Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780930773755
ISBN number: 0930773756
Label: Black Heron Press
Manufacturer: Black Heron Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 242
Printing Date: August 30, 2005
Publishing house: Black Heron Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1859807
Studio: Black Heron Press
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Rikers is the story of Martin Stokes, known as Forty, a seventeen-year-old on Rikers Island in New York. Forty gets his name from the number of the bed to which he is assigned. He has spent five months on the island, waiting to plead guilty to a minor offense and receive probation. During his last few weeks there, his face is slashed in an attack against another inmate. He is transferred to a different housing unit after the attack and must re-establish himself in another pecking order. In his new unit, he finds support in a teacher, and comes up against Brick, the house gangster. On his final trip to court, Forty has the opportunity to exact revenge when he encounters his assailant again.
This is a novel for adults who are concerned about adolescents.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
This is a super novel. I believed that I was behind bars with the protagonist every page. It is incredible to see what youngsters on Rikers Island go through and how school is such an important part of it all. The novel also explores how NYC is a 50/50 split between minorities and Whites, but Rikers is probably 98% Black and Hispanic. I see why this book won the publisher's award for social fiction. It is a must read!
Rated by buyers 
-
In Rikers, Paul Volponi wants to evoke a gritty underworld of jail, yet never achieves his goal. The protagonist, Martin Stokes, is cut when he is caught in the middle of a fight. As tragic as this may be, it doesn't induce horror in the reader, and Martin deals with just about the same problems as any teen. The title itself is meant to conjure images of an underworld that turns men into animals, but the action occurs in a bubble on a very small part of Rikers Island. In fact, inmates only walk a few feet to school and to the cafeteria each day. Martin tells how he came to jail on a "bubble gum" charge and how a series of events kept him there for five months. We never believe that this is an inmate telling the story. Clearly, it is Mr. Volponi's voice, with jailhouse jargon interjected. Later, Martin is released, earns his GED, attends college, and returns to Rikers as a teacher. For all these life-changing experiences, Martin remains unchanged. He speaks from the same perspective, uses the same jail terminology, and peppers his speech with curses. Also, Mr. Volponi needs to learn the rules of punctuation; he believes that a comma must precede every "and." Additionally, errors appear in print that high school proofreaders would have caught. If a reader wants to learn about life behind bars, RIKERS is not the book to choose.
Rated by buyers -
I can easily see why Black Heron Press awarded Rikers its award for Social Fiction for 2002. It was an easy read, with a powerful message. It should appeal to young adults because it is topical. I also strongly recommend it to adult readers who would like to gain insight into the minds and actions underlying adolescent behavior. Overall, its message was up-lifting and full of hope.
Rated by buyers -
Paul Volponi's debut novel Rikers, centers on Martin Stokes, a seventeen-year-old young man sent to the Rikers prison system. There, Stokes must finish his schooling behind bars as he struggles to survive both physically and emotionally. Rikers is strongly recommended as a serious and engaging narrative about a crucial social issue, expertly written with a firm grip on the realities of prison life and the endurance human spirit.
Find other books like this one:
