A Life for a Life: A Novel [Hardcover]

Ernest Hill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 18, 1998

An unsparing story of the unlikely bond between an African-American father and the teenager who killed his son, a tale of violent self-destruction reclaimed by the power of love and forgiveness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

D'Ray Reid, the hero of this initially suspenseful but ultimately frustrating coming-of-age novel, undergoes a miraculous transformation and emerges in the end a new man after some crime-filled years. D'Ray is 15 when a local drug dealer threatens to kill his younger brother unless he comes up with $100 within an hour. Panicked and desperate, D'Ray decides to hold up a convenience store?but, in the process, he kills another African American teenager who tries to foil the holdup. He escapes and makes a living as a pimp before he's caught and sentenced to six years in jail. Needless to say, D'Ray comes from a dysfunctional family. Hill's (Satisfied with Nothin') depiction of an African American family trapped in poverty in rural Louisiana is stark and candid. He has a sure hand with pacing and he renders pitch-perfect dialogue that instantly establishes character and fuels the plot with tension. It's only when D'Ray goes to jail and finds God (with guidance, incredibly, from Mr. Henry, the father of the dead clerk) that he becomes an unbelievable character and the novel drifts into hokum ("'Come home with me,' Mr. Henry said. 'Be a credit to your race.' 'The next Thurgood Marshall,' D'Ray mumbled contemplatively"). The workings of grace may be mysterious and difficult to foreshadow; in this case, they are simply hard to swallow. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-D'Ray Reid's younger brother, Little Man, is held hostage by drug dealers for smoking their drugs without paying. The ransom is $100, which D'Ray must deliver within an hour. Robbing a convenience store nets him the money but also causes the death of the young clerk who tries to stop the crime. D'Ray then runs for his life. His fugitive status leads him to more and more criminal activity until his eventual arrest. Conviction of first-degree murder lands him in the Louisiana Youth Authority prison until his 21st birthday. Ignored by his own family, D'Ray's only and constant visitor is Henry Earl, the slain boy's father. Henry is the teen's sole hope for the future but D'Ray must forgive himself before he can accept forgiveness from others. Richly crafted characters, plus themes of violence and fugitive life, will keep YAs riveted to this coming-of-age novel.
Katherine Fitch, Rachel Carson Middle School, Herndon, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (August 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684822784
• ISBN-13: 978-0684822785
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,953,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful heartfelt story, August 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Life for a Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

Ernest Hill's Life for a Life, was a powerful heartfelt story that tells a real story. I'm a 40 year old Black man, and I've never come across a story that I recommend to all my family and friends. Hill tells a story about a man who did all the right things to raise a black young man on the verge of becoming a success and his life is cut short by a hoodlum. You feel the pain and the hurt of this father, then the justice and then the love, which conquers all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How did it happen?, August 26, 2005

By 

Katrina E. Mccall "Rochester Book Lover" (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Life for a Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

The concept of this story was very good but the execution needs work. Mr. Hill used almost the same amount of pages to describe the crime and couple weeks on the run as he did for the entire 6 year incarceration and 4 years of college. There were about 2 paragraphs that talked about D'Ray's struggles in college. Otherwise it seems that he just breezed through it. Hill also never even mentions whether D'Ray ever saw or heard from his mother and brother again after leaving the group home. Less time should have been spent on his flight and more on his struggle to become a better person.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, March 10, 2005

By 

A. M. Albert "Mz. Albert" (NOLA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Life for a Life: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book is awesome. Mr. Hill does a great job with this work. You tend to go on an emotional roller coaster with the leading character D-Ray. You will find yourself smiling, laughing, crying, and cheering.

"A Life For A Life" affirms that good things can happen to bad people.

I highly recommend this book along with his others:"It's All About the Moon When the Sun Ain't Shining" and "Cry Me a River". They are a must have in your reading collection or book club.