Customer Reviews

Miracle's Boys

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Miracle's Boys is a beautifully written story about the relationship between three half-black, half-Puerto Rican brothers living in New York City. It's a great book for boys who aren't big readers and anyone who wants a good story. The novel is dialogue driven and told by Lafayette who is twelve and coming to terms with his mother's death (a death he feels responsible for). Charlie who is fifteen has just returned from a juvenile detention center and Ty'ree, at twenty-one, has given up a college scholarship to take care of his brothers. At times sad, often elegant, this novel is ultimately powerful and honest. Woodson's genius lies in her ability to be subtle. There is nothing heavy-handed about Miracle's Boys. It's a beautiful, extremely well-written book. This reader wanted it to go on and on.

Lafayette never got a chance to meet his father; his dad died before Lafayette was even born. Though he misses having a dad to do boy stuff with, Lafayette didn't know the man enough to miss him personally. When his mother dies, though, Lafayette is crushed. He misses her terribly --- every day, with every thought.

Lafayette's oldest brother Ty'ree misses their mother just as much. With both parents gone, Ty'ree is now responsible raising Laf and also looking out for middle brother Charlie who has just returned from doing time in a juvenile detention center. In addition to being full of sorrow, Ty'ree is bitter: If he didn't have to look after his younger brothers, Ty'ree would have been able to attend college. Now, he works like a dog in the mailroom for a big company and is tired all the time from trying to make ends meet. Laf tries not to ask too many questions, or cry too much, or to want things they can't afford. On top of it all, Charlie just keeps acting out and getting in trouble. If he caught by the police again, Charlie and Laf will be made wards of the court.

Author Woodson has a wonderful talent for writing about kids in tough situations. You really understand how someone in Laf's position might feel. This is a touching novel about a family trying to stay afloat through some really hard times. Their mother, whose name was Milagro, (Miracle in Spanish) was the center of the family and held them together. Now they must rely on each other while learning to deal with the death of their mother. They already got their one miracle --- can they stick together without one?

This is a quiet novel that you can read quickly. All the action takes place in one day, but it never feels hurried or too busy. If you are looking for a book that makes violence, gang life, and fighting brothers seem dramatic or glamorous, this is not the book for you. But if you want to read a realistic story about how these elements of urban life affect a small, loving family, try reading MIRACLE'S BOYS. Laf has tremendous reserves of kindness and love, and the bravery to show his emotions when he feels them. This whole novel is sometimes very sad, but it ends on a hopeful note. And as is usual with this author's work, it's also very beautiful.

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I found this to be a powerful story. Woodson carefully unfurls the story of three brothers who must make a life together after losing both of their parents. The story takes place during a two day time period with flashbacks to bring us to the present. A must read for teens dealing with the death of a parent.

This book is about three boys (Ty'Ree, Charlie and Lafayette.) Their mom and dad both
died. So now Ty'Ree has to take care of Charlie and Lafayette. Charlie is not very good.
He was sent to Rahway, which is like a type of jail for kids. He tried to rob a candy store.
While Charlie was gone his mom died. Charlie is now friends with another mean person.
His name is Aaron. Ty'ree and Charlie are both very nice people. This was a very good
book for people between the ages of eleven and fourteen. This book kept me interested
pretty much throughout the whole book. It was very exciting. I would recommend this
book to anybody who is struggling with family problems, or anything else having to do
with their family. Ty'Ree is very smart. Ty'Ree passed up college to take care of Charlie
and Lafayette. He used to go to the park and launch off rockets with his friends. He was
accepted to MIT. People call him St. Ty'Ree since he is so nice. Lafayette (Laf) is always
very nice. He calls Charlie Newcharlie. This is because after Charlie went to Rahway he
came back mean. Charlie calls him a Milagro killer. This is because their mother's name
was Milagro. Spanish for miracle. When Charlie was in Rahway their mother died. Laf
was the first one to see his mother dead. She died of an insulin attack from her diabetes.
He didn't call for help for awhile. It wouldn't have mattered though because she was
already dead. Charlie still calls him Milagro killer though. Charlie used to like animals
like dogs and cats a lot. Once he tried to save a dog that was hit by a car. Almost everyday
he called the vet to see if it was still alive. Then, one day he called and it was dead. He
felt very sad about that. This book has many flashbacks in it. There is one where Ty'Ree
is having a flashback about his dad's death. He is climbing on a tree while his dad is
reading the newspaper. They are at the park. There isn't very many other people there.
All of a sudden somebody screams. A dog and a woman have fallen into a hole in the icy
lake. Ty'Ree's father jumps up from the bench he was sitting on and runs out to help the
lady and her dog. He grabs a tree branch and holds it out to the woman, but when she
grabs a hold of it, it breaks. His father jumps into the lake, saves the woman and the dog
then, comes out freezing cold. Paramedics are there and his father assures them he is fine.
A couple of days later he died of hypothermia. This was a very good book. I found it quite
exciting. The reason I didn't give it five stars was because it didn't really keep me glued
to my seat waiting for what would happen next. I gave this book four stars.

I think Miracle's Boys is a great book, the way it talks about a family of three brothers who parents had died. I like the fact that the oldest brother becomes the two other brother's legal guardian. The reason why i like that is becauses it shows how much the oldest brother cares about his family. He cared so much about his family that he dropped out of college to make sure that they live a good life and don't throw it away. Lafayette, the youngest child, is very curious about what had happened to his mamma and his daddy, always asking questions about them. The middle child, Charlie, is the trouble maker in the family. He's been away at Juvie for two years for stealing money from a candy store. When he get's out, he just doesn't learn and continues to get in trouble until he learns how much his family needs him and how much he needs his family. I respect Jacqueline Woodson because she describes what it's like growing up without a mamma and a daddy. She writes about real life controversies.

Miracle's Boys
By: Jaqueline Woodson
Review By: Skyler A. Ishie

How would you feel if both your parents died and the only people you had were your two older brothers? While one of your brothers is struggling to be both parents and make ends meet for the both of you and the other just doesn't care. In the book Miracle's Boys Lafayette is a boy who has to deal with that same situation every day. Jaqueline Woodson does a fantastic job in this realistic fiction novel describing Lafayette's day-to-day life.

Ever since his parent's death Lafayette's life has never been the same. His oldest brother Tyrone, is struggling to take care of the two like a father and a mother. His second oldest brother Charlie, or Newcharlie, as Lafayette sometimes refers to him as, has changed ever since he came from Rahway, a home for delinquent boys. While all of the boys are hiding emotions, they manage to keep their composure throughout most of the book.

This is a wonderful book for people who enjoy realistic fiction. You will really get attached to the characters in the story. The book shows that bottling up feelings and emotions just makes situations like theirs wore than they already are. The book also shows that when you think you have it bad you can remember that there are people out there worse off than you. Lafayette had Tyrone to talk to and he knew he wouldn't laugh at his feelings, especially since he could relate to what he was going through. I believe that Lafayette appreciates Tyrone more than Charlie.

I'm sure there are people out there without mothers and/or fathers who can relate to this book. People lose parents every day. Some people have strong relationships with their families and some don't. But these people learn to move on with their lives and keep living. Miracle's Boys is an excellent book and I hope everyone gets a chance to read it.

The reasoning behind the star rating is the story's about a few African-American boys trying to survive without theire parents. When the oldest son was a pre-teen his father died of hypethermia. Then, a couple years before the book was taking place, their mom died suddenly in her sleep. The heartwarming part it that Tyree (the oldest), who finishes high school, decides to put his plans and future dreams on hold so he can be qualified as Charlie and Lafayette's parental guardian. If not they'd have to move far away with their aunt. Jus because of the love and shear courage of the characters is why this book deserves five stars.
The main conflict in this book is between Charlie, who just got out of Juvenile Boys School, and Lafayette. There constant fighting is because Charlie is always trying to look cool in front of his gang friends. He also blames Lafayette constantly for their mother's death. At the end though Charlie has to go to the police station because his "boys" didn't stick up for him. This shows him that his brothers are his real "boys."

I must admit, I was a little reluctant to check this book out of the library because it was in the young adult section. I thought I'd be reading something like a Judy Blume book. Fortunately, this novella was a wonderful, quick read (too quick--I wish it had been longer). Each character (Tyree, Lafayette and Charlie) was well-developed and dynamic. The story of these three young men trying to find their place in the world after their parents' deaths was believable and endearing (did I mention I actually cried while reading this?). I was very impressed with Ms. Woodson's work and I'm so excited to see the mini-series based on the book; it airs in February on The N and features some great actors. Both kids and adults can love this book.

Oh man! I loved this book Miracle's Boys. This book is definilty a classroom classic. Now I dont want to be a spoiler, but this book is about three boys who live in Harlem and are growingup on their own. Their mom died of diabetes and their father died trying to save someone else. I'm not going to tell you anything else, you just have to read the book! So read this teriffic book and you will look at life an entirely different way.

Very good plotline and it makes you think too. It shows all kinds of grief and struggle between a broken family trying to recover from tragedies. This book will soon be made into a tv mini-series on Noggin's teen network, The-N.