Boys Books

I absolutely adored this book. The story of Sam is amazing, compelling, and most of all, humbling. Since reading it four years ago, I have found myself looking more for the good things of life instead of finding tiny, unimportant details to criticize. In that, I can truly say this book was life-changing for me. Sam, wherever you are, I hope that you are well and happy. You are a role model for us all with your courage and point of view!

This book is an excellent reading assignment for a student who thinks they want to be a doctor, especially a pediatrician or surgeon. It is a good choice to use in differentiating the curriculum for a gifted student in a regular health occupations classroom. My students enjoyed it very much.

This is the extraordinary story of Sam Lightner, a boy who showed me more about beauty and courage than anyone I've ever known. He has the toughness and persistence of any *ten* adults, and his parents and brother and sister are simply angels. The author's top-notch reporting and soulful writing make for an enlightening read.

I'm usually more of a "library rat" than a book buyer, but this is one book I'm adding to my personal collection. Read Sam's amazing story, and pass it on to your family and friends.

This story will touch your heart in an incredibe way! The author reaches inside you and grabs your heart, in order to take you from the day of his birth, when Sam's problems started, though his recovery process, after his surgery. The book is so well written and it invites you to view Sam's experiences in an up-close and personal way. If you want to learn about what life really means, or if you have a teenager that feels self-conscious, read this. This book makes you realize that inspiration can come from anywhere and that you should count your blessings and be happy for what God has given you. Learn from Sam and live.

Sam Lightner was born with a horribly deforming vascular tumor on the left side of his face that was so disfiguring and otherworldly that an adult at a Halloween party complimented for his marvelous costume. This is the kind of situation that Sam has lived with since he was an infant - the stares, the laughter, the shock, the misunderstandings. If any story teaches the lesson of appreciating a person's heart rather than his appearance, it is this one.

Sam was born with a large vascular tumor on the left side of his place that progressively compromised not only his appearance but also his basic vital functions including breathing and eating. It took a few courageous physicians to treat his condition. Drs. Marler and Mulleken at Boston Children's and Dr. Wehby in Portland are a few of the doctors that enabled Sam to have a fighting chance. What makes this book such a compelling read is not only the heroics of Sam's physicians but the courage of Sam and his family. Hallman delivers Sam's struggle to fit in with such an emotional impact that I had to quit reading the book in parts to take a breather. Sam's family is portrayed as truly remarkable, and their handling of Sam's problems is a lesson to be learned by all.

Unfortunately, the book leaves us hanging (not the author's fault) because Sam's story is not finished. He most likely will undergo further plastic surgery to shape his face, and he may undergo additional operations if his tumor returns.

Hopefully, this book can teach us a little about how to give respect to those like Sam who need support rather than the stares we often give them.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R6TG7VV1THM93

Having just finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I looked forward to reading a different kind of story about a boy and his dog. This slim volume speaks chapters and volumes about the power of love we can bring to others by giving them a second chance, whether they are orphan boys or dogs in an animal shelter waiting for adoption. Although most of the book comes from a dog's perspective, the love that Ms. Gerencher has for other people and animals comes through the strongest. It's a love that should inspire us all.

This book will be heart-warming reading for any child who has been adopted. In addition, any child who is autistic will feel affirmed by what Ms. Gerencher has to say. Finally, anyone who has thought about adopting a pet from a shelter will realize the full humanity of making that choice.

If you know a youngster who is about 7-10 years old who needs to count his or her blessings, this is a good book to buy as a gift. It will mean the most, however, if you read it aloud to the youngster the first time so you can convey the full emotion in the book.

I especially liked the interior illustrations which are more attractive than the cover one and show a sensitive approach to impressionistic ways of capturing the universal.

Buy this book and enjoy!

I did the artwork for the cover on this book before I'd even read the story. When the publisher sent me a copy of the finished product, I took it upon myself to give the whole book a good read. I was delighted! Not only does the story tug at your heart.... and make you wish you could be equally giving in your own life .... the blurred photographic images throughout the book seem like wonderful watercolors! As the adoptive parent to several canines and felines myself, I can safely say that Ms. Gerencher is just the kind of person I want to be associated with. Her heart is truly in the right place. Bravo!

Second Chance is a wonderful little book that accomplishes a great deal in a relatively small number of warm and wonderfully illustrated pages. First and foremost, it explains adoption in terms that any child can understand - and it does so in an interesting way, via the point of view of Chance, a shelter dog rescued by the author and brought home to live with her, her son, and their three other dogs. The lady keeps talking about adoption, but Chance doesn't understand what that means, nor does he understand what the lady means by his getting a second chance.

Like Chance, Ryan was also adopted, but there is something special about Ryan - he has autism and several related disorders. That doesn't bother Chance at all; in fact, he relates more to this little boy than he does to his new Pomeranian brothers and sister (who aren't as quick to welcome a large, energetic puppy into their lives). In fact, it is Ryan who helps Chance learn just what adoption means. The boy may have bounced around between foster homes rather than being caged up in a shelter, but Chance recognizes how similar their situations were - and he is thrilled to learn that he now has a permanent home with a family who will always love him and take care of him. Adoption, as Ryan tells him, means to be loved forever.

The most telling part of this whole story is the communication between Chance and Ryan. The boy's autism makes communication with other people problematic, yet he can understand Chance just fine. He even looks Chance in the eye when he talks to him - in complete sentences, no less - which is something he never does when talking to humans. This bond formed between Chance and Ryan obviously proves mutually beneficial to them both - and is the very heart of the book.

Chance's early impressions of Ryan (such as his penchant for chewing on his collar) are likely quite similar to a child's first reaction to such a special needs child. That being the case, this book definitely has the potential to help children understand and interact more easily with any friends or family members who have special needs. This is by no means a primer on the nature of autism, but the book does provide a degree of insight into the nature of the condition.

Sandra J. Gerencher's story is as heart-warming as it is instructive, largely because Second Chance is the author's own story - more specifically, the story of the unique bond between her own adopted son Terry (who was born with Fragile X Syndrome) and her rescued shelter dog Chance. The warm and fuzzy watercolor photos that fill each page are of her real-life family of boy and dogs, each one of which was given the gift of a second chance for a happy and healthy life by this caring woman. Having worked with special needs children and adults for over 20 years, Gerencher knows the unique qualities such children have to offer. She also knows the joys that innocent dogs rescued from high-kill animal shelters bring to people's lives. The publication of Second Chance is really just an extension to the important advocacy work Sandra Gerencher has been doing throughout her adult life.

Sandra J. Gerencher addresses many issues in her well-written, entertaining, informative book SECOND CHANCE. Not only is this a tale that deserves wide attention among proponents of animal shelters and readers seeking a degree of understanding of autism, it also stands alone as a beautifully illustrated (by Virginia Cody) book for informing children about the concept of adoption. For this reader this book is one of the finest explanations for sharing the meaning of adoption with youngsters - a definite assist to parents who adopt and are searching for the best way to discuss the topic with their family.

But Gerencher goes further than the usual author of books for children by engaging the reader using a dog's view of the process. The warmly human 'lady' of the story goes to the animal shelter, adopts a German Shepherd/Rottweiler pup that is seemingly unwanted, and takes the pup 'Chance' home - adopting (a strange word to the narrator Chance) yet another animal for her houseful of Pomeranians. The manner in which Chance interacts with his new 'brothers' as well as his bonding with the lady's adopted autistic son Ryan offers the crux of the story, a story that explains the nurturing and care and sense of family that occurs with the concept of the term 'adoption'.

In Gerencher's gently elegant style of writing the story avoids being maudlin and instead focuses on the wisdom of both animals and humans in exploring, understanding and integrating Adoption as a means of illustrating an extended family, or in other words a `second chance' at life. And by electing to set the typeface of the narration superimposed on the beautifully realized watercolor-like manipulated photography of each of the dogs and the boy, this book becomes an art piece as well. As with other authors who offer subtitles to their books, Gerencher opens her fountain of knowledge and experience in her addressed fields by adding the subtitle 'How Adoption Saved A Boy With Autism and His Shelter Dog'. This book is a fine achievement in literature, in children's books, and in teaching resources for every reader, no matter the age. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 08

I enjoyed reading this book. It was pretty fun, adventurous, and mysterious. Like many of the other Hardy Boys books, it is fun and exciting and it is hard to put the book down after a few chapters.There is always something suprising at the end of each chapter. When I tell myself to read just one chapter, I end up reading the whole book instead! I think this book may be one of my favorite books in the whole Hardy Boys Series.I enjoyed this book mostly because it is pretty humorous in some parts when Frank and Joe trick Chet. Overall, I really enjoyed reading the book.

This book was the best in the series. I have most of the hardy boys books. I love reading them. They are so exciting to read. I read one chapter a night before I went to bed and I couldn't put it down it's so exciting to read these books. My favorite part in the book was when they kept finding skulls on the ground, and in caverns and crevices. I would recomend this book to a person who likes mystery.

Bayport is suffering a water shortage due to water from a newly constructed reservoir mysteriously disappearing at night. Deciding to take on this 'mystery' for a bit of fun, Frank and Joe Hardy along with their best friend Chet, soon find themselves the target of a sequence of deadly attacks to get them off the case.

You might find the writing style of the book a bit dated due to the age of the novel, but you will soon get 'sucked in' to the story disregarding the 'cornyness' of the style. It follows the basic layout of a Hardy Boy story, the most noticable being the case they are working on has something to do with the case their famous detective father, Fenton Hardy, is also working on in Chicago. Great for young readers and nostalgic value. RECOMMENDED TO ALL!!!

This review concerns the original 1948 edition and the revised 1966 edition. The revised edition follows the plot of the original and only had some events cut to eliminate some pages. Bayport is facing a water shortage when the newly constructed reservoir on Skull Mountain will not fill with water. The funny thing is that the water level in the reservoir rises during the day, but then it falls again at night. Frank, Joe and Chet camp out on Skull Mountain with two engineers to try to solve the mystery. Both editions are really great books; the original is well-written (the revised edition lost much of the rich language of the original, for that reason I'd rate it 4 stars), both have lots of interesting characters, a lot of action and an intriguing mystery. This book is what the series needed to get back on track following the extremely disappointing "The Phantom Freighter". Both books are really good; although, if possible, I'd recommend reading the original. I can't think that any Hardy Boys fan would find either of these books boring.

After several of the previous books in this series were somewhat disappointing, this book was a welcome improvement. The author paced the action better and formulated the mystery better than in the books just prior to this book. While I rated this book at four stars, when I compare this book with other books in the series I think it is one of the better books in this series.

Frank and Joe Hardy become involved in a mystery surrounding a new reservoir for Bayport. The reservoir is complete, but the water level is not rising. To be more specific, the water level rises during the daytime, but then drops during the night. If authorities are unable to solve the mystery, Bayport may soon be out of water.

Some of the Hardy Boys mysteries are very convoluted and complicated. This story has a much simpler, focused story. The story still has multiple facets, but everything revolves around why the reservoir will not fill. Because the story has focus, it is easier to follow, and I think it is also more interesting. I also think that because of the focus, the main story line has more detail than many of the previous books in this series, particularly those with multiple overlapping mysteries that the author often explains minimally.

This story also has fewer science elements, which many of the previous books handle poorly. This story focuses on the mystery and uses as little science as possible to establish the story and the mystery. Because of the focus and the minimal reliance on science, this story is easier to read and easier to believe. Because the author focused this story more tightly focused than previous stories, it is also more enjoyable. I look forward to the next mysteries in this series to see if the author maintained the quality of the story line exhibited by this book.

The Hardy Boys series is recommended for ages 8 to 12 because the series is relatively tame for the previous target audience of ages 10 to 14. However, the series still contains some interesting moments and will keep most readers guessing the answers to the mysteries until the final solution is revealed.

I have a 16 year old son whom I thought hated reading. Couldn't for the life of me, get him to pick up a book, UNTIL.... "Spanking Shakespeare". What a surprise! (I had him promise to read one book this summer, so he acquiesced). What a surprise1! He could not stop reading this book. He absolutely loved it! His comments were that it was funny, well written and addressed teen issues so it was very relatable. Now he wats the whole family to read it so we could have a book discusion. ALSO,he wants to find other books that have the same parameters, so he could continue to READ!! Thank you Jake Wizner for inspiring my teen to read!!

Shakespeare Shapiro is in his senior year of high school. His best friend keeps a journal of his bowel movements, and Shakespeare has to spend his senior year writing his memoir when what he'd really like to do is just get a girlfriend. This book follows Shakespeare through his senior year and the writing of his memoir.

I really liked this book. It was funny and also contained some serious parts. It reminded me a bit of Gordon Korman's writing, but for a slightly more mature audience. Highly recommended.

this is an extremely creative and fun young adult book about a 17 year-old guy who is very gifted at writing, but not much else. he's struggling through his senior year in a creative writing program where he has to write a memoir about his life. so the chapters in the book jump back and forth between his actual memoir chapters and his reflections about them and life.

that said, it's another one of the YA (young adult) books that are a good read, but would be difficult for me to recommend to actual teenagers, due to its obsession with masturbation, sex, drug-use and alcohol, and other (very real) stuff. not that i'm a prude who thinks kids should only read christianized (read: sanitized) fiction with falsely scrubbed kids having bible studies.

seeing the author's bio, and that he teaches 8th grade english as his day job, i was instantly a fan. but i kept thinking, as i read, that his book would be somewhat over-the-line for the kids he teaches (let alone the parents of those kids!).

Shakespeare Shapiro hates his name. It is one in a long line of things that his parents have done to make his life miserable. The rest of his life isn't going very well either. Shakespeare actually describes his life as a series of catastrophes. Now he is beginning his senior in high school, has never kissed a girl, and has only made two friends. His younger brother, Gandhi, is popular and has a girlfriend. And his parents, well, they are a unique force to be reckoned with.

Now that he is in the twelfth grade, Shakespeare has to do his school's senior project; write a memoir about his life so far. The good news is that Shakespeare is a skillful writer. The bad? How truthful would you want to be if your life was made up of mortifying, embarrassing moments?

In addition to his memoir, Shakespeare is also dealing with the usual high school issues: girls (or a lack of them), sex (or a lack of it), popularity (again--a lack of it), and family. And now his two best friends, Neil and Katie, are hooking up.

SPANKING SHAKESPEARE is a hilariously funny look at the life of a very unique teenage boy. It is written in a dual style; a narrative of Shakespeare's everyday life combined with chapters from his memoir. Author Jake Wizner takes readers through the life of one of the smartest and funniest characters in young adult fiction today. SPANKING
SHAKESPEARE will have you laughing out loud.

Reviewed by: JodiG.

Our 16- and 14-year-olds, who are very big readers, loved this book. These readers, who between them read over 150 books per year, called this "one of the best books" they've read.

This book had a lot of variety in the exercises, and I liked it enough to buy it.

This book is excellent! I'm using almost on a daily basis. I would highly recommend it.

This book arrived immediately and was in great shape. (Now it's my turn to get in great shape. haha) Thanks for the wonderful service.

This exercise book is comprehensive. It has a good variety for novice, skilled and master levels. These exercises can be done at home or a gym!

I am so glad I started with the book before moving on to the DVD. I was able to learn all the exercises and keep up with the DVD better than I otherwise would have. After two weeks with this book, I felt more limber and like I was really doing something good for me. After two months people started to notice-- I was toning up. These exercises really work for quick results-- and it's not too big of a time commitment. I'm working out with Minna Lessig 20 to 30 minutes a day, 5 times week. After 10 months, I can definately say I love the improvement it's made.

After all that trouble at Christmas, the hatford boys make a new year's resolution to treat the malloy girls like sisters. But who says you have to be nice to sisters? The girls will need to stay one step ahead of the boys, and their willing to pay bigtime for advance information. Homemade cookies should be all it takes to make a traitor spill the beans.
Caroline's horrified about sharing her birthday with her enemy, Wally Hatford. But she's thrilled with her role in the town play. Don't ask how Beth, Wally, and Josh get roped into it-just wait until show time when Caroline pulls her wildest stunt yet!

I happened upon Ms. Naylor's books through a book club and the titles sounded interesting. After reading the first 4 books aloud to my fourth grade students, I just had to buy this 5th book online! The pranks that the kids do to each other in this book continue to be filled with imagination. Thankfully, no one gets hurt because no serious harm is ever committed. If you want to understand pre-teens, this series is one to purchase!

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is one of my favorite Authors, I adore the Alice series and I enjoy this series as well. But I think that there should be more girl guy relationships going on here if you know what I mean...Anyways I recommend this series and any other Phyllis Reynolds Naylor book because she truely is one of the only amazing authors who writes stories that teens and children can relate to. If you haven't read any of her works of genius than I suggest you start with this series...

I happened upon Ms. Naylor's books through a book club and the titles sounded interesting. After reading the first 4 books aloud to my fourth grade students, I just had to buy this 6th book online! The pranks that the kids do to each other in this book continue to be filled with imagination. Thankfully, no one gets hurt because no serious harm is ever committed. If you want to understand pre-teens, this series is one to purchase!

The Hatford boys said they would treat them like sisters, but who said you have to be nice to sisters? The Hatford boys play many tricks on the Malloy girls, but they do not work why? The girls no what is coming. How do they no cookies and brownies do the trick. Caroline the actress of the Malloy family gets to be in a play. But so thing happens. A blizzard comes and the boys and girls are alon together worring about there parents. In this book you will not no what is coming next. That is why I call it the best book of the Millenium.

This is an inspiring and compelling story of two women, Elizabeth and Kaki, who moved into a multiracial community in Philadelphia in order to improve the lives of those living there. As they embarked on this unique and moving journey, they were forced to confront their own personal issues, motivations and philosophies.
The author, Elizabeth, has constructed a beautifully written memoir detailing the joys and difficulties of meshing two cultures in on household. Tahija and Lamar, both young teenagers from dysfunctional families were invited to live with Elizabeth and Kaki before and after they gave birth to triplet boys. However, the author and her partner soon found themselves dealing with young parents whose entire methods and beliefs about parenting were vastly different and foreign from theirs. Only by learning to understand, confront and accept these difference while establishing necessary boundaries, were Elizabeth and Kaki able to hold the household together. It is a tale of love, and the accompanying compromises that has much to teach us all. The book also brings the reader into a world of racism, poverty, drugs, alcohol addiction and mental illness detailing both the harsh realities and the desire of all to protect the young, vulnerable boys. Although the families eventually separated and moved on, their mutual love, concern and support continues to evolve and grow.
This book is a must read for anyone in our everchanging culuture, particularly for those who have or care for children of any age. It has challenged me to relfect on and question my own attitides and judgements. Although I consider myself a liberal, it has forced me to think about how much I truly understand about other cultures or other people who hold different beliefs and engage in different life-styles,and how I would handle myself in a similar situation. The two women mentored this family deserve tremendous credit for their devotion and persistence in helping Tahija, Lamar and their three boys survive, develop and grow. I thank Elizabeth for sharing her story.

"Walk with Us" by Elizabeth K. Gordon is an important true story about what happens when two middle-aged white women, two inner-city African-American teenagers, along with their triplet sons, all come together as one big family. Kathryn (Elizabeth), Kaki, Tahija, Lamarr and the triplets, along with many other people, learn how to get along with each other despite obstacles and challenges that could easily separate them. There are many obvious differences between the individuals -- race, religion, age, economic class, sexual orientation, etc. -- but there are also many commonalities. Rather than just emphasizing "otherness," the author addresses issues that motivate readers from all backgrounds to make connections between their own experiences and the issues that are presented in the book. In telling her own story, the author establishes the universality of the human experience. Because the United States today is a nation composed of people from all over the world, with diverse religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds, it would be impossible to describe a "typical American." It would also be unrealistic to stereotype a single, homeless, Muslim, African-American, teenage mother like Tahija. She is an independent young woman who is determined to make a life for herself and her family, despite her troubled background. In this book the reader is encouraged to explore -- from different points of view -- issues common to many different people who live in the United States and beyond. The stories from the book also remind us of the diversity in American society. It reminds us to be sensitive to the experiences of all Americans. As a transplanted Philadelphian, Kathryn learns that the experience of growing up can differ from one part of the country to another, from one ethnic/racial group to another, and from one era to another. Tahija and Lamarr's experiences growing up are dramatically different from Kathyrn and Kaki's experiences. Kathryn discusses her awareness of these differences and how she is shaped by it. The idea of family and identity is also explored by the author. The traditional nuclear family is getting harder to find today. Instead, new patterns are developing -- patterns which reflect changing attitudes about what defines a "family." Gordon also discusses the use of language and how it not only gives us the means to express our thoughts, but it also shapes the way we think and the way we look at the world around us. Kathryn and Tahija both speak English but they don't always speak the same language. That's what happens in a family sometimes, isn't it?

Elizabeth Gordon invites readers into a world of self examination, the kind needed to recognize and solve problems in human relationships, especially those tainted by racial stereotypes and cultural divide. Walking with Gordon and her make-shift family is a trip to a literary candy shop set on the deteriorating concrete steps of despair. I really enjoyed agonizing, laughing, and learning and yearning with this family. The book is a first course offering for young, old, Black, White, blessed and cursed. Don't pass it up!

In this little miracle of a book WALK WITH US Elizabeth K. Gordon has managed to tell a story that encompasses or addresses many social problems, problems with our health care system, problems facing minority groups such as African Americans, Muslims, Lesbians, Quakers, et al, problems with teenage pregnancies, and universal problems of human relationships. The story she relates is true, is sometimes harsh to read as it exposes thorny problems, is one that vividly depicts life in the ghetto areas of all of our cities. It is also a story so powerfully told that it brings light to dark realities and results in an appreciation of the importance of understanding and acceptance of the many differences among the people that make up this country.

The full title of the book tells the basic story: the author and her partner Kaki are a happily adjusted Quaker couple who happen upon a fifteen year old pregnant African American Muslim girl Tahija and her boyfriend Lamaar, and out of genuine caring and generosity befriend the homeless girl (and family!), adapting their life style to the traditions and quirks of their guests, accompanying Tahija through her pregnancy of triplets, and the aftermath of conflicts of life style and philosophy of child rearing. But that is only a brief outline of what this book is about. Gordon weaves her story with the flavor of the poorer Philadelphia neighborhood populace, a neighborhood comprised of every minority group imaginable, finds the languages that without condescension make the story flow in an unbiased, very realistic manner, and almost casually and inadvertently opens windows of understanding without preaching but with her gift for recording sensitive issues in an open and nonjudgmental manner.

Given the story is one so interesting and involving that once the reader begins this book, putting it down before discovering the interesting conclusion approaches the impossible, the overwhelming impression at book's end is the brilliance with which Elizabeth K. Gordon writes! This is an important writer, one with skills so polished that she makes every brief chapter a rhapsody. Her 'Introduction' alone reads like an epic poem. She is able to plainly draw from personal experiences that reveal her own beliefs: 'We're together. It echoed back from some hillside of intuition within me. It felt, as Quakers say, rightly ordered'. Her observations of events come from the heart: 'Tahija Ellison was about as far from humble and grateful as you get without leaving the solar system. She was a bane to residents, nurses, and doctors alike. She was an arrogant, selfish, ill-tempered adolescent. To share my house, my money, my time, my best friend and lover with this ornery stranger, this pretentious child, this hurt and angry woman so in need herself of mothering, who carelessly and without means to support them was bringing three innocent lives into the world...' It is with this degree of honesty that makes the transcendence of this story more moving and more completely credible.

The obvious 'lesson' behind WALK WITH US is message of co-habitation of all peoples of this country. And not simply co-habitation but acceptance of differences and likenesses that connect us as fellow citizens in this country wholly comprised of Immigrants, whether historic or current. With the recent election breathing hope (an in some places continued despair as in California's voter response to human rights) this is a timely book to read just now. But it is such a beautifully written book that it will remain on the shelves reserved for frequently re-read books for many years. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 08

"Walk with Us" is a deeply moving true story about a white middle-aged woman, her partner Kaki, and their commitment to Tahija, a pregnant African American adolescent. We are introduced to Tahija through Lamarr, Tahija's boyfriend and the father of the triplets they are expecting. He had asked Kaki if she she'd let Tahija move into her home until the babies' were delivered, because Tahija's mother was in rehab at the time and she needed a place to live.
Gordon walks us through the streets of Philadelphia, and the affect racism has upon each member of this newly constructed family. While Elizabeth and Kaki let us in on their struggle with the bazaar chain of privilege their whiteness has assured them, Tahija gives us an intimate view of the world that she, as a young Muslim woman of color, inhabits. Given their hertories few of us can be surprised at the vast differences between them.
As a result of Gordon's character the sensitivity and strengths of each individual in "Walk with Us" is remarkable. The constant thrust of obstacles set before them is heartbreaking. The birth of the triplets leave you in the midst of the most fragile and often troubling conflicts known to pose problems between parents and caregivers. For ex: How does one let a mom be a mom with minimal judgment or interference from other household members? How does one respect a very young mother who is still growing-up, her need for boundaries and her right to mature in her own time when you are certain that her inexperience and troubles may be hurtful to her children? Those are some of the questions Elizabeth must ask herself. And letting one's conscience be her guide may not be enough in this situation for there are multi-cultural considerations to be made as well.
Elizabeth and her partner often pause to be sure they are not crossing lines that include imposing racist norms and assumptions about their power on Tahija, Lamarr and their own family values. However, natural differences between the wisdom of one's elders and the naivete of the young must also be considered while the urgent care needed for the triplet's leaves very little time to draw lines between right and wrong. And when in doubt about boundaries, Tahija makes it clear to them that they need to step back and follow her lead! Make no mistake, these are her babies. Her children will be raised to be strong enough to face a world that will go out of its way to harm them and no one knows that better than Tahija. Why? They are of color.
Tahija is convinced that one strengthens their babies by resisting the urge to come to their aid when they cry. Just as she is convinced she must prepare them for poverty by feeding them less no matter how hungry they are. Exactly what kind of stress is Tahija dealing with? Are the accumulative pains of poverty, rejection, fear and depression a mental health problem that she may need treatment for or a staple affirming her capacity to endure extreme deprivation that must be handed down to her boys'? And will these concerns wipe out the good times? There are good times. There is also a lot of love between Tahija, her mother and other family members too. So, we often wonder where they are.
In "Walk with Us" everyone, including the reader, is called upon to question their own motives and prejudices.
Tahija and Gordon's honesty leaves us receptive if not longing for resolutions and even happiness for the children and the adults who love them. Yet we would suspect the changes they must undergo together, will lead them further into the complexities of adulthood, the inevitability of disappointments and the rigorous demands of cross-genernational family life and they do.
Ms. Gordon's writing leaves no stone unturned. Once you finish reading "Walk with Us" you realize that you have come to know Tahija as daughter, as mother, as partner and writer. You have also come to know Lamarr as brother, as father, as son and partner. The triplets are sweethearts. Kaki is kind. The love and respect she and Elizabeth have for one another which they so freely share with others is courageous. You also realize that the department of social services continues to be as flawed
as the spirituality of Tahija, Elixabeth and Kaki is inspired.
"Walk with Us" is a gift for you and a gift for others. Open it up and let the healing begin.

The author is a schoolmate of Bernard Cardinal Law, and so am I. Consequently, I found Jack Fritscher's novel to be as much memoir as fiction, as I was also a student at the Pontifical College Josephinum with both Law and Fritscher, and found the fictive parallels to my memories to be evocative of how we as young seminarians were taught and trained "to be pure and avoid scandal at all costs." That, I suggest, is the innocent essence of the secrecy the media now calls "cover-up." Don't all groups--from firemen and cops to Marines--close ranks around their own?

If one is at all analytical, one thinks that this "scandal of priest sexual abuse and priest molestation"--driven by media terribly hungry to fill 24/7 programming--is just another part of the fundamentalist religious war to destroy Western Civilization: i.e. Christianity, and Christianity's oldest bastion, Roman Catholicism.

At any rate, Fritscher's novel, despite its media-juicy title, is a gentle, yet eye-popping read about the rigors of seminary life as lived by the thousands of young men recruited by the Catholic Church in the 1950's. His insight lights up the seminary culture that produced the priests of a certain age who now stand--rightly and wrongly--accused.

The story is human, engaging, and quite literary, and never exploitative or graphically embarrassing even when confronting a variety of behavior including a Jesuit spiritual director distributing prescription drugs--without a prescription--to depressed seminarians at the fictive "Misericordia Seminary."

Actually, the novel is a credit to both the PCJ and to Monsignor Leonard J. Fick who was, apparently, so much a mentor to Fritscher that he dedicates the book to Msgr. Fick. (Anyone conjecturing about the seminary culture of Bernard Law's life might well enjoy this parallax story.)

What a good writer! What an entertaining book! One suspects Fritscher kept notes hidden under his bed, because he remembers minutiae I had long ago forgotten, but--reminded by this wonderful book--remember, with nostalgia, as true.

I think a "novel" like this--better than can nonfiction--brings out a truth of how we young seminarians were trained, particularly by priests who, as returning veterans of World War II, set very high standards for priestly masculinity in the adolescent world of young seminarians. Those standards' inherent flaw froze many an adolescent emotional life at 14-years-of-age, perhaps later causing some of them to seek others also at 14-years-old. Author Fritscher even writes, "What happens to a boy when he is 14, marks him for life." If this novel, which is never about the obvious, is at all autobiographical in its experiences, what a wonderful life for an author to have led!

In the "National Catholic Reporter," I found this novel, "What They Did to the Kid," which is what these days Hollywood might call a "pre-quel." Actually, a couple years ago I read a really DEFINITIVE post-seminary novel titled "Some Dance to Remember" and I thought of it because all the characters have the same names as the characters in "What They Did to the Kid."

Putting two and two together with the author's name, I did a search and was able to easily put together the continuing adventures of a seminarian--but not only what happened IN the seminary, but also what happened to him AFTER the seminary, in the real world, because of--BECAUSE OF--what happened to him in the seminary, and who he became in and after the seminary that itself as an institution put an INDELIBLE MARK on his soul. (The sequel was published first.)

All of us who were seminarians, have life after the seminary. "Some Dance to Remember" is the LIFE AFTER THE SEMINARY of Ryan O'Hara in "What They Did to the Kid."

Both books are perfectly well written, intellectually defensible, and worth reading for fun as well as insight, and they certainly throw light on the PSYCHOLOGY of how we boys got to the seminary, lived in the seminary corridors, and then went out into the big wide world where people always forever after summed us up as ex-seminarians--as if that explained us! Which maybe it does?

Two good HUMANIST novels--if you like to compare the INTERNAL QUEST of the first volume of "What They Did to the Kid" to the EXTERNAL WORLDLINESS of the second volume, "Some Dance to Remember." Priest-psychologists like the late Reverend Roger Radloff could have written expert JUNGIAN analyses of the psychological sweep of these 2 Catholic-driven novels.

The pre-quel/sequel Hollywood reference also works in that the style in both novels is so CINEMATIC you can "see" what's going on. I'm always interested in books--few and far between as they are--about the seminary life and post-seminary life of seminarians and priests, because it's always with me...like an indelible mark on my soul.

Inside the priest factory.
The media continues, even today, to be full of news of priest molestation of and priest abuse of children. I found this novel, "What They Did," to be amazing because it is totally insightful as to how and why Catholic seminarians had their psycho-sexual development stunted by the corporate institution of the the Church vis a vis seminary education.
The poor boy who narrates this story is a lost boy. Not one priest comes forward to help him. Not one priest comes forward to educate him or help him mature. This central character is typical of the priests who psycho-sexually remain young teens all their lives--with the attendant teenage emotional problems.
By the last page, I wanted to hold this suffering priest-boy in my arms. The last operatic scene says everything about the lonely isolation of the priesthood and celibacy. This book is entertaining, sometimes lyrical and mystical in the Catholic sense (which means Freud would find it interesting!), but definitely eye-opening regarding the abuse of young seminarians. Highly recommended if you want to see inside the priest factory!

I agree with some of these reviews. Well written coming-of-age story. A psychologist or psychiatrist could picnic on this powerful little book that tells the truth close to the way my brother the priest, and I (the former seminarian) both agree we remember it.

This novel of a repressed boy who wants to give his all to Christ is almost a case study, and all one needs to know, about why the Church needs to understand the recent charges about priest pederasty as a wake-up call for the Church's larger need to update itself on the whole, huge, complicated front of modern sexuality: priests'celibacy, women's issues of sex and abortion, couples' issues, homosexuals' souls, etc. etc.

The author manages to tell about Church abuse of seminarians (the future priests) which is a far more complicated psychological abuse than the sexual. What little sex there is, is dramatically (and historically) important, and is handled in an understated way that the most chaste reader could handle.

Bravo. Bravissimo!

Amazing. I thought I was reading a youthful journal written by my husband who has told me nearly everything about his seminary experience. In the light of the on-going church scandal regarding problems of sexuality, I found this novel to be really rather gentle and respectful--as well as insightful--of the human experience of boys' being locked away in a seminary.

Author Fritscher who obviously knows the territory about which he writes could have exploited the media controversy, but he seems to be a humane artist who chose not to do so. I appreciated being able to read about the secrecy of seminaries without being offended by overt sex or by the anti-Catholicism that fuels much of the media.

My husband seconded my opinion, and we both genuinely enjoyed the book just as a story. I learned things. My husband remembered things long forgotten. The book gave us some lively discussions.

Mr. McDonald offers a grounded, intelligent snapshot of life on Wall Street and beyond, peopled by a variety of memorable characters. Perhaps surprisingly, given the Wall Street setting, the older personalities are drawn with particular flair and heart. The protagonist, too, emerges as vivid and real: more someone you know than just a character in a book. A fine first novel.

The Altar Boy is a quick, fun read. McDonald's tour through the twisted world of investment banking and the frenzied world of big city romance, left me laughing. It was a treat.

For a first novel, Mr. McDonald did a very nice job. Good characterizations and very believable dialogue. The story line was good. He writes about what he knows, that being the world of finance. I read his bio....what is a mud engineer?

This is one of those books that you enjoy not only once, but again and again, savoring each phrase. The dialog is hilarious, the author's description of people and places make you feel as if you were really there. I'm hoping for a sequel.

Finally, a book with heart, set on Wall Street. Crisply written, laugh-out-loud funny, and, in the end, deeply moving. A fine, lovely read.

I would reccomend this book for all people who love the Backstreet Boys as much as I do.

I love to play hit songs on the piano, and I love the BackStreet Boys. This book is giving me the notes to their hits, and it's very easy to play. You can sing along while you play the piano too. I'm sure you'll love it !

I learned to play piano,(although all my music acreitablity still goes out the window)souly just to play their gr-8 songs,etc...that book showed me how.All my friends just love singing with it!And the layout is very well done. It rocks! KEEP THE BACKSTREET PRIDE ALIVE! YEAH!

And a few days ago, I saw a copy of the BSB music book. I bought it (of course) for $20 or so and my next voice lesson, I had brought it. My teacher likes the music and lyrics so now I bet he's practicing. I had let him borrow it (and it's PAINFUL.) and before that, I would study and practice singing and following the right key and pitches. It sounds great on the piano and lets me know all the lyrics. I love practicing BSB music, and I bet you would too! :)

This is the best. i never liked taking piano lessons but now since i got this book i love it. I LOVE BSB!!