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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This is a book of three short novellas based on the characters from some of Crutcher's other books. All of these stories are about characters who are viewed a certain way by the people around them and are trying to live their lives in spite of that. I really liked all three stories but the one that stuck with me the most is Meet Me at the Gates, Marcus James. It was really well written and I couldn't help but feel bad for some the characters. I also liked the fact that Sarah Byrnes was included in this anthology because she is such an awesome character that think a lot of people can relate to in some way. I always think its somewhat hard to review anthologies so I'm just going to say that I think that fans of Chris Crutcher will enjoy this one as well. www.taysbookshelf.blogspot.com
Chris Crutcher speaks FOR young people better than anyone I know. He's honest about the pressures teenagers and other humans face, and he lets his characters SAY what's in their hearts...politically incorrect or not. Anyone who criticizes his characters' language need only walk through the halls of any high school and know his kids are authentic. I think often people attack his books because they, in their sheltered lives, have never seen the kind of pain he's seen, the kind of pain too many of our students face every day.
I loved the premise of this...take characters from different books and put them together...Sarah Byrnes and Angus! Brilliant! Two wounded souls who force honesty of each other. Montana from Sledding Hill, still battling her father, still raging, but now she has a mentor who teaches her how to really win. And Tara, beautiful fragile angry Tara. I think this is the story I connected with the most. Marcus and Matt try to find a place for themselves and their honesty and beliefs in a school that wants to deny them. they're fighting the same fight TJ Jones fought...
Yes, Crutcher has a vision of life, and sometimes it's a dark one. He remains a fierce advocate for young people and their promise. He's seen and heard things in his practice the rest of us would be horrified by. He accepts these children's stories (Nak begins and ends the book thinking about stories) and he makes us acknowledge the existence of horror in the lives of our chlidren, and evil in the hearts of the adults who are charged with their care.
I've always said every student is a story -- sometimes they'll tell us their story; often they don't. Kids tell Crutcher and he yells the stories to the rooftops. Whether we want to hear them or not.
I loved the premise of this...take characters from different books and put them together...Sarah Byrnes and Angus! Brilliant! Two wounded souls who force honesty of each other. Montana from Sledding Hill, still battling her father, still raging, but now she has a mentor who teaches her how to really win. And Tara, beautiful fragile angry Tara. I think this is the story I connected with the most. Marcus and Matt try to find a place for themselves and their honesty and beliefs in a school that wants to deny them. they're fighting the same fight TJ Jones fought...
Yes, Crutcher has a vision of life, and sometimes it's a dark one. He remains a fierce advocate for young people and their promise. He's seen and heard things in his practice the rest of us would be horrified by. He accepts these children's stories (Nak begins and ends the book thinking about stories) and he makes us acknowledge the existence of horror in the lives of our chlidren, and evil in the hearts of the adults who are charged with their care.
I've always said every student is a story -- sometimes they'll tell us their story; often they don't. Kids tell Crutcher and he yells the stories to the rooftops. Whether we want to hear them or not.
I didn't like this book much... it was sad and depressing, and I can usually live with those, but there wasn't any closure with the characters. It was three short novellas, and once one was done you never heard from the characters again. They all led sad lives and never found a resolution to their problems! I was not impressed, it was well written, but poorly thought out, in my opinion. I expected a lot more from Chris Crutcher
This isn't my favorite of Crutcher's books, but it was still moving. He recycles some of his characters, and it is fun to see them again. And it was short stories; those are never quite as good as a complete novel.
I got this book after looking through James Loewen's work on an American phenomenon that is rarely talked in media which are the Sundown Towns and what goes on in those places. This book was listed as one of the few pieces of literature that talked about them. Sundown towns were/are basically places where almost no people of color can live in due to white violence. The last story highlighted this in the story of Marcus James, a young promising African American who has to deal with white hostility in a supposedly post-Sundown town. The other stories were pretty good as well though the last one stands out.
The first and second story involved two unlikely couples coming together to weather the hostile atmosphere and make their own place in the world.
Sarah and Angus are able to find a way to be at peace when they receive backlash due to the way they look and their parents.
Montana West is able to get away from her controlling adoptive father and receive support from her boyfriend, Trey, and his grandmother as she fights to voice her political views.
Overall a pretty unique book that deserves more attention
The first and second story involved two unlikely couples coming together to weather the hostile atmosphere and make their own place in the world.
Sarah and Angus are able to find a way to be at peace when they receive backlash due to the way they look and their parents.
Montana West is able to get away from her controlling adoptive father and receive support from her boyfriend, Trey, and his grandmother as she fights to voice her political views.
Overall a pretty unique book that deserves more attention
194
I've been reading Chris Crutcher's books for over 10 years now. I've always loved his writing. This book is like three stories in one, incorporating some of his characters from past books. I wish I remembered them enough to make their stories a little more interesting.
The first two were okay reads, but could have benefited from being a story in themselves with a bit more plot. They seemed to short to really take off.
But the last one...wow! It was riveting, and I really never expected to run across glbtq themes with this author, so that was a nice little surprise. The chapter starting on page 194, told from the pov of Matt Miller, a level-headed Christian, about what is going on with one of his classmates, a openly gay black genius with a target on his back---I wanted to cheer and hug someone...so it was probably a good thing that I was alone at the time.
I had to reread the dustjacket to remind myself of the first two stories, the last one really blew them out of the water!
I've been reading Chris Crutcher's books for over 10 years now. I've always loved his writing. This book is like three stories in one, incorporating some of his characters from past books. I wish I remembered them enough to make their stories a little more interesting.
The first two were okay reads, but could have benefited from being a story in themselves with a bit more plot. They seemed to short to really take off.
But the last one...wow! It was riveting, and I really never expected to run across glbtq themes with this author, so that was a nice little surprise. The chapter starting on page 194, told from the pov of Matt Miller, a level-headed Christian, about what is going on with one of his classmates, a openly gay black genius with a target on his back---I wanted to cheer and hug someone...so it was probably a good thing that I was alone at the time.
I had to reread the dustjacket to remind myself of the first two stories, the last one really blew them out of the water!