The Battle of Jericho (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Sharon M. Draper (Author) "THE PLEDGE MASTERS MARCHED THE FIFTEEN pledges to the middle of the soggy yard..." (more)
Key Phrases: fifteen pledges, pledge activities, pledge masters, Warriors of Distinction, Warrior of Distinction, Eddie Mahoney (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-When an elite club, The Warriors of Distinction, invites Jericho and his cousin Josh to pledge, the teens look forward to wearing the black silk jacket, going to great parties, and receiving the admiring glances of the other students at their Ohio high school. Even the girl Jericho has a crush on begins to show an interest in him. The initiation process begins rather tamely with the new pledges helping with the Christmas toy drive, but as it progresses, Jericho becomes increasingly uncomfortable with what they are asked to do and the way they treat Dana, the first-ever female pledge. Adopting the group's "All of us or none of us" creed, the 15 inductees decide to continue. In an intense climax, pledging goes tragically wrong and the repercussions are felt throughout the community. Draper has captured the essence of teens caught up in peer pressure who must ultimately live with the results of their actions. Her characters are deeply human and the strong plot mirrors the difficult choices that young people must make as they try to reconcile their need for acceptance with their inner values. Mostly, though, this title is a compelling read that drives home important lessons about making choices.
Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. The Warriors of Distinction has been the school's most exclusive club for 50 years, so when 16-year-old Jericho is asked to pledge, he's excited--and intimidated. He is also disappointed after he realizes that he'll have to give up a music competition because he can't miss a night of the initiation week. When the ceremony turns cruel--with the one girl pledge being singled out for abuse--Jericho begins to have second thoughts. Then the affair turns deadly. There are several problems here. To her credit, Draper offers a story that is profanity free, but this makes the dialogue less credible. It's difficult to imagine teens not using swear words in some of these situations, and the slang used instead often makes conversations sound stilted. The plot is also chock-full, making it hard to focus on everything that's going on, even though Jericho helps center the story. Draper does portray a timely scenario, however, with middle-class African American kids (and others) put into a situation that many young people face: the wish for inclusion butting up against the knowledge of right and wrong. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689842333
• ISBN-13: 978-0689842337
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,251 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How far would you go to join a group?, April 28, 2004

By	Ruhama Kordatzky "librariane" (Burlington, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Battle of Jericho (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

Winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor Award

Jericho's school has a great club that all boys long to be a part of: The Warriors of Distinction. It's been around for years (Jericho's uncle was even a part of it), and it's known for it's good deeds and the closeness of the members. Every year new members are inducted into the group, and this year Jericho has been invited to join. Before they can be called Warriors, though, they must go through an initiation process, which lasts a week. At first the tasks seem harmless and only a little demeaning, but as the week progresses, the things the initiates (called Pledge Slime) are asked to do border on hazing. Jericho struggles with staying in the group--if he drops out, then all the initiates suffer. He also would lose the girl he loves, and any confidence the group would provide for him. But he does wonder about lowering himself for this, and he also has a conflict with a musical contest--should he continue with the initiation or go to the contest, where he could win a full scholarship to Julliard?

This book is gripping, and the reader finds himself/herself caught up in all the action, wondering where the plot will go. Draper skillfully takes twists and turns, carefully developing the tension to keep interest high. Her characters are likeable, and readers will sympathize with Jericho. I also liked that though the main characters in the story are African American, you weren't blinded by their race--it could have been anyone wanting to join the Warriors. And the topic of school clubs and hazing is a good angle for a novel--pair this with The Chocolate War.

Where this book fell flat for me was in dialogue and underdeveloped plot threads. Draper wasn't consistent with her dialects and slang, and much of the language felt forced out of the characters. A major plot line that I felt got shoved under the carpet was Jericho's trumpet playing--it was a very big deal at the beginning of the book, but I didn't feel the tension by the end, when he needed to make the decision about continuing with the Warriors or going to the contest. Another plot line that felt stunted and stereotypical was Kofi's (another Pledge Slime) home life. Here is the typical teen character who's parents don't care, but Kofi felt a little forced on the issue, and that whole situation worked out a little too neatly in the end.

Overall it's a fast read (because you really want to know what happens), and a good topic, but it's not the best written book I've encountered.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Kept feeling something was missing., August 15, 2004

By	Retired MST - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Battle of Jericho (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books) (Hardcover)

Even though the book started out fresh and interesting it soon developed into too much and not enough. Too much going on and not enough resolution.
A group of 15 high schoolers are asked to pledge the Warriors of Distinction. The club has been thought of as a do good character building club for 50 years but something has gone terribly wrong. Bad choices are made and the initiation activities turn quickly into cruel hazing without any supervision.
Some of the characters are poorly developed, left you feeling like something was missing. Author just happens to throw in a boy in a wheelchair and a girl who tricks her way into the pledging. Very little emphasis on the consequences of Jericho choosing the Warriors of Distinction over the chances of a scholarship to Juliard.
I wasn't impressed that high schoolers would think the characters or the plot were authentic.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Battle of Jericho, May 13, 2005

By	Shuraye "Mia" (Camden, AR USA) - See all my reviews

The Battle of Jericho is a very terrific story.The Battle of Jericho is bout 3 friends who got invited to join the club.They were forced to do stupid things, that was hazing, that was illegal but the pledge masters made them do it any way. They had a meeting everyday after school around 7 or 7:30. At every meeting after school during pledge week they did something different.They had to run around the warehouse were they meet or about 15-20 minutes,they had to dig around in dumpsters,they had to crawl around on the floor like dogs with collors tied around their necks and in the mud,and on the last day of pledge week they had to do something called the leap of faith, but something went wrong while they were doing the leap of faith.I encourage everyone to read this book to find out what happend during the leap of faith.It tell some of the things that kids do to get in clubs and to gain all the attention of students and their class mates.Read The Battle Of Jericho.