What does it take to survive a system built to break you? JC Kors’s Bracing for Impact is a gripping debut that explores the correctional system with unyielding honesty about its shortcomings. Drawing from over thirty years of personal experience working within the system, Kors pulls readers into a world rarely seen with such clarity and more often than not misunderstood. Ravena Miller needs a change of pace, but there’s no turning back once she sets foot inside Rocky Crest: a high-security prison, and her new workplace. As one of the only female guards, she faces both the difficult circumstances of the job—daily violence, chaos, and threats—and the misogynistic insults and jokes from her male co-workers. Through a series of gruelling shifts, interspersed with small moments of her life on the outside, readers get an inside scoop into a prison guard’s mental health, as well as the many obstacles Ravena must overcome. In a dangerous place designed to control others, Ravena is forced to learn how to hold onto herself, and in the process, she discovers that there is more than one way to be a prison guard. Kors crafts tension with excellent precision. As Ravena (or Office Miller when at work) navigates high-stakes situations inside the prison, the evocative writing manifests her fear in the readers too. Through short, snappy chapters and intimidating confrontations, Kors writes with an intensity that burns through the pages. What sets Bracing for Impact apart is its authenticity. Kors’s firsthand knowledge of correctional systems grounds the narrative in lived reality, filling in the shadows that are often unknown to the general public. Her specificity in naming the daily protocols, the injustices, and the toxic environments are all notable. Despite being fictional, readers get a real sense of life behind prison walls, both for prisoners and guards. This is not a story about who is good and who is bad; it’s about survival inside a system that reshapes everyone within it. And despite the violent experiences, Kors weaves the tale with nuance, as guards and prisoners are both more than their titles: they’re still human, regardless of how the system might make them feel or seem. While Bracing for Impact provides a page-turning experience, there are moments where a final layer of polish would elevate the reading experience. The plot feels more episodic than traditionally structured, unfolding as a series of events rather than a single, continuous arc. That said, this approach effectively mirrors the exhausting, cyclical nature of shift work within the prison system. Similar narrative styles often prioritize atmosphere, internal reflection, and vignette-like moments over conventional plot progression—and here, that choice works in the novel’s favour. Minor formatting and grammatical inconsistencies occasionally interrupt the flow, but they do little to detract from the story’s overall impact. A novel that emphasizes the strength of the human spirit while dissecting the correctional system, Bracing for Impact reveals the steel we can find just beneath the surface of our doubts. Readers looking for a novel that will get their heart racing should look no further than JC Kors’s tense yet nuanced debut. Within its pages, you’ll find that we are always more than the shapes we’re forced to fit into. —CANREADS BOOK REVIEW www.jckors.com