Reviews

Dope Sick by Walter Dean Myers

itsabritt's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

chuskeyreads's review against another edition

3.0

Not one of my favorite WDM books, but I'd probably still recommend it to my students. I felt disconnected from the main character, Lil J, who is portrayed as a lying, drug-using thug with no redeeming qualities. Most of the book revolves around Lil J retelling bits and pieces of his past that led him to be on the run from the cops. What he learns is that it wasn't just one specific event but a combination misfortunes and missed opportunities that led him to become dope sick.

abaugher's review against another edition

5.0

walter dean myers, of course i loved it. short book with an amazing punch to it, and filled throughout with some serious thought-provoking questions. boy book, raw urban lit.

sydneystabler's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

samthestan's review against another edition

4.0

My teacher read this to us in the 7th grade, it's been 7 years and I still vividly remember sitting in the classroom. Listening to the teacher read. It was the first time I had been introduced to a book that wasn't a white guy pondering life, death and the cruelty of humanity. It was such an interesting read, that I still think about it, from time to time.

babiqurl95's review against another edition

2.0

its soooo slowww...

hcanizales's review against another edition

5.0

Great book. Have my juvenile clients read it to discuss choices & consequences

saidtheraina's review against another edition

2.0

I love my Walter Dean Myers. I think he's a great figure in YS lit. He even came to Lacey while I worked here (though before I was in YS). And I get the goal of this book. Running from the police, Lil J. gets stuck in an abandoned building with a guy who has a remote that can stop time. Lil J. is asked to look back on his life and decide when the pivotal moment was that he should go back and change in order to go in a different direction.
Kind of a cool concept, and a fairly unusual mix of magic realism with urban grit. But I felt like it was extremely transparent as a didactic moral story. Hopefully it would get through to the kids he's trying to talk to, but I feel like the story lesson was just way too obvious. Great reader, though.

wen320's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

annebennett1957's review against another edition

2.0

(Added note on 7/21/21) As much as I admire Walter Dean Myers I didn't care for this book at all and never recommended it to my students.