Rating: 
Summary: Authentic Voice
Review: Mark Salzman was a writer with writer's block. He couldn't quite make a juvenile delinquent character multidimensional, so he asked for some help from his friend Duane. Duane volunteered as a writing teacher at a juvenile detention facility in LA and Mark went to observe the class. After observing the class Mark is talked into offering his own class, and begins meeting with some of the "gentlemen" twice per week.
There are a few specific things I would like to comment on here before wholeheartedly recommending this book to anyone who has worked with this population (male teenagers "offenders") or anyone who has a negative stereotype about "kids in juvenile hall." Walking in on your first day and putting your stereotypes aside is not the easiest thing to do, but Salzman did it and stuck with his class. One major thing that I noticed was that Salzman didn't push his views or experiences on his students - he allowed them to speak in their authentic voices and to talk about the things that were truly important and influential to them. He also didn't "leave his hat at the door" as so many educators do. Personally I feel that if you're going to teach and help your students to find their voices and themselves, you shouldn't only think about that while you're at school (or in class). Salzman demonstrated that he had internalized his students and class by going above and beyond what his (unpaid) teaching required. He found students dictionaries so they could translate their first language into written English, he attended hearings for his students and offered to speak on their behalf, and he treated his students as peers in the writing area, rather than juvenile delinquents he was teaching. I feel that all of these things combined made Salzman the influential figure that he was to these boys.
If I were to make any negative statements about this book they would be fused with the negativity that dominates our society when discussing the areas of corrections and juvenile crime. Having had experience in these areas, I feel as if the overarching tone of the book is positive but in reality this is not always the case. When one thinks about it in terms of the positive impact that one person can have on adolescents it does leave the reader with a positive feeling and hope that there are more people who are able to work with these adolescents (and others) on this level.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated...
Review:
Judging from the glowing reviews this book has received, I would say 'True Notebooks' is one of the most overrated books I've read recently. It's not a bad book, but it didn't do much for me either. Salzman, who was nominated at one point for a Pulitzer Prize, is like one of those actors who repeatedly gets nominated for awards and you never understand why. His writing is the very definition of average. In fact, it's hard to believe he sweat much over this manuscript.
Part of the problem, for me, with this book is that it covers familiar territory. If you've read 'Dead Man Walking' by Helen Prejean, 'Random Family' by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, or even 'A Round Heeled Woman' by Jane Juska (although that book is about midlife dating adventures, the author does write well about her experiences teaching writing at San Quentin) the subject will be familiar to you. Some of the student writing is fascinating, but Salzman doesn't do a very good job of characterizing the Juvenile Hall or the boys who live there. I think Nicole LeBlanc creates a much more vivid picture in 'Random Family' -- I read that book six months ago but can still remember the people in it. I have a feeling I won't remember any of the boys in this book.
I didn't hate the book, but I do think Salzman is overrated. 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Volunteer work pays off
Review: "True Notebooks" was by far one of the best books I have read in a long time. It gave a behind the scenes look at a juvenile delinquent hall in Los Angeles by a writer named Mark Salzman, also the author of this book. He volunteers to teach a creative writing class at a detention center for incarcerated minors to try and get some ideas for a character in his upcoming book, not knowing that he would recieve alot more than just a couple of ideas. These young men showed Mark and society a different side of them nobody every knew exsisted and if you want to find out about the "other side" I highly reccomend you read this book. I promise you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Volunteer work pays off
Review: "True Notebooks" was by far one of the best books I have read in a long time. It gave a behind the scenes look at a juvenile delinquent hall in Los Angeles by a writer named Mark Salzman, also the author of this book. He volunteers to teach a creative writing class at a detention center for incarcerated minors to try and get some ideas for a character in his upcoming book, not knowing that he would recieve alot more than just a couple of ideas. These young men showed Mark and society a different side of them nobody every knew exsisted and if you want to find out about the "other side" I highly reccomend you read this book. I promise you won't be able to put it down once you pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: True Notebooks: A book to read
Review: Among today's T.V. shows, films, news, and documentaries, this book is truly a book to be read. You get to read about Mark Salzman and how his life changed when he began teaching at a Juvenile Detention Facility. You get to read the conversations and the writings of Marks students, who suprisingly are Juvenile Delinquents. As you read you will find yourself seeing that you have more in common with Marks students than you could have guessed. This book is truly filled with writings that inspire and make the mind fill with images. The conversations overflow eith personality and emotion. Sure this book may not be action packed or romantic, but it is what you do not read about, hear about on the radios, or watch on the T.V. every day. It is real.
Rating: 
Summary: Salzman does it again
Review: As an instructor in communications at the University of Connecticut, I recently had the opportunity to bring two corrections officers from Bridgeport into class. Their expressed purpose was to tell us how they manage to keep over 800 mostly juvenile offenders in line with communications while they await trial or sentencing. More than the communication challenge came though as they instructed the class, all youngsters themselves, about their professionalism and how they treat all prisoners with dignity and respect, regardless of their crime(s). Of course they expect the same in return.
Then I read Mr. Salzman's book not because of my recent experience but because I am a great fan. Through the book and the lecture my eyes were opened about really goes on in the lock-up and about at least some of the people inside.
It gives one a new perspective.Martin Arnold
Trumbull, Conn.
November 26, 2003
Rating:
Summary: A "born" writer, but "born" in the wrong place.
Review: As I read the words of the teen boys Mark Salzman worked with in Los Angeles, I felt like I was hearing the voices of teen boys I once advocated for when I lived in WA State. "Mark's boys" lived in Juvenile Hall, "my boys" lived in group homes. Similar backgrounds, these kids show that when someone takes the time to hear them - who they are as opposed to what their charges are - their potential to be more than their birthright secured them is astonishing.
Unfortunately there aren't many people who are willing to hear them. The staff hired to "counsel" them are usually low wage, uneducated (and at times WhEn the need is great, without even a background check completed), people who are in over their heads. This "counsel" does more harm than good. These kids need more Mr. Sills and Sister Janet, as well as more Mark Salzman's!!
I hope a lot of people read this book, and take from it that a lot needs to be done to change our Juvenile Justice System, by them as well as by our government.
Rating:
Summary: true and astonshing work
Review: Author Mark Salzman admits right off the bat that he wanted to refuse a friend's request to lead a writing group at a juvenile hall. He's uncomfortable around teenagers, and he feels unqualified to teach minority youths from a different background than his. Those would be on my list of reasons to refuse, too. But he goes and finds the students to be surprisingly articulate, more so than the adult education students he teaches elsewhere. The inmates in turn, irritate, amaze, disgust, and impress Salzman with their writing. Some go on to healthier lives, some don't, but he manages (cliche though it is) to make an impact on quite a few - mostly when he believes he's done the opposite. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: BEST READ OF THE FALL BOOKS
Review: For fans of Mark Salzman's prose--and they are many--True Notebooks is like a grand homecoming: the spare, elegant prose, the hard-headed wisdom, and the down to earth compassion that characterizes so much of this author's literary corpus--they are all here. But there is more. True Notebooks is so hard to put down ( I read it in two days) because Salzman has dared to enter a realm long fraught with trouble for literaray adventurers, namely prison. Yet Salzman's unforgettable encounters with kid murderers rings true, as does his work with them in his juvenile hall workshops. When I finally put the book down I could not stop thinking about them. The ultimate book group book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a gem--please read it
Review: I couldn't put this book down. It inspired me, surprised me, made me laugh, made me cry. I don't know how Mark Salzman does it but he makes writing look easy. His style is all about telling the stories in a nonjudgmental yet insightful way unencumbered by literary theatrics or hyperbole. I can't imagine anyone reading this and not being moved by it in some way. This is a perfect book. After finishing it, the characters continue to haunt me and I've decided to buy a few more copies to send to family and friends so I can spread the word about this wonderful piece of literature. We need more books like this to bring about understanding which in turn breeds compassion.
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