The Contender (Library Binding)

by Robert Lipsyte (Author) "He waited on the stoop until twilight, pretending to watch the sun melt into the dirty gray Harlem sky..." (more)
Key Phrases: peanut bag, ice ball, Aunt Pearl, Alfred Brooks, Willie Streeter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Alfred's life is going nowhere fast. He's a high-school dropout working at a grocery store. His best friend is drifting behind a haze of drugs and violence, and now some street punks are harassing him for something he didn't do. Feeling powerless and afraid, Alfred gathers up the courage to visit Donatelli's Gym, the neighborhood's boxing club. He wants to be a champion--on the streets and in his own life. Alfred doesn't quite understand when Mr. Donatelli tells him, "It's the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top is an extra reward." In the end, he learns that a winner isn't necessarily the one standing when the fight is over. Teens and adults alike will be knocked out by this powerful story of how a frightened boy becomes a man. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A 17-year-old Harlem boy struggles to become a champion boxer in this excellent novel [recommended] for use in the early phases of secondary school literature study." -- Language Arts

“A novel filled with hardships and hope.” -- ALA Booklist

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Library Binding: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (October 11, 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060239204
• ISBN-13: 978-0060239206
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (312 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,428,797 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE CONTENDER - Number 1, December 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Contender (Mass Market Paperback)

Alfred Brooks, a teenager and a high-school dropout, knows that his life is going nowhere. He's had the same old job at a local grocery store, and there are no opportunities for advancement. He wants to be someone, someone special. When one of his best friends, James, starts hanging around with the wrong group of teens, and later is sent to prison for robbing Alfred's grocery store, Alfred knows that his friend's friends are not the kids to be with. To avoid being thrashed by James's possy, Major and Hollis, Alfred wants to defend himself. He doesn't want to be pushed around.

Alfred decides he wants to be a boxer, and begins his training at Donatelli's Gym, a gym that has turned out three champions. At first, Mr. Donatelli tried to dissuade Alfred from boxing, by telling him the many triffles he would have to go through to become a contender, but Alfred still wants to try. He runs in the morning, eats a select diet, and after work, he goes to the gym to work out.
For a long while, Alfred maintained his training. One night, however, Major and Hollis gang up on Alfred, and bring him to their clubroom. They keep Alfred there by telling him that James had just been let out of prison, and that he would stop by the club. While there, Alfred got drunk from vodka and got high from marijuanna, both of which he was unsuspectant of until James arrived. Before he blacked out, Alfred saw that James was fumbling with a bag of cocaine, and knew that his friend was sinking further and further in to drug addiction. Alfred was very spacey for the next few days.

Later, Alfred resumes his training, and then is fitted for a custom-mouthpiece. This is a sign that shows that Alfred is close to fighting. After three professional fights, Mr. Donatelli states that it is time for Alfred to stop. He has proved what he wanted, to be a fighter. Alfred then went back to night school to finish his education.

This novel is simply amazing! The book tells us that it is not the desire, but the effort to win that makes the man! This book is not just for sport lovers, but is for those who can comprehend the deep meaning of fighting and being a fighter!

ALSO RECOMMENDED - THE BRAVE - THE CHEIF - Both books in this order follow after The Contender

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Contender, June 2, 2000

By	samantha dickerson (Roanoke, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Contender (Mass Market Paperback)

The story begins when a man named Alfred is waiting on his friend, James. James is a drug addict and has forgotton all about Alfred because he is getting fixed. When Alfred walks into the clubroom he tells about lose cash in the Epstiens' store. James and his friends try to break in. Like most crimes, the leader got caught, who is James. He was sent on probation and Alfred didn't see him again until later. As the story goes on, Alfred starts going to the gym. Soon after, he meets an old man by the name of Donatelli. Alfred starts training and before he knew it he had his first fight. He won his match and the next one after that. Then, Donatelli told him that he was not to fight the next match, but Alfred didn't give up. At the end of the fight the winner was declared that the opponent had won. Yet, in a way Alfred had also won. What I liked about the book was the variety of emotions that took place and I also liked the characters.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Brave Contender, November 5, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Contender (Mass Market Paperback)

I like The Contender because it shows how Alfred found his own way. His best friend wanted him to do drugs but instead he fought his fears and released his anger by becoming a boxer.