My kid read it at the age of twelve and he said it was a really good book then I read it and i agreed. Nothing was that bad in the book maybe a few parts were over the edge but not horrible i reccomend everyone to read it.

The Battle of Jericho Sharon M. Draper Penguin Putnam Inc. Fiction ISBN 0-689-84232-5 Pages (297) The Battle of Jericho is a book that tells readers how significant peer pressure can be. It shows that even though a club may seem like the “cool” thing to do, it can also be harmful for you or others. In this book the question of “Should I do this?” is asked but everyone is too scared to do anything about it. In The Battle of Jericho, the plot is Jericho is a regular kid who is insecure about his weight problems. So when the coolest group in school, The Warriors of Distinction, ask him, his cousin Josh, and his best friend Kofi to pledge, nothing can go wrong. His huge crush Arielle even notices him and wants to hang out. Jericho would do anything to get into the club and to go to all of the exclusive parties. All of the adults seem to think that the 50 year old club is a good idea with its community service and its commanding status at school and even around the community. Jericho’s father Brock was in the club and he is so proud that his son Josh and his nephew are going to join. However, when the pledges become uneasy about the tasks they are asked to carry out, no one seems to step in and stop it. When the last and hardest day of pledging comes up, the line between life and death might even be crossed. The Main character in this book is Jericho. Jericho, his cousin Josh, and Kofi are all best friends. Josh’s girlfriend November is best friends with Kofi’s girlfriend Dana. Also, Jericho’s huge crush Arielle is friends with November and Dana. Those six characters are the protagonists. The antagonists are Eddie Mahoney, Rick Sharpe and “Mad” Madison. These three are the senior Warriors who force the pledges to do atrocious things. The conflict is when Eddie Mahoney (a senior Warrior) seems to have it out for the sole female pledge in the group, Dana. Eddie would go out of his way to hurt Dana or make her uncomfortable. This book was told in a Third Person point of view and it was limited to the thoughts of only Jericho. The theme of the book was to always say NO to peer pressure. The setting of the book was a small town in Ohio in the winter season. Overall I thought this book was enjoyable and I never wanted to put this book down. It is a story of how teenagers really think and I feel that Sharon M. Draper did a great job with the teenage lingo she used. Some examples are “yo” and “cuz”. In general, the author really put into words how a teenage mind really works. Overall Grade: A- This book was reviewed by Tyler Edwards at 11/15/06

I found this book to show realy how peer pressure affects a teen, anyone who has ever felt peer pressure or even if you haven't this is a great book to read I enjoyed it very much. I hope you will too.