Reviews

The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper

evamadera1's review against another edition

2.0

While I think I may have read this book before (there was some vague familiarity with it), that does not change the fact that it was incredibly disappointing. Each Sharon Draper book disappoints even more than the last one that I read. The only reason that I'm still reading them is to get them off my to-read list (and pad my read list at the same time.) Her books are repetitive and stereotypical. They also tend to glass over the "real life" stuff that she seems to make a point to include. The outcome of this book was predictable from the first chapter.
I do not recommend this book at all.

redsg's review against another edition

2.0

I don't know. On one hand I enjoyed its exposure of high school reality, but on the other its story seems so formulated and cliche that I can't say I fully liked it.

bettyboop25's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book. It was amazing. So many emotions.

tyfb's review

3.0

This story was disturbing. It addresses peer pressure and hazing. I gave it three stars for tackling a difficult topic. The writing improved as the book went along. The characters were one-dimensional and stereotyped at the beginning, but Draper gave them more depth by the end of the book.

ironi's review

2.0

2.5 honestly but I'll round down for the use of the word straight.

Also, teachers who think this book is good for their students, please, don't. This book is one long cringe attack. The dialogues are absolutely horrible.

raethereviewer's review

5.0

Sharon Draper's books always hit that spot in me where I absolutely have to cry, especially near the end. My teacher had us read this book as a class, using the last ten to twenty minutes to read aloud as a group. Of course, when we hit the part about Josh and everything after that, along with the hysteria his parents were showing over the shock, I was just in the back of the room, trying to make my tears unnoticeable. Then, someone had to stare, causing others to stare but that's just what happens when I read Sharon Draper. I will admit that I was mortified that someone had to die for them to realize how it just wasn't worth it, but it did hit a lot of key points about peer pressure and hazing.

falconerreader's review

2.0

The writing felt clunky to me, the dialogue unnatural. I just read Mexican Whiteboy, which captured perfectly the speech patterns of teenagers. Battle of Jericho tries to do the same, but fails. This detracted a good deal from what could have been a dramatic book. The subtle twist with the foreshadowing of death was good, and frankly, it's nice to find a YA novel about African American kids that's not about their race. (Through that made the branding and other humiliation scenes extra creepy.) Of all the books in my department's bullying unit, this is one of the only ones I think we should pull. Kids may think differently--I'll see.