War on Villa Street (Mass Market Paperback)

by Harry Mazer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A teen-age boy tries to come to terms with various aspects of his life, his relationship with his often drunk and abusive father, the menace of a local bully and his gang, and his love of running. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  
• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (October 15, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440990629
• ISBN-13: 978-0440990628
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,344,608 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars adult review, December 21, 2007

By	Thomas Joseph Urban (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read this book about 25 years ago, when I was a thirteen year-old boy. While this book contains no literal war, it does describe a psychological war waged by a tough gang against a fairly lonely boy (can't remember name) whose only real outlet is running. This boy has no real support from home because his father is battling his own problems and other family members are absent.
I remember the book as pretty interesting because of the different problems that are explored. It was one of the first times I read about such themes as alienation and dysfunctional families. The fact that the main character faces daily harassment and confrontation in a classic physical manner adds momentary excitement for those who don't have the patience to see more abstract topics take form, develop and resolve themselves. I don't dare to stick out my neck and give it four stars, but easily 3; again, this is the opinion of a 38 year old man.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The War Could Have Been Better!, January 5, 2001

By	Dusty "cerberus2004" (Dilworth, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War on Villa Street (Hardcover)

The book "The War on Villa Street" was a real disappointment to me. I Expected there to be a bit more violence, it would have helped. Willis is the main character and when he gets mad all he does is run. I mean, running away isn't very exciting to me. The only cool part of it is when Willis is coaching this retarded kids in sports and the kid seems to think that Willis is his new best friend, thats pretty funny.Overall i would steer clear of this book.