How do we punish the guilty? If we’re guilty, how do we atone? For some crimes, it feels like no sentence is adequate. Nothing we do to the guilty will restore what was lost. The US justice system is a punitive one, to the point where AI has been used to create “risk assessments” and sentencing guidelines for people convicted of crimes. Kristin Koval’s novel, Penitence, wrestles with the unfairness of a system that wields a sledgehammer in every violent case, regardless of mental health, drug use, and other mitigating factors...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.