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All the Right Stuff
- By Walter Dean Myers
- Genre: Coming of Age
Common Sense Media says
Challenging ideas, big issues buoy story of Harlem teen.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that All the Right Stuff, by distinguished author Walter Dean Myers, is the story of a Harlem teen's summer job at a soup kitchen. Not unlike Socrates of old, Elijah the soup-kitchen man leads young Paul along the path of self-discovery by asking lots of questions, mostly about issues Paul has never thought about before. The book might be aimed at getting a young urban audience to think about the big issues, but it's a good read and should provoke deep thinking among all teens. Hip street dialogue includes the occasional swear word and euphemism ("s--t," "friggin'"), and there's a context of junkies but no drug use. An accidental shooting death kicks off the book, but no actual violence befalls any of the characters.
What's the story?
Sixteen-year-old Paul DuPree and his mom are awakened one night at 3 a.m. by New York City cops, breaking the news that Paul's dad, who's been in and out of their lives, was just killed during a robbery. Paul's determined to be a better person and have a better life than his often-jailed father, but he hasn't thought much about how to make it happen. The summer job he's landed through his school's community program, which has him helping an opinionated old man make soup for senior citizens, soon has him asking big questions about life and the people in his neighborhood.
Is it any good?
Walter Dean Myers is the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed by the Library of Congress, and the recipient of multiple Newbery and Coretta Scott King awards, among other honors. (His books include Monster and Sunrise Over Falluja.) He's zealous about the vital importance of reading, especially to economically disadvantaged people, and ALL THE RIGHT STUFF, packed as it is with challenging ideas set in the context of urban life, walks the talk. Some may find it long on discussion and short on action, but others may find it a good modern-day addition to the Socratic dialogues.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about the rules, written and unwritten, that determine who wins and loses in life. If you get off to a "bad" start, is there anything you can do to change things, or are you just doomed?
Do you think Paul will have a better life than his father? Why or why not? Do you think Keisha will make it to college?
Sly seems to have gone to college, gotten a good education, and turned to crime anyway. Why do you think this might be the case?
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Teen, 14 years old
February 28, 2013
AGE
Great book, but some might find it boring
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
I won't go into the socratic arguments part; I feel CSM has covered it nicely.
But other than that, why is this book so good? Well, it's got wonderful characters with different points of view, authentic dialouge (some people try to write street dialouge and it ends up cheesy and heavily stereotyped, but you won't find that here), and some interesting elements (like the soup kitchen.)
So why not 5 stars?
This book is topic- and character- driven, as Paul tries to better understand his world. Myers portrays this in a non-preachy and exiting way (especially with some exciting moments with Sly) and some kids (like me) will love this. However, when teachers read and love good books with great teaching potential, they sometimes tend to cram it down their students' throats. Then, instead of the students reading, discovering, and loving the book on thier own, they end up hating it.
Also, because of this book being theme-driven, its not extremely exiting (although it is interesting) and while you do think about it later, you don't feel the need to keep flipping the pages. (Like I did with How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, great book by the way.) Also, if I gave this book 5 stars, then what do I give true literary masterpieces? Not saying that this isn't one - its a small masterpiece, but nowhere near some classics.
So while this book is very well-written and thought-provoking, it isn't for everyone because it is topic- and character- driven. I recommend it to everyone who wants to learn more about sociology/the govenment/ our world in general through a great story. Walter Dean Myers is truly meant to be a writer and you know that his books are always worth reading.
What other families should know:
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| Author: | Walter Dean Myers |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Coming of Age |
| Publisher: | Amistad |
| Publication date: | April 24, 2012 |
| Number of pages: | 224 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 13 - 17 |
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