Customer Reviews

The Wall on 7th Street

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4 star:		(2)
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This is now one of my ALL TIME favorite books! You start it and you won't stop reading until the end. I think that it is a good book for either boys or girls up to about age 15. (I am 14 and loved it, and now my 11 year old brother won't give it back and he usually hates to read.) It talks about things that kids really experience and you can tell that the author really knows kids and respects them. What's best about the book is how great the characters are. They are like real people. I also liked learning about the Indians and thought that having the boy in the book have a friend who is homeless was excellent. It gives you a new perspective on what people experience who are homeless. I think that you see people in that situation differently after you've read the book. I recommend this book to any kid who is looking for a really good book. Or it's a great idea for any adult who is looking for a gift that a kid will really like.

This captivating story mixes real life with a bit of fantasy. Although it was written for younger audiences, it would be great reading for any age. It was inspiring to see how this young boy didn't want to give up on the difficult situations he faced, but used ingenuity to make things better for the whole neighborhood. I especially enjoyed all the many varied people that Toby meets and his growing friendship with the homeless man, Moe.

The author uses great description, so that I could actually picture the neighborhood and interesting characters. I really wanted Toby to succeed.

We were given this book, and thought it might be too old for my child, but we read it aloud straight to the end! My 6-yr-old son was impatient to hear it, and my husband and I enjoyed it much more than our usual bedtime reading. It was engaging and truly interesting for all of us. The story is an unusual combination of real-life family issues, urban concerns, and inspiring human connection. Also, elements of Native American history give it more depth. Very worthy reading for anyone from 6 to over 60!

Ostensibly a book for children, "The Wall on 7th Street" quickly caught my attention by the gripping manner in which the plot unfolds as well as deft use of Iroquois history and legend to help solve the main character's problems and to move the action forward.
Toby, at 13, is having a hard time adjusting to his new neighborhood where he, his older sister and his mother have moved after his parents' divorce. In the course of settling in,he meets a homeless man, an embittered Vietnam veteran with a history of his own, who is initially quite isolated from the rest of humanity by choice. These two are thrown together in common cause against the depredations of a neighborhood gang, The Strafers. who seem to have intimidated one and all for blocks around. Some possibly supernatural things occur and major changes befall the area's inhabitants.
I leave further developments to the interested reader to peruse. Suffice it to say, the characters learn valuable lessons about tolerance and caring for others, and become more vital people into the bargain. As a psychiatrist who deals with children from time to time, I plan to recommend this book to parents and young readers alike. It's a whale of a good read, just from the point of view of suspense and a well told story. If, in the process, some "life lessons" go down smoothly as well, who can argue with that?
-Mary Hartshorn,M.D.
Psychiatrist, Upstate New York

An Exciting Story About Rebuilding a Neighborhood by Reclaiming Lost Dreams.

Wall On 7th Street
July 14, 2007

This is the second book that I've reviewed in the last year after a brief hiatus and it was well worth the wait. This book satisfied the cravings felt by anyone in search of a good book. It was colorful, well written and the plot was outstanding!

Toby and his sister have moved into a new neighborhood after their parents' recent divorce. It's a new neighborhood for Toby and his sister Beth but it's their mother's childhood neighborhood. Toby's mother has fond memories about this neighborhood, but now it has been overrun by a gang called the "Strafers."

Toby befriends a homeless man named Moe and is given a reason to love the neighborhood that he has thus far despised. Moe and Toby will fight the Strafers with a rather unconventional but effective weapon ... a paint brush.

As the book progresses from the normal to the paranormal there are so many reasons to keep on reading. This book will engage your imagination in a manner reminiscent of Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia. Toby begins to see what Moe has already seen and then the reader and the other residents of the 7th Street neighborhood are privy to their vision. Together they will fight back to regain control of their neighborhood and to make their visions a reality.

An exciting and well written piece of Children's literature through and through; The Wall on 7th Street is a classic fit for the silver screen.



Reviewed by Tyrone Vincent Banks

Well I thought this book was really good, and too tell you the truth i didn't think it would have been that great at all. What I liked about the plot is that they used a gloomy neighborhood of quiet and nasty people, But then it changes to a nice place and not so scary anymore. I liked how determined Moe and Toby were to get all these paintings on the wall and all of the bad things on 7th street out. I think that they could have made the Strafers a little bit nicer because it made me said when it said they picked on the little old lady sarah. I also didn't like when Toby just got their and gets beat up right away. Also when they beat up moe and ruined his little house. I would recommend this book to a kid whos 13 and likes a good mystery. Also if you like bright colors. Also if you'd rather sort it out in a non violent way instead of a punch and hurt kind of way.