Amazon.com Review
"I tell the people that I kick it with, don't trust me. Not because I'm untrustworthy, but if you think you can trust me, then you'll start thinking you can trust somebody else. You just don't trust nobody." For a teenager living on the streets, such is the wisdom you must embrace to stay alive. Hear These Voices offers a glimpse into the steely lives of 15 at-risk youths, ages 10 to 19, who are trying to better themselves and rise above astonishing circumstances. The stories range from that of Muay in Thailand, whose stepfather sold her into prostitution at age 10, to Carrie in Denver, Colorado, who was bounced from foster homes to shelters and gang raped before she decided to move and pursue her dream of getting her GED. In this forum, kids are finally allowed to speak for themselves, accents and vernacular making their voices ring all the more clearly: "Sometimes I do feel like I'm important, but sometimes, when my father beat me until I couldn't see, I thought to kill myself." The stories are mesmerizing, especially as complemented by Anthony Allison's telling black-and-white photography.
Each of these youths already has experienced more pain than most people will witness in a lifetime, and their histories are accordingly heartbreaking. Allison makes sure, however, that readers come away not dejected but with a strong sense of hope. All of the teens have been helped by various social-service groups or schools--small, struggling organizations filled with remarkable adults who refuse to let troubled kids slip through society's cracks. Hear These Voices will alternately shock and lift any teenager's spirits, but may also inspire adults to give more to the community of young people. As Allison simply requests of adults, "We hope you hear how these young people are challenging us to turn our ideals for a better society into reality." (Ages 12 and older) --Brangien Davis
From Publishers Weekly
Photographer and youth counselor Allison debuts with a volume comprised of 18 accounts of teens who have overcome extraordinary obstacles, but frames the profiles in a way that detracts from the testimonies. The first chapter begins with a composite picture of life on the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria through the words of several teenagers; the following chapters highlight one or two teenagers' stories. Although the subjects vary in nationality, race and gender, they share an underlying spirit of self-reliance and a commitment to change as they tackle problems that range from drug addiction to civil unrest in Northern Ireland; one girl, sold into prostitution in Thailand at the age of 10, is now in a training program to educate her native village about AIDS. Atmospheric black-and-white photographs transport readers to each subject's environs. For example, runaway Carrie is shown emerging from her makeshift lodgings under a bridge in Denver, Colo., to head to her part-time job. Unfortunately, the chapters end jarringly with commentary from adults who are involved with the programs and organizations helping these teens. Unlike the kids profiled, who speak to their peers, the adults address other adults ("I think a lot of these kids don't trust anyone") with a didacticism that will be a turnoff to most readers. Ironically, despite the fact that many of the teens included here are involved in helping others like themselves, the book never tells readers how they might participate?or find help themselves. This book aims high but misses its mark. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
