Customer Reviews

Handbook for boys

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Jimmy is a black city kid, living with just his mother. One day he gets into a fight at high school and really does some damage to the other kid. The school takes this fight very seriously, and Jimmy begins to worry that he may have really messed up his life by having the fight. A local man named Duke who owns a barbershop offers to be Jimmy's mentor.

Every day after school, Jimmy goes to the barbershop to clean up and listen to Duke and his old friends talk about the people who come in to get their hair cut. Another high-schooler is also there--Kevin is something of a know-it-all superstar who Duke has promised to send to college in exchange for working at the shop. Kevin is in trouble, too, though, for smoking marijuana and Duke has agreed to mentor him to keep him out of juvenile detention.

As the boys work, they become more annoyed with Duke and his friends. It seems like nobody can come into the shop without Duke and the others saying bad things about him when he leaves. They talk about how the problems these men have are their own fault, and they drag Jimmy and Kevin into discussions about choices and deciding the direction your life is going to take. Jimmy tries to tune them out at first, but then he begins thinking more and more about what they have said. Does he really need a plan so his own life will go the way he wants? Does he know how to get to where he wants to go?

I liked that Duke and his friends were really bright and articulate, and had interesting discussions about free will, philosophy, and the way the world works. I also liked that the city seemed to be portrayed realistically--it gave me a much clearer idea of why so many city kids get lost in the system. It's not always that they aren't trying, it's that they don't have anyone to tell them how to succeed.

Great book for teenagers. I was reading this book because for my class you have to read a novel by the end of the 1st quarter and each quarter on. I decided to choose this after the information on the back and the cover interested me. I sure didnt waste my money nor my time. It was a great book that deserves alot of credit. I think for Myers this book was alot better than Monster.
Next I probably will be reading the classics;
Elephant Man, Odyssey,Grapes of Wrath, and Huckleberry Finn.

Read this book teens and even adults!
I think its even funner than most video games!
It teaches you lessons about what to do in certain situations!

Review on Handbook for Boys
By Walter Dean Myers



"What is life about?" This handbook shows young readers what is right and what is wrong, and why it's right or wrong. For example, in the beginning of the book, sixteen year old Jimmy discovers to think carefully about what you're doing and when you're doing it, and to anticipate what's coming next. Another life lesson in this book that seems simple, but most people forget sometimes is that there are more people than yourself. If you decide to if you decide to read this book then look for these morals in each chapter. Even though it's called Handbook for Boys, I would recommend this book to both boys and girls.
What I liked most about this book was it was written so that each individual character's quotes and the things that they said were very detailed. It made it seem like I could hear their voice and pick out whose it was. I also liked the story overall because each scene was very different, and I think that kept it alive. When I picked this book out from the shelf, I thought that it would just be about a boy giving tips on how to act in school or something like that, but Mr. Dean Myers proved me wrong.

The book Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers was a good book. Many of the chapters had people telling the main characters(Duke, Jimmy,Kevin, Mr.M, and Cap)problems in their lives. Once they left the setting the main characters told there opinions on that persons problem. What I liked about this book was that it showed real-life situations with ways to solve your problem. It shows you the ways how to stay out of trouble and ways to succeced.
All the characters in this book have different opinions on how to look at certian situations. For example Duke said that you should read and Cap said that you should not read.
Two of the main characters Duke and Jimmy really got along through out the book. They went many places and helped people in their free time. Jimmy works at the barber shop with Duke, and Kevin. Jimmy is there because he got in trouble and needed help. He also could use the money for his mother and him. One thing that I didnt like about this book was that many of the chapters didn't relate to the other chapters. It was like a bunch of short stories for each chapter. Sometimes it would be difficult to follow some parts in the book.
This book caught my interest and I enjoyed reading it. If I had the chance I would read this book again. Walter Dean Myers is a very good author.

Myers, Walter Dean. Handbook for Boys. New York: Harper Collins (2002).
211 pages.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Fry Reading Level: 6

Set in urban New York City, Handbook for Boys follows the story of two boys, Jimmy and Kevin, who get themselves into trouble with law. Instead of going to juvenile detention, the boys have the alternative of performing community service at a local barbershop owned by a man named Duke. Duke takes in young boys that are headed in the wrong direction and uses the time that they work in his shop to teach them important life lessons.

Jimmy narrates the story, giving his reactions to and impressions of the advice that Duke gives. Duke talks about everything from money and sex to personal responsibility versus a victim mentality. He expresses a lot of initial resistance to Duke's lectures, but always ends up reflecting on Duke's advice by the end of the chapter.

Although both Jimmy and Kevin work at the barbershop, they do not get along. They have a competitive, hostile relationship. They also seem to view their time at Duke's barbershop differently. While both of them dislike the menial work they have to do and the constant lectures and ragging they get from Duke and other regulars at the barbershop, Jimmy at least responds to what Duke tells him. Kevin, on the other hand, puts up more resistance to Duke's efforts. For instance, Duke invites Kevin and Jimmy to a basketball game; while both boys feel that Duke merely asked them out of charity, Jimmy actually goes to the game, while Kevin blows Duke off.

At the end of the story, however, the reader sees the effect that Duke has had on Jimmy through the difference in his behavior as compared with Kevin's. Kevin ultimately gets arrested for drug possession, and loses his opportunity to get off lightly with community service at Duke's. Jimmy sees Kevin's position at the end of the story and realizes what a vital opportunity Kevin has given up, and how lucky he himself is to have had his time with Duke. Jimmy cleans up his act and makes positive choices via the advice that Duke gives him.

This book is probably medium interest-level. My students didn't seem overly thrilled about it, but many of them finished it despite having the choice to read other books. The overall tone of the book is conversational, but can be too didactic and preachy at times. Also, the book takes a lot of its subject material from urban African-American culture, so kids who do not know much about that culture or who are not from that culture may not be able to relate to it as much. The writing style in the book can come off as contrived, such that the moral of the story often overrides the story itself. I think there are many other books out there that more skillfully and subtly tell a story that makes kids reflect on their behavior, rather than the in-your-face moralizing that this book presents.

I think that Handbook for Boys is a great book. This book is about a boy named Jimmy, who gets in trouble with the law, for selling drugs to help his mother.Jimmy's mother can't afford to get him out of jail.So Duke lets Jimmy work at his barbershop as his punishment.That is where Jimmy learns about life and problems people face everyday.
I would reccommend this book to anyone,but more for teenagers.

Has there ever been a time when you tried to help someone by doing something you know is wrong? Handbook For Boys is about a boy named Jimmy who sells drugs to help his mother get on her own two feet. Later Jimmy is cought and has to go to court. Jimmy's mother doesn't have the money to bail him oht of jail so Jimmy is out of luck when Duke, who is the owner of a barber shop, walks in and says, "I will keep him for his time in jail to help me fix and clean up my shop." Jimmy's mother is okay with the deal and so is Jimmy. If Jimmy doesn't cooperate he will be in jail for a long time. Will Jimmy cooperate or will he give up and go to jail? I would recommend this book to anyone who tries to to help out by doing the wrong things.

I liked this book because my friend went to jail and had a chance to help a woman keep her house in shape. I recommend this book for those who try to do something for someone by doing something wrong.

Tarrel
Desplains IL

Dear Other Readers:
My name is Joe Baker and from my very own point of view I thought the book Handbook for Boys, A Novel, by Walter Dean Myers was great. The book is about this boy Jimmy Lynch who lives in Harlem. He spends most of his after school time working for Duke. Duke owns a Barber Shop on 145th street, which is off Seventh Avenue. Jimmy is sixteen years old and he works at the barber shop because he is on probation for assault. Jimmy only has to work there for about six months so he wouldn't have to go to a youth house. Jimmy is always talking to Duke, Edward McCormick and Mister M about his very own life. Duke had told Kevin who also works for him that he would pay for him to go to college and if Jimmy had finished high school he would pay for him as well. If you would like to continue knowing what had happened throughout the book then pick it up at your local library.

This book by the renowned Walter Dean Myers is aptly named. It is not so much a work of fiction as it is a guide to those young men who must navigate the rough shoals of life as an African-American male teenager. This is a book with a mission to instruct and entertain, but, primarily, instruct. If you object to didacticism in fiction, this is not the book for you. But if you think this is an important message--I think it is--then you must admire Myers' craft in making it much more than a tract.

Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Meyers is about making the right choices in life. I liked this book because it really makes you think about how you want to end up in your how life. The guys in the barbershop really give out some great information and advice to this lost teen. Because of what they tell him he makes better choices in his life. Since I read this book some troubles that Jimmy where faced with have also come up in my life and I can say that because I have had supportive parents and people to support me like Jimmy did I have made the correct choice. I have not read any other books but Meyers, but I really have in interest to read his book called Monster that was recently made into a movie.