. At least they had called his dad, although he wasn't looking forward to having his dad learn the possible issue...

What was horrifying to me, and to many readers, is that Graylin had stated over and over to the police that he was not supposed to talk to the police without his father present. That was the beginning--the beginning of abuse--of Graylin, a 14-year-old boy who was smart, a good student, and a relatively well-behaved child... But the police kept pressing... questioning...

"You couldn't plead it down...?
"I tried...Prosecutors have a lot of
discretion as to who gets charged.
Some of them read the statues literally
and will go after anyone in possession
of a naked picture of a kid, even if it's
a thirteen-year-old child."
I pray to God Graylin hasn't taken a
naked picture of some girl. "So will
you take the case?"
"Yes, of course. It'll take me about
forty minutes to get down to Eastlake."
"Thanks. It sounds like Graylin might
be in some serious trouble.
"If he has a naked picture of an under-
age girl on his phone, there's no might
about it." Jenny says. "These days
a smartphone in the hands of a kid can
have more devastating consequences
than giving them a loaded gun. And
 the average parent doesn't have a
clue."
!!!

I remember how much I enjoyed
the Judging Amy show, which covered our juvenile criminal justice system. But now, Young had taken me into a "shocking look inside" that justice system in today's world. It is not an easy story to read, but a very important one!

Fortunately, Graylin's family and friends made sure that an experienced youth lawyer was hired. And, for me, the legal interaction with Graylin was the primary focus, even though this book is the third in the Dre Thomas Series and there is another plot line moving concurrently... where you'll be meeting "The Shepherd" who is sitting in a low risk federal correctional facility while planning murder on the outside! And Dre is a target...

Dre is involved with Angela, a lawyer, but she knows that Graylin needs someone totally familiar with the youth system. And we meet Jenny Ungerman, who accepts the case, but then is upset when Angela can't seem to keep herself from intruding and wanting to help... The interaction between them goes from tense exasperation into a partnership that really worked well... The author might want to think of pairing those two in a new series, in my opinion.

Poor Graylin, he was getting advice from all sides, but one thing had stuck with him. If you are tried as an adult, you have a jury which would probably give him a break...Maybe, maybe not. But Graylin did everything he could to ensure that's what happened...readers will have to decide whether this turned out to be the best for Graylin...

Do your children spend hours on their phone? Are you monitoring in any way? Given the level of sexual material displayed everywhere these days, you can bet that your child is involved not only with texting friends, but...sexting with some of them... More important than your knowing whether they are is this--are you aware that it is against the law??? In this story, a young boy gets sent a naked picture of a girl he knows. Instead of immediately closing out the picture, he saves it to his phone...He is now facing charges of holding and possible dissemination of child pornography...

I already knew this from other books I've read, but this story which could also be listed under urban fiction, perfectly illustrates how a kid can be caught in a nightmare that started out to be...well...read this important book to see how a good kid can be caught, condemned and swiftly in court!

Children really do not understand the consequences of actions "that everybody is doing..." I highly recommend you read this and help them understand!


GABixlerReviews

Attorney, author and anti-trafficking advocate Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. While growing up in Compton, California, Pamela set giant-sized goals and used her talent, tenacity and positive outlook to accomplish them. She consequently achieved success in both the corporate arena and literary world simultaneously.
For fifteen years, Pamela served as Managing Counsel for Toyota in Southern California, specializing in labor and employment law. While still practicing law, Pamela began moonlighting as a mystery writer because of her desire to see women and people of color depicted in the legal thrillers she read. That required her to rise at 4 a.m. to write before work, after work and any other spare time she could find. Dubbed by one reviewer as “John Grisham with a sister’s twist,” Pamela is now a full-time author with eight award-winning mystery novels.
Her thriller Anybody’s Daughter (2013), a gripping tale of a teen unwittingly drawn into the world of child sex trafficking via a Facebook scam, won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction and was a Top Ten pick by In the Margins, the best books for at-risk teens. Her latest mystery, Abuse of Discretion (2017), tackles a troubling teen sexting case that gives readers a shocking look inside the juvenile justice system. Pamela’s other novels include Every Reasonable Doubt (2006), In Firm Pursuit (2007), Murder on the Down Low (2008), Buying Time (2009), Attorney-Client Privilege(2012), and Lawful Deception (2015). She has also penned an erotic romantic suspense novella, Unlawful Desires (2017), as well as multiple short stories.
Pamela is a proud natural hair enthusiast and the author of Kinky Coily: A Natural Hair Resource Guide, a book dedicated to empowering women to discover the true beauty of their kinky coils.
Before her legal career at Toyota, Pamela served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years as an associate with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, in Los Angeles. A former journalist, Pamela began her broadcasting career at WXYZ-TV in Detroit and later worked as a news writer and associate producer at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
A graduate of UC Berkeley’s School of Law, Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC and a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women mystery writers.
A frequent speaker on the topics of self-empowerment, sex trafficking and online safety, fiction writing, and pursuing your passion, Pamela lives in the Los Angeles area. To read an excerpt of her books or to schedule her for a speaking engagement or book club meeting via Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, speakerphone or in person, visit her website at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.

I Wonder...Why this Book Was Published...

It's not often that a book confuses me...this one, may just be the first. Note for instance, that the sub-title is "A Book for children, parents, and other grownups." We all know that adults sometimes read books to children, but that's not what this says... Indeed, the material presented is also confusing...is it all for children? Definitely not. ...some for parents, and, of course those other grownups who might pick this book up and "wonder" if they want to read it??? My thought? Don't Bother...

Note the cover for instance. While beautifully done except for the same nose for the children...it shows a complete picture within the total larger version.  My first question...I wonder why oh why that was done...

First is 14 pages of similar poems, based upon, I suppose, a child's wonder about the world. Again, the illustrations are beautifully done except for a mouse that size-

wise is 3 times the size of the cat, both of which were mentioned in the poem. 

How I wonder little mouse, safe

inside your little house,

Why you venture out for cheese

And brave the cat for what you please

How I wonder little mouse, safe

inside your little house.

~~~

Obviously a clever child will question that little tale... But that didn't bother me as much as the use of words to fit the poetry:  "blog...mater... Eating people is so rude...pollinating...agog...flagging...gnat...why you're eating cloth...off-beat...weaver (beaver)...dome...hibernating...lair...venture...elegant (elephant)... Those who hunt you are deplorable...scion (lion)...brood...Flitting...unfurled...

The issue for me was using words that seemed to be beyond the vocabulary of a child. If it had been a story and the words were further explained as a learning tool, some would have been all right; e.g., hibernating in a lair could have been clarified with sleeping in a cave, to broaden the definition, but that doesn't work with poetry that is precisely done to rhyme, with words chosen for that purpose...  I wonder, would a child know that moths eat cloth? And should we spot to a child that some people hunt elephants and kill them? And a blog, I wonder if children already know what a blog is when most adults I talk to...don't...

Next is a story called The Glow-Stones. It remains in the child's section but the boy is almost a man and leaving his home. If I were to judge myself, this story would be appropriate for early to late teens. But the printing is still in the size used for children and apparently meant as part of that section. The story is rather nice, but can you picture a teen reading "a section" of a child's storybook?

Part II is for adults and takes readers back to "I wonder," but I couldn't quite get past the idea that many thoughts in the poetry were sardonic... supposedly humorous?

How I wonder little baby; if you'll grow and be well maybe

First you're nursing then the bottle

Yell 'till parents want to throttle...

How I wonder little boy why parents think you're such a joy--

Such a winner mischief-making

Acting good but really faking...

How I wonder little girl, twisting up your little curl

Why smiling wide-eyed innocence

Thoughts are lurking you're not dense...

What is this book? It's a mish-mash of short writings by one person...Do you buy it as a child's gift, only to not want later stories read by them? Do you decide which can be read by YAs? Or do you allow all of them to read the, I guess what could be funny, humorous for some adults... As I started writing my review, I became upset that the writer did not take the time to learn about editing, writing to your audience, genres, marketing and all the other things that must be considered in producing one book...

There is nobody to whom I would recommend this entire book. 

GABixlerReviews

Exhilarating, Exciting, Superb Teen-Adult Novel by Michael J. Bowler - First Teen Personal Favorite Selection!

Alex' chair was his one prized possession. A few years ago, when he'd had a cool social worker, he'd managed to get a super-sturdy chair built like the one a famous guy named Aaron used for his incredible stunts. Alex had only been seven when he'd seen on the news how fourteen-year-old Aaron mastered the world's first backflip in a wheelchair. It had amazed and empowered Alex to see someone with spina bifida like him accomplishing something so spectacular.
His caseworker at the time, a lady named Sandy Quigley, had convinced the county to pay for his special chair on the grounds that it would be nearly indestructible and would not need to be replaced or repaired often. Alex had been so ecstatic he didn't even feel guilty for spinning Sandy into thinking he really needed something like that.

~~~

Spinner

Spinner has been awarded the Literary Classics Seal of Approval. Spinner has been awarded 1st Place in the Young Adult category at the Hollywood Book Festival.

By Michael J. Bowler

OMG! It's Horror, Paranormal, Urban Fiction...and Scary Great! And I couldn't wait to finish this book... If you're willing to admit you read books for teens, then go for this one... Better yet, get it for a teen you know who loves horror at its finest, and a paranormal skill that I guarantee you will have never seen or read anywhere else. By the end of the book, you will have discovered a secret which seems to imply that this could be a series--make that with an unbelievable, triumphant, group of super-heroes that will amaze and surprise each and every reader...

What is so surprising about them? Well, this group of teenagers, still in school, are unable to read, for one... They are all in special education classes and referred to as "dummies" by most of the other students... But each one also has a special gift, they have become close, loyal friends and use the skills that they have to fight injustice, especially in helping to protect Alex, a boy who has been in a wheelchair since he was young...

Ms. Ashley had been loved by her students. She had created special little methods of teaching so that the children could individually learn at his own pace and not feel intimidated... Now she was dead...

Murdered...by cats...one in particular who was extremely large and seemed to stare right at Alex...

Only thing was that Alex had been asleep, dreaming, as Ms. Ashley was being surrounded...

It traumatized Alex as much as it had when he had dreamed of his parents death many years ago... Now he had lost another loved one who was willing to care for her students unconditionally....

The mention of Ms. Ashley pushed aside all the joy he felt at receiving Roy's gift, and flooded his heart and soul with bloodied images of her demise in his dream. He shivered, seeing once more the fact of that huge, grinning cat.
"Yeah, let's get going." Suddenly, he wanted desperately to get to school. But he feared it, too, because deep down he knew his teacher wouldn't be there today, or any of the days to come.

~~~

Briefly, an overview of Alex's life--he is an orphan living in a group home with a wicked house mother, Jane Walters, who had become aware of Alex's gift of spinning. She had been purposely creating situations of abuse for the other boys and then forceing Alex to heal them. This is done by the injured individual describing when and what pain he has and Alex picturing that in his mind. He then "takes" it into his own body. Yes, it does hurt him for awhile, but then his body reverts to normal. Jane is in the midst of documenting what he does and has begun negotiations to sell Alex for $1M dollars!

But things got even worse when Alex places a necklace they'd found around his neck! What had he done?

In the meantime, Alex's best friend, Roy has picked him up and headed toward school. He shares with the class about his dream and predicts a sub will be coming... When Gwyneth Paltrow joined the cast of Glee, I thought she was a little too "loose" in her student interaction, so she was the perfect substitute to play Ms. Ashley's replacement, Ms. Garrett, Ms. G. And the majority of the boys' tongues were hanging out, given the way she had come dressed for her first day. Immediately I...Alex and Roy...didn't trust her, wondering what was going to happen! 

...The friends sat in silence, the beer having mellowed them, adding to their already dark,

emotional natures. They needed no words between them to understand the feelings

of the other.

They watched roy's favorite video on YouTube. It was these three church boys singing a song called "Ears in Heaven" that roy had found on the Internet right after his mother died, and that he'd

shared with Alex shortly after they'd met. The blond singer named Patrick had a really high voice that Alex thought angels must sound like, and the song made him wonder if his parents and 

Roy's mom might know each other in heaven.

That video, while not really an emo song, had cemented the friendship between Alex and Roy

because both teared up every time they watched it. Roy always joked that Patrick looked like

Alex, but Alex only wished he were that good looking.

They watched the video twice, thinking of their parents and Ms. Ashley. Father Pat always told Alex

that he would see his parents again someday, but he wasn't sure he believed that. He even wondered if Patrick believed the words he sang so beautifully, or if they were just words to him. And he couldn't help noticing Roy stare fixedly at the young boy on screen, as though remembering something else besides his mother. But he refused to spin Roy any more. It was wrong, and he had to control it.

The video ended and Roy pressed the pause button, glancing at Alex with a sad smile. Alex returned it. Yes, that song spoke to both of them in ways most other kids couldn't begin to understand...

~~~

Of course, when I love a book like this one, I want to keep on telling you all about the very cool stuff that is coming... You know, like, why have cats turned wild? Who is Ms. G and why is she acting as she is, especially with, later, Alex? Did she have something to do with Ms. Ashley's murder? And who is willing to pay $1M for Alex? Fortunately, the author has created a series of promotional memes and allowed me to share them!

The best thing, though, is that the friendship which has developed since Alex has spun the boys in one way or another, had forged so tightly that they are all willing to die for him...

Whew! I promise you're going to love this... Well, maybe not everybody if you're not into good versus evil, especially when the evil seems to be winning! But one final surprise is to come, which may totally change the dynamic of this thrilling group of teens...Can't wait to find out in the next book...HOW!

OK, if any of this sounds weirdly wonderful...then I have to tell you it is a Must Read... Of course, all the really good stuff can't be discussed at this point, but some very sick action will be taking place! And, yes, I learned to use "sick" in this book in place of my normal coooolllll! 

Get It!


GABixlerReviews
Free thinkers don't charge
  for advice...

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of eight novels--A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader's Favorite), The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the 2013 Wishing Shelf Book Awards), Running Through A Dark Place (Bronze Award Winner in 2014 Wishing Shelf Book Awards), There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America, and Spinner. 
His horror screenplay, "Healer," was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, "Like A Hero," was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.
He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master's in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. 
He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including "Fatal Images," "Club Dead," and "Things II," the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies. 
He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook. 
He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. 
He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The "National" honor allowed him and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.
He has a YA horror/mystery novel entitled "Spinner" releasing in June, 2015, and is currently working on the sequel.
His goal as a YA author is for teens to experience empowerment and hope; to see themselves in his diverse characters; to read about kids who face real-life challenges; and to see how kids like them can remain decent people in an indecent world.

You can find him at:
www.michaeljbowler.com
FB: michaeljbowlerauthor
Twitter: BradleyWallaceM
Blog: www.sirlancesays.wordpress.com
tumblr: http://michaeljbowler.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/michaelbowler/pins/
Instagram: StuntShark