A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich [Mass Market Paperback]

Alice Childress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1982

A classic of young adult literature, this is the story of Benjie--young, black, and well on his way to being hooked on heroin. "Brilliant . . . exciting . . . entertaining."--The New York Times.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dope. Smack. Junk. Heroin. No matter what you call it, you can't change the fact that 13-year-old Benjie is on it. Oh no ... he's not hooked, though. He could stop anytime ... really. But why is a young kid like Benjie using at all? Originally published in 1973, Alice Childress's novel remains one of the most profound explorations of an addict's world ever written. What makes this novel different is that Childress points no fingers and offers no easy answers. Her characters' moods and motivations are complex, fresh, unexpected, and courageously real. Woven into Benjie's own ramblings about his situation are the thoughts of those involved by association--his mother, stepfather, friends, the pusher, and teachers at his school. This narrative technique creates a rich, heroic portrait of the social and psychological circumstances of addiction, love, and family.

Review

Novel for young adults by Alice Childress, published in 1973. Presented in 23 short narratives, it is the story of an arrogant black teenager whose fragmented domestic life and addiction to heroin lead him into delinquency. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (April 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380001322
• ISBN-13: 978-0380001323
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,520,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent novel, April 12, 2000

By 

Arman Sheffey (Chicago,Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich (Mass Market Paperback)

Childress does an excellent job of putting the perspectives of all the characters associated with Benjie or to his problem in this novel. Point of view is a defining characteristic of this novel. Within the twenty-three first person narratives, the reader hears the dialect, different knowledge levels, and thinking processes of all the character's, from the local drug pusher to Benjie's high school teachers. This made the plot a bit harder to follow at first, but had it been written any other way it would have lost a definite sense of authenticity.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful punch, March 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich (Mass Market Paperback)

Powerfully and courageously honest about the lives of the young, African-American heroin addict Benjie and those around him ... There are no easy answers in this book. I think it's a story people need to hear, whether we want to or not. I couldn't put it down; I will never forget it; I only hope I learned from it. Moving and amazing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Realist book ever..., January 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book a couple times, why I read it more than once was because the First Time I read it I was too young to grasp anything from it. Now I notcie how serious the book and though there is so much fowl languge in the book it seems theres a reason for it. Also when I read the book at times the character Benji made me mad, and sometimes dissappointed at him, because his point of view on Society, but now I realize he's an angry crack head in denial trying to hide what he knows he is...A Pot Head...