Orange is the New Black : My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman

Once I heard that Netflix was turning this book into a series, I jumped right on the bandwagon and decided I just HAD to read it.  Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman is an account of how her need to escape her white bread life sent her to the federal pen.  There were both good and bad things about this book.  The first half of it flew by reading more like fiction that non-fiction.  It had that un-put-downable quality that I love in good books.  The middle portion was a little more difficult to swallow, becoming a bit preachy about the ills within our prison systems.  We get it - prison is BAD.  The ending was dynamite and left me wanting to know more about Piper Kerman and her life since her ordeal ended.  I recommend this book based on the relationships Piper made while in prison and because of the interesting dynamic that was captured on the page that explained the difficulties in maintaining the relationships she left on the outside.  Her observations of the different types of people she encountered while inside are also amusing (a particular type of woman became known as "Eminemlettes").  At times funny, and at other points heartbreaking, this book is worth picking up.