Gentlemen [Hardcover]

Michael Northrop (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2009

This debut YA novel combines the wrong-side-of-the-tracks edginess of books like THE OUTSIDERS and FREAK THE MIGHTY and the searingly honest storytelling of authors like Chris Lynch and John Green.

Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren't just from the wrong side of the tracks--they're from the wrong side of everything. Except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher, no one at their high school takes them seriously. Haberman calls them "gentlemen," but everyone else ignores them--or, in Bones's case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman.
Gritty, fast-paced, and brutally real, this debut takes an unflinching look at what binds friends together--and what can tear them apart.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren't so much viewed as troublemakers at Tattawa High School as they are personas non grata. On the fringe, the four friends struggle their way through school and to survive their dysfunctional families. When Tommy disappears, his friends write it off as another one of his escapades until Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher, starts speaking in riddles that lead them to believe that he may have killed the boy. Despite an interesting cast of flawed misfits and an edgy concept, Northrop doesn't bring the gritty tale to its full potential because of a slogging pace and meandering narrative.—Terri Clark, Smokey Hill Library, Centennial, CO
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* This is a rare sort of book that may work just as well for reluctant readers as it will avid ones. Mike (the narrator), Tommy, Mixer, and Bones form the core of the remedial set at their small-town high school. When Tommy goes missing and their reviled English teacher, Mr. Haberman (who’s trying to get them to read Crime and Punishment), starts acting awfully strange, the three remaining friends jump to some alarming conclusions. Despite the teacher’s Raskolnikov act, this is not a reworking of Dostoevsky’s classic in a modern high-school setting; rather, the book works as an amplifier of both the boys’ suspicions and the plot’s intrigue, and while readers familiar with it (or the serviceable graphic-novel version reviewed above) will certainly glean more, it is by no means a prerequisite to get caught up in the mystery. The guessing game of what happened to Tommy, how guilty is Haberman, and what are the boys going to do about it propels the action, and the well-rounded characters and their plausible obsessions provide buoyancy to the story. Laced throughout is a steely and intricate look at the permutations of adolescent friendship and the various roles that teens adopt or are assigned in both their social and academic worlds. A riveting thriller? Yep.  A nuanced examination of morality? Yep again. What’s amazing is that they never get in each other’s way. Grades 10-12. --Ian Chipman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 15 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (April 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545097495
• ISBN-13: 978-0545097499
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #825,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Northrop is the author of two YA novels: Gentlemen, one of the American Library Association's "Best Books for Young Adults" for 2010, and his new book, Trapped, a Spring 2011 Indie Next List selection. He is originally from Salisbury, Connecticut, a small town in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains, where he mastered the arts of BB gun shooting, tree climbing, and field goal kicking with only moderate injuries. After graduating from NYU, he worked at The World Almanac and Sports Illustrated Kids, where he was a senior editor from 2000 to 2008. His articles and stories have been published widely.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small-Town Horror Meets Classic American Fiction, June 5, 2009

By 

Matthue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gentlemen (Hardcover)

The thing that dawned on me, reading this novel, is how little a percentage of horror books actually involve capital-H Horror. Stephen King isn't about googly-eyed monsters and crazed psychos -- or, at least, he isn't about that so much as he's about the most basic human reactions. Fear. Anxiety. Loss. Regret. That's what separates, say, "The Catcher in the Rye" from "The Road" -- in other words, a really well-done non-horror story from a really good horror story.

And there's a lot of Stephen King in Michael Northrop's book. Actually, it reminded me more of Michael ("The Hours") Cunningham. For much of the book, the main plot moves slowly, but interesting, well-developed and well-savored. Almost every page there's a side story that made me want to tell the person next to me about what I was reading -- like how Tommy threw a desk across the room in order to distract a girl he liked, or the summer of the two Jennys. And Micheal's language (the narrator -- whose name was misspelled on his birth certificate, not the author) is so graceful that when he suddenly becomes "typical guy"-ish and talks about throwing a punch at his teacher, you're blown away. Not because it's out of character, but because it makes him so multi-dimensional and real.

Then, of course, there's the scary stuff. And Michael (the author) seems to know his way around both scary stuff and the more Gothic parts of small-town America: the secrets people keep and the way that dark seems to swallow up the country after twilight. As the novel moves on, the simple question of whether or not their teacher has a dead body no longer feels like the point of the book -- it's more about Micheal, his friends, his town, and the darkness that's inside him.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This will be a hit!, March 9, 2009

By 

Jay R. Chase (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gentlemen (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This young adult book depicts a darker, harder crowd than most... which is what is going to be so appealing to many who aren't avid readers.

The story revolves around a group of high school sophomores who are nowhere near the top echelon, college-bound, yuppies that tend to populate so many YA books. The author does a great job of interweaving the voices of the kids and the adults they come across - very real in that regard.

The story is told in first person, with semi-dated jargon included. I think that is the one thing that might keep this from being an "outcast classic" - when kids no longer understand the slang. But for now, I see a lot of folks that don't normally bother with books, reading this one in a night, because they see a bit of their lives there!

Caveats: there is definitely violence and one sex scene in the book.. I would recommend only for mature high school and up.

As a representation of a new writer and different world from the wizards, spies, and horse-club riders we normally read about, I highly recommend this book.

All the best,

Jay

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crime and Punishment, January 28, 2009

By 

C.E. - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Gentlemen (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

"Gentlemen" by Michael Northrop is a wonderful first novel that is fast paced, gritty, and perfectly plotted.

The main protagonists, Mixer, Tommy, Bones, and Micheal are well written, they are rough kids from difficult circumstances- at times you feel sorry for them, and at times you are repulsed by them. Through it all, Micheal is the narrator and he does the job with an authentic voice that isnt afraid to tell things like they are.

Tommy goes missing. Haberman, the english teacher is suspect number one, but who else had a motive? Did Tommy just leave? Was he killed? Did he have an "accident"? All of these questions and more are probed within this novel that sucks you in and takes you on a wild ride to find the truth.

How strong are the bonds of friendship? What tests these bonds, strengthens then, and in some cases- breaks them? When does suspicion carry over into guilt, conviction, and action?

A well written novel that probes these questions and isnt shy about the realities that surround them. If you are looking for a good book, a quick read, and a fast-paced, suspenseful plot then pick this one up. A great start, strong middle and a conclusion that is just as strong all stack up to make this book a keeper.

***Disclaimer for parents and readers alike- some strong language, graphic scenes, and alcohol use in this book.***