Twelve-year-old Jamal is in trouble at home, at school, and on the street. His big brother, the leader of the Harlem Scorpions, is in jail for robbery. Now Jamal is expected to lead the gang and even has to carry a gun. When two of the Scorpions call him out to the park to challenge his leadership, Jamal takes the gun with him—a decision that will change his life forever. Scorpions is a powerful portrayal of the fear, frustration, and despair of inner city life and gang pressure. Walter Dean Myers' credible characters deal with realistic situations and make difficult choices. His highly-acclaimed talent has earned him many accolades, among them the Coretta Scott King Award and ALA's Margaret A. Edwards Award for his lifetime achievement in writing young adult books.
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 13, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781464046476
- File size: 154923 KB
- Duration: 05:22:45
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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In a voice of despair and deep longing, Peter Francis James reads the story of Jamal, trapped in the ghetto and faced with a challenge too immense for any 12-year-old. Jamal must decide whether to assume leadership of his brother's gang, the Scorpions, after Randy is imprisoned for murder. Third-person narration in James's rich, resonant voice contrasts with the contentious whine of 8-year-old sister Sassy; the half-beaten regret of Mama, old beyond her years; the gentle concern of Jamal's best friend, Tito; the surly self-assurance of Jamal's classmates; the drugged-out haziness of Randy's ace, Mack; and the relentless disdain of Davidson, the principal who does not even pretend respect for a child in crisis. The dark fates of children trapped by circumstance reverberate in this masterful performance of the Newbery Honor title. T.B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine -
January 29, 1996
PW called this Newbery Honor novel about a 12-year-old caught up in the violence of Harlem gangs "realistic, spare and almost unbearably sad." Ages 12-up. -
Twelve-year-old Jamal feels the weight of the world on his shoulders in this YA novel. His life is one of pressure and harassment with little comfort. An older bully fights him regularly, his brother is in jail, his kid sister tattles on him for sport, and a gang member is recruiting him. Jamal's only saving grace is pal Tito, who stays by his side through his travails. This is a classic story of frustration, the feeling of taking one step forward and two back. Unfortunately, the narration doesn't keep pace. Peter Francis James gives some of the supporting characters distinct identities, but many of the character voices are not varied enough. Further, his pacing of the story is problematic; constant pauses slow the narration to a frustrating crawl. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
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June 3, 1988
Jamal is caught in a tightening web of trouble; his older brother Randy sends word from prison for him to take over as leader of his gang, the Scorpions. But the older members of the gang challenge his authority, first with taunts and then with fists. Randy's warlord, Mack, gives Jamal a gun and pushes him to make a stand. Despite the entreaties of his mother, sister, and best friend Tito, and his own wish to be out of the gang scene, Jamal is forced into one fight after another. Jamal's Harlem is afflicted by a tide of crack and crime and sudden violence; he is confronted by this tide even though he is only 12 years old. Myers writes with candor and an eye for the strange contrasts of a child's world in which dreams and despair somehow coexist, and where two boys can talk about sliding down a firefighter's pole and shooting a Sterling .380 D/A pistol as if there were no difference between the two activities. It is a realistic, spare and almost unbearably sad story. Ages 12-up.
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