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wrentheblurry's review against another edition
4.0
GENRE: Nonfiction: Autobiography.
SUBJECT/THEMES: Drug use, drug smuggling, writing, journaling, prison, rehabilitation.
SUMMARY: Jack Gantos tells about a difficult period in his life. He made a poor decision after graduating to accompany a drug runner on a sailboat from St. Croix to New York City. Gantos was lured by the promise of money, $10,000 after he helped the other two involved men to sell off the thousands of pounds of hash. Gantos hoped he could do this, take his money, and then begin attending college in order to better pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He was caught by the federal authorities, shattering his plans. Gantos gives his personal account of prison life, and the unbelievable things he heard and saw while there.
EVALUATION: I like stories where people have overcome hardships or difficulties in their life to become someone they are proud to be. When the story is true instead of fictional, my satisfaction as a reader is further increased. Gantos told his story well. While I have no interest in drug smuggling or sailing (or going to prison), I enjoyed reading about these activities through the eyes of Gantos. I certainly sympathized for him, and I was pulling for him to succeed. He deserves to be a published writer, and I look forward to checking out some of his children’s books.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Jack Gantos is a good role model to those kids that may have made a mistake. They can learn that their life does not have to be over, for Gantos went through all this when he was just out of his teens. In the story, Gantos mentions how some convicted prisoners came to his high school to talk, in an effort to scare the teens into not breaking the law, and how laughable everyone found that visit. This book may help not only kids that have gone a bit off the straight tracks, but also those that are at-risk. It could prevent them from making a poor decision that will affect the rest of their life. Beyond that, Gantos is a fine writer, and the story is an involving, emotional one to read. Not to mention the vast amount of awards it has won.
SUBJECT/THEMES: Drug use, drug smuggling, writing, journaling, prison, rehabilitation.
SUMMARY: Jack Gantos tells about a difficult period in his life. He made a poor decision after graduating to accompany a drug runner on a sailboat from St. Croix to New York City. Gantos was lured by the promise of money, $10,000 after he helped the other two involved men to sell off the thousands of pounds of hash. Gantos hoped he could do this, take his money, and then begin attending college in order to better pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He was caught by the federal authorities, shattering his plans. Gantos gives his personal account of prison life, and the unbelievable things he heard and saw while there.
EVALUATION: I like stories where people have overcome hardships or difficulties in their life to become someone they are proud to be. When the story is true instead of fictional, my satisfaction as a reader is further increased. Gantos told his story well. While I have no interest in drug smuggling or sailing (or going to prison), I enjoyed reading about these activities through the eyes of Gantos. I certainly sympathized for him, and I was pulling for him to succeed. He deserves to be a published writer, and I look forward to checking out some of his children’s books.
WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Jack Gantos is a good role model to those kids that may have made a mistake. They can learn that their life does not have to be over, for Gantos went through all this when he was just out of his teens. In the story, Gantos mentions how some convicted prisoners came to his high school to talk, in an effort to scare the teens into not breaking the law, and how laughable everyone found that visit. This book may help not only kids that have gone a bit off the straight tracks, but also those that are at-risk. It could prevent them from making a poor decision that will affect the rest of their life. Beyond that, Gantos is a fine writer, and the story is an involving, emotional one to read. Not to mention the vast amount of awards it has won.
allysonbogie's review against another edition
4.0
Gantos got it right. I struggled with this rating because I couldn't put the book down once I got about halfway, but the beginning was just a little bit slow. It's the kind of book where I can tell my students "stick with it, it gets really interesting" but they'll have to take my word for it. Great book overall!
kraley's review against another edition
4.0
I read this for a book challenge that I'm doing. It is a YA book, but I couldn't recommend it to just anyone. This a very well-written account of this author's journey from high school to jail to becoming a writer. As this occurred in the 70's and he was arrested for smuggling, there is a lot of drug use in this book. There is also a little bit of language. The drug use was not glorified, but he does describe his highs and the culture he observed. There was a description of someone who was brutalized on his first night in prison. I loved that how even when in jail, he had to write. It was the only thread that was holding him together through all of these situations. I would recommend this to at-risk teens, writers, and to reluctant readers. It is honest and doesn't pull any punches. A good non-fiction selection.
lizzie04's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
Short, direct, and just the memoir I needed. Wasn’t expecting to relate to Gantos in the ways that I did, although I most certainly have not been busted by the FBI for drug trafficking (yet). This felt like a coming of age story with all the confusion and misdirection that comes with figuring out your life past high school, except it’s wild that this is a real account.
It was comforting to see someone’s scattering of ambitions turn into a concrete path, but only after learning some hard life lessons; in the sense that I feel I could make something of my own scattered ambitions.
It was comforting to see someone’s scattering of ambitions turn into a concrete path, but only after learning some hard life lessons; in the sense that I feel I could make something of my own scattered ambitions.
audreychamaine's review against another edition
3.0
Jack Gantos saw the signs. He went to school in a building that had formerly been a prison, and had even heard prisoners who came to school as a lesson to not be like them. His father warned him against crime. None of it helped though—Gantos still became a criminal and went to federal prison. Gantos tells the tale of his time as a high school graduate searching for his writer’s voice when he gets an offer to sail a ton of marijuana to New York City. Gantos describes how he was caught and what it was like to be in prison at the age of 20.
Gantos speaks honestly about his mistakes as a young man and what he learned. Readers should be aware of the sensitive subject matter dealing with drugs and prison violence. He also tells the story without preaching or becoming overly sentimental about his past. Since Gantos is a children’s book author, readers may not realize that this book is not appropriate for younger students. This book is a Printz Honor Book.
Gantos speaks honestly about his mistakes as a young man and what he learned. Readers should be aware of the sensitive subject matter dealing with drugs and prison violence. He also tells the story without preaching or becoming overly sentimental about his past. Since Gantos is a children’s book author, readers may not realize that this book is not appropriate for younger students. This book is a Printz Honor Book.
kmcneil's review against another edition
5.0
The compelling story of the author's final year in high school, his brushes with crime, and his subsequent incarceration. Gantos has written much about his early years with his eccentric family, and this more serious book picks up the tale as they moved to Puerto Rico during his junior year. He returned to Florida alone, living in a seedy motel while he finished high school and realized that his options for college weren't great. A failed drug deal cost him most of his savings and he joined his family, now in St. Croix, where he accepted an offer of $10,000 to help sail a boat full of hash to New York. He and his colleagues were caught, and as it turns out, he was in more trouble than he anticipated. Sent to federal prison for up to six years, Gantos landed a job in the hospital section, a post that protected him from his fellow inmates, yet allowed him to witness prison culture firsthand. Much of the action in this memoir-some of it quite raw and harsh-will be riveting to teen readers. However, the book's real strength lies in the window it gives into the mind of an adolescent without strong family support and living in the easy drug culture of the 1970s. Gantos looks for role models and guidance in the pages of the books he is reading, and his drive to be a writer and desire to go to college ultimately save him.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
reading_rachel's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed hearing Gantos's story on how a bad mistake led him to learn more about himself, and make himself more determined than ever. I will be book talking this next school year!
anowitzky's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the book. I thought it was funny and well written. I just wish...I don't know, maybe that there was MORE. I liked how he writes. He makes his story seem real, not exaggerated, but keeps it light and funny. I would definitely be interested in picking up some of his other books.