Homeboyz by Alan Sitomer (mature themes) (2009-2010)
Instead of prison, Teddy Anderson, who was arrested while trying to avenge his sister's accidental death from a gangrelated drive-by shooting, is sentenced to community service where he must mentor Micah, a 12-year-old gangsta wannabe.
I thought that the book Homeboyz was very exciting in that it kept my attention throughout the whole book. A connection I have made from this book to current events is that like Tina, many teens are involved in gang violence. Unfortunately for Tina, it led to her death. The character Teddy Anderson reminds me of Montressor from the Cask of the Amontillado because he was thirsty for revenge. The only difference between these two characters is that Montressor got revenge the way he planned it, Teddy did not. One element of the book that I disliked is how the character of Teddy seemed equivalent to a superhero. I thought that all of his special abilities were unrealistic. A question I have is what would have happened if Teddy didn’t get arrested when he first tried to get revenge on the wrong people?
ReplyDelete(A.D., 10th grade, ATC)
I believe Homeboyz is an excellent book by Alan Sitomer. This book demonstrates real life experience in a fictional story. It shows how a loving brother copes with the misfortunate death of his younger sister caused by a drive-by. The theme of book is basically revenge isn’t always so sweet. The main charcter Teddy learns that the hard way. Honestly, I think the author’s message to his readers was shown succesfully. A dendrite connection I make in refernce to the book and real life is how a lot of people nowadays lose their life for no reason. I think the fact that the Tina, the younger sister in the book who was killed is sad. The girl was just rying to buy a ice cream from the ice cream truck. And she was so young. I wish I could ask the author did this book relate in any way to his life? I would recommend this book to any and everyone. Because it is just that good!
ReplyDelete(a.a.d., 10th grade, ATC)
I thought that the book Homeboyz was absolutely amazing. It was way more than what I was expecting. I managed to read this entire book in less than two days. Although the book is entitled “Homeboyz” it is not all about gangs and shooting. Teddy Anderson seeks revenge after his little sister was killed in a drive-by shooting by accident. Teddy also helps out a kid (Micah) that really doesn’t know his place in the world and doesn’t know the consequences of his actions. A connection that I can make with this book is the amount of teen violence going on in this world. Innocent people are being killed because of others foolish decisions. This aspect of the book makes it realistic because things like this really happen in the real world. The setting of this book really plays a big role in the actions that occurred. Teddy’s family lives in a really tough neighborhood where things like this are very common. If Teddy’s family didn’t live in this area then the likely hood of his sister getting shot in a drive-by would be less. If the book Homeboyz was to have a sequel I think that Teddy and Micah would get along great, but it would be hard for Micah to break his old habits. Someone that is looking for book that is about getting revenge and family Homeboyz is a book that I would recommend to you. If you are just looking for a good book to read this is one you should consider.
ReplyDelete(J.A., 10th grade, ATC)
I believe that the book Homeboyz wasn’t very logical. Someone who has the ability and knowledge to hack into a school computer system and steal money would most likely not be a gangster. A gang wouldn’t let someone who is computer savvy join. If they wanted the money from him, they would’ve just robbed him. I know this because I’m sometimes around gang members and I know how they think and do what they do.
ReplyDeleteBy Jocquell
I thought the book Homeboyz was an amazing book to read. It captivated me in such a way, that sometimes it was rather difficult to put the book down. This book was enthralling and fascinating in many ways. Like for example how Teddy was able help the at-risk boy, Micah, and have a friendly relationship that soon grew to be something more special. In this book, many of the characters are involved in gang violence, a lot of people died, like Tina. This book showed how gang violence can affect families, destroy homes and hurt the people that you love. It made the plot of the story seem very realistic, since there are people that are going through what Teddy’s family were going through. In the beginning, I was very reluctant to read the book, I thought it was going to be just another book about gangs and guns; some of my friends did not even think of reading the book, just because of the cover. But it really surprised me, how I could sometimes relate to Teddy’s actions. Though I really wonder why the author chose to write this book. Was this something that he or his family went through? I would really recommend this book to anyone who wants to read just for fun. I think it is a great book to read since it shows many aspects of the culture of some people. Not only is it very enjoyable, but also you will be able to connect to it.
ReplyDelete(M.G., 10th grade, ATC)
I read Homeboyz over summer vacation. The book was very exciting to me and I don’t read a lot of books. This connects to my life because I live in a rough neighborhood like Teddy. I thought that the plot was very interesting because when Teddy went to the convenient store to get revenge on the gang members he planned it out very well, but he still got caught. I thought this would not happen. Did the author come up with the plot from a personal event in his life? People that are interested in gangs and rough neighborhoods should read this book. (r.r.,10th grade, ATC)
ReplyDeleteThis book kept my full attention while I was reading it. The book was great because it had action throughout it all. It seemed very realistic. I thought it was based on a true story at first. I can make a connection because I know people who have gotten revenge because a family member was hurt or killed. The part I like about the book was the conflict. I liked it because of the part that Teddy was beating up the other people. Something I question is what happened to Micah after Teddy was arrested. I would recommend this book to anyone because I hate reading, but I actually read it.
ReplyDelete(J.G.,10th,ATC)
This book was very intense paced, beginning with the murder of tina who happened to be a innocent bystander. Tina was also teddy’s sister. Teddy filled with want for revenge he came and tried to figure out the killer and the reason why she was killed. During the story teddy meets a boy named michal who helps him solve the mystery of who killed tina. This book reminded me of the ongoing battles that the gangs of california are going trough now-a- days. This book, is a book that I without a doubt would get you caught up in the plot to the point were you cant put the book down.
ReplyDelete(JP grade 10. ATC)
To me the book Homeboyz was very interesting and exciting from almost every single page of this book. The connection that I have made from the book Homeboyz to current events is that like Micah, there are no only teens involved in gang activity there are people younger than kids sometimes. But luckily for Micah he left the gang and was adopted by a new family that really understands him. The character of Teddy Anderson reminds me of one of young men that were part of the Little Rock Nine, because he was so brave even though he might lose. What I didn’t like about the book though was how so many people had to die. It was really sad how some of these people died because some of them were innocent. The question that I have to ask to the author would be, how would Teddy react towards Micah if he wasn’t in a gang?
ReplyDelete