SOCIAL SCIENCES

Out of Orange: A Memoir

by Cleary Wolters
HarperOne. May 2015. 320p. ISBN 9780062376138. $26.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062376152. CRIME
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Fans of Orange Is the New Black (OITNB) are unlikely to recognize the name Cleary Wolters, but they're certain to know Alex Vause. Their fascination with the fictional Alex will lead them to this memoir by Alex's real-life counterpart, although the book is less about the "real Alex" and more about Wolters—her quest toward a brief and unglamorous drug-trafficking career; an otherwise anticlimactic relationship with Piper Kerman, who wrote the account upon which the show was based; and ultimately, her incarceration and beyond.
VERDICT Wolters's accessible and honest memoir opens the door and invites readers in. Patrons won't meet Alex Vause, the sultry drug-trafficking queen of OITNB. Instead, they'll meet Wolters—a woman with aspirations, whose missteps take her on unexpected journeys. Readers soon learn that those adventures differ greatly from those experienced by the show's oft-entitled protagonist, Piper.
Reviewed by Erin Entrada Kelly, Philadelphia , May 15, 2015
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