I'm going to do something that I hate doing here-- I'm going to compare a book unfavorably to the TV series based on it. Bear with me. 
 Like many people, I was inspired to read this book after watching the excellent TV series of the same name. Although I really did enjoy this book (and I hate to be *that* person), I think that this may be one of the rare circumstances in which a TV series does a better job of telling a story than the book that inspired it. That's not to take anything away from the book, which is engaging and well-written. Without this book, of course, we would not have the Orange is the New Black TV series. However, Piper's experiences translate so well on screen and the characters in the series are so incredibly well rounded that the book feels... abridged? I don't know how to say it exactly, but the book is less dynamic. Despite the fact that this is Kerman's actual account of her time in prison and the TV series is only "based on" her story, I would say that the fictional TV series does a better job of expressing the truth of this story. I do recommend this book-- it's a quick read, and there are several significant differences between the book and the series. Be warned, though, that it does not have the same spark as the TV series.