This book is coming of age novel about a boy's journey through city life and a lack of connection with positive male role models. I might paraphrase this time as: The Sea Change. There is a continual conversation about nature versus nurture that informs the internal struggle between the main character, James and his minor characters, Freddy, Horvath, Samson, etc. I have to admire this book because it's probably one of the first YA novels I've read in which the African-American character doesn't die. And the secondary setting for the book is a juvenile detention center. That alone is an impressive feat for this author. I can admire how Goodman uses the power of paradox to answer moral questions about boyhood and maturity. It's interesting how he uses the false bravery of Louis's character to force the protagonist James to ask more questions about his own choices. I was pulled into reading this book because it's one of the very few novels that facilitates powerfully, young men speaking about their own ideas about manhood and how they understand it. However, I do believe that some of the circumstances following some stereotypes (Two white guards, friendship, and Brokeback Moutain) for example, would be one great stereotype even if that was a joke. I give the novel three starts for it's pacing and I like that it leaves readers wondering if James does go on to greatness. I think that the author wrote this book to ignite a larger conversation about the indequacies of juvenile detention centers overall. He wants all to consider what purpose they serve and are they truly saving the children they are meant to assist? ( )

James has little to hold on to except his love for his disintegrating family. After he's sent to a detention center for dealing drugs, he has to figure out how to survive there without transforming into something he doesn't want to be. A meditation on the construction of manhood, told by a narrator it's easy to empathize with. Much like James's feelings about [b:The Sea Wolf|43049|The Sea Wolf|Jack London|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389481608s/43049.jpg|2062963], I felt that James's death at the end of the novel side stepped the question of whether he could retain his self-respect without fighting. ( )

Fifteen-year-old James has a hard home life. His brother Louis moved out 2 years ago and barely talks to him, his father left when he was just 5 years old, and his mother doesn’t care whether he lives or dies as her life with her meth addict boyfriend Ron has taken all the fight out of her.

Read the rest on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2013/06/27/kindness-for-weakness-shawn-g... ( )

James starts making deliveries to help out his brother. Refusing to turn his brother in when he is caught, he is sentenced to one year in a juvenile detention facility where the guards are known for their cruelty and violence. A relative innocent in this world, he has a difficult time finding his way, until doing the right thing puts him in the way of the most violent of the guards. ( )