The Moves Make the Man [Library Binding]

Bruce Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 1984

"Brooks's fine first novel has a baskeball theme and plenty of action, but sport is merely the vehicle for delivering a serious story of friendship and madness." ' SLJ.

"Brilliant sportswriting and a trenchant examination of the friendship between narrator Jerome Foxworthy [an African-American seventh-grader] and Bix, a white boy in trouble." ' BL.

1985 Newbery Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1984 (ALA)
1985 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1985 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction
Best Books of 1984 (SLJ)
100 Favorite Paperbacks 1989 (IRA/CBC)
"Best of the 80's" Young Adult Novels (English Journal)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Brooks was born in Virginia and began writing fiction at age ten. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 and from the University Of Iowa Writer's Workshop in 1980. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, a magazine writer, newsletter editor, movie critic, teacher and lecturer.

Bruce Brooks has twice received the Newbery Honor, first in 1985 for Moves Make the Man, and again in 1992 for What Hearts. He is also the author of Everywhere, Midnight Hour Encores, Asylum for Nightface, Vanishing, and Throwing Smoke. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Library Binding: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 26, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060206985
• ISBN-13: 978-0060206987
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,061,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it eight times..., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Moves Make the Man (Paperback)

I first read this book when I was about eleven years old. I read it about seven more times in the next year or so. I am nineteen now, but I ran across it the other day and read it again. To my surprise, it still offered everything it did when I was younger. Jerome and Bix are excellent characters, very realistic, and the story builds nicely to the unexpected ending. The real treat for me was that I hadn't read the book in so long, the ending was a surprise to me all over again. I definitely think this book is worthwhile for readers of all ages.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story, but why no quotation marks???, April 28, 2002

By 

D. McDiffett "iteachlit" (Salina, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moves Make the Man (Newbery Honor Book) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful, thought-provoking story that my 7th graders have enjoyed very much. The relationship between Jerome and Bix is well-drawn and intriguing. The racist language has not been a problem, but the profanity has caused a little concern with some parents. That said, my personal problem with the book--and one that caused some confusion with my students--is the lack of quotation marks to indicate dialogue. The better readers pick up the flow of speech easily, but the slower ones get quite confused at times. I suppose the idea is to recreate the writing style of a young boy, but I tend to see it as somehow saying, "Look at my style--I'm writing like a young boy." Otherwise, certainly a book for basketball fans to enjoy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the only book that's ever made me cry..., June 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Moves Make the Man (Newbery Honor Book) (Paperback)

In this book, I met Jerome Foxworthy-he's a seventh grade African American boy with a love for basketball, the French language, and his family. I also met Braxton Rivers the 3rd, a non-lying caucasian boy, and I adopted his nickname for myself-Bix. Now, me being a scruffy loud-mouthed basketball fan, I don't cry too much. But when I finished this book-for the 5th time, no less-I was blubbering like a baby. Bruce Brooks is a wonderful author who tells stories that are technically fiction, but that would not be unlikely to happen. I highly recommend this book.