A father who is hook on crack cocaine, a mother who lives a life of boyfriends and alcohol and a young teen boy who is trapped between this and struggling to stay Alive in a very hostile urban environment…Jayson Porter is a young African American who barley has hope for a fulfilling life. His mother has a bi-polar nature to herself, one minute she loves him and shows him affection while the next she abuses him physically and verbally. With out the support of his parents Jayson works at a car lot washing cars where he undergoes even more abuse from his boss. Often time Jayson wonders if it is worth risking his life getting on the bus that crosses gang territory to get to work. With all his hardships Jayson wonders if life is even worth living. The thought of a leap off the 18th floor balcony reins prevalent in his mind daily.
The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff is a look inside the life of a young African American boy who faces opposition in life in an urban setting. Adoff gives his readers an easy to read novel that is written in first person that allows the story of Jayson Porter to easily unfold in the minds of the readers. Adoff depicts the characters and the settings of the environment well with great dialect and usage of vocabulary that will keep you wanting to read more and more.
This book is relevant for today because the conditions that Jayson faces are not alien to many young African American teens. The book will go well in inner city urban high schools. Even though the book contains notions of sex, drugs and profanity, it does not however, display them in a positive light. Subjects of gangs, drugs, abuse, and even suicide are addressed in this book and will be a great way to discuss them among teens. This is a must read for the urban young adult.
2 comments:
Hi Ayo! I see that you seem to be getting the hang of this blog writing and reviewing.
This book sounds terrific; very interesting. Your write up reminds me of Autobiography of My Dead Brother, by Walter Dean Myers. You should check this book out, too, sometime (as well as his other novels, which are all thematically connected to what you describe here).
Again, you should probably proofread this one more time; also, maybe add in hyperlinks at the end, in the last paragraph, to substantiate your claim that the novel addresses ideas current in the world today?
Take care,
TP
This book sounds intriguing. I also think that this could do well in suburban high schools to expose them to a rougher side of life that is very real for less fortunate teenagers.
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