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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Finished the audiobook in less than twenty-four hours at 1.75 playback speed. Thank God. It helped that it was an interesting and engaging narrative, though I did listen to the last chapter while commuting, and therefore did briefly risk life and limb when the poem at the end of the book made me burst out BAWLING
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Jacques A: True Notebooks is one of the best books I read by far, I picked the book because it was telling the story of young teens and their point of views. True notebooks interested me a lot and it caught my attention even though it was not my first choice it was a better decision. I came across this book because of my junior English teacher. My teacher recommended this book to me because she had a feeling of what interested me due to the genre of books she saw that I chose. I like reading books that tells someone’s story or memories. I cannot say I can relate to True Notebooks, but it is a good book for teens that are striving to stay on the right path to read because it tells you the outcome if you do not.
It isn't that the writing was excellent in this one. I just really enjoyed the topic. Ever since high school, I desperately wanted to do something along these lines... volunteer in a juvenile hall. I still want to work with kids and teach them how to use writing as a survival tool. Anyone know of an opportunity like this on the South Shore of MA? Let me know.
This definitely isn't for all young adults, but I read it with a group of kids who had mostly been to juvenile hall themselves. They could see me as Mark Salzman, and themselves as the kids in the book. They cracked up when we read parts aloud, including the curse words.
I'd still say there is an undercurrent that this is mostly a book about a white writer going to juvenile hall to gather stories to write about. Some of the kids/students are pretty memorable, some have tragic stories to tell, and some could do something with their writing. Reading this book requires the right context, in some ways. I had a very clear parallel going on in my life, which made it more meaningful. I also had several built-in critics to read it with me and help me make heads and tails of it. A good read, though not for everyone.
I'd still say there is an undercurrent that this is mostly a book about a white writer going to juvenile hall to gather stories to write about. Some of the kids/students are pretty memorable, some have tragic stories to tell, and some could do something with their writing. Reading this book requires the right context, in some ways. I had a very clear parallel going on in my life, which made it more meaningful. I also had several built-in critics to read it with me and help me make heads and tails of it. A good read, though not for everyone.
A writer spends a year teaching a writing class in juvenile hall and gets himself caught up in the troubled lives of the boys he teaches. While I've never taught someone who was convicted of murder, the life stories of these boys are not shocking to me at all. The charm, spirit, and beauty the boys carry with them is also not shocking to me at all. I think this book may be intended for people who do not have much contact with urban youth culture and who may hold some prejudices against them. This book could change their opinion. Embedded in the story is also the argument that juveniles should not be tried as adults. The documentary narrated by Mos Def and Mark Wahlberg called "Juvies" makes the same case in a more poignant and succinct way.
Wow. What an experience. Salzman was in the middle of a novel and stuck in writers block. A friend suggested he come to Central Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles to observe a writing class with youth inmates. After one class Salzman decided to start teaching his own with unit K/L - the murderers awaiting their trials and sentencing. What came out of it was this book sharing Salzman's experiences with the boys and their own writings about a myriad of topics that will surprise most people. A warning: if you can't handle coarse language then you shouldn't read this book. Salzman recounts his exchanges with the boys and staff and holds nothing back, the language is bad. But in order to accurately share this story he had to keep it real.
This was a great read. Salzman's experiences with Central Juvenile Hall, both staff and youth, will give the reader some insight into what has happened to the teenagers of our time.
This was a great read. Salzman's experiences with Central Juvenile Hall, both staff and youth, will give the reader some insight into what has happened to the teenagers of our time.
I think that everyone should read this book. The author tells these boys' stories so well that I felt he was in invisible intermediary for helping me get to know them. Prison wastes so many talented lives, and this story is a testament to a few of them. It should never be too late for someone to turn his life around. This is the story of real boys, their talents and personalities, and how the system is working against them. This book is so much more powerful than any generalizations or arguments for reforming how we deal with troubled youth.
This nonfiction book is about Salzman's time teaching creative writing to hardcore juvenile offenders (ganbangers in for murder, mostly). I really enjoyed it.