Bronx Masquerade

Rating:
Summary: extreme blow out
Review: My name is [a student from Captain Cartwrights class]The book Bronx Masquerade is so far the best book i've ever read.Even though my sixth grade class [my teacher Captain Cartwright]has not finished reading the book almost everyone loves[Captain Cartwright has finished it]this book .If you are reading this then I strongly urge you to buy this book.This book has a extremely realistic plot.I have to say my favorite character of this book is Tyron.I say this because he acts like a actual person in Brooklyn.It also has real problems that would happen in a school.So this is the end of my review of the book Bronx Masquerade By:Nikki Grimes.If possible i would have gave this book 10 stars but they only let you give 5, but it deserves every one.A awsome book.

Rating:
Summary: Hide your face so the world will never find you
Review: Nikki Grimes's, "Bronx Masquerade" won the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award without debate. It has inspired numerous poetry slams in high schools across the country. The book is beloved and honored everywhere. I'm saying all this because I have a shameful shameful secret. I didn't love this book like the rest of the world. It was well-written, for the most part, and dealt with issues that are very rarely touched on in ANY books today, let alone books for young adults. And yet I wasn't taken with it.

"Bronx Masquerade" follows the individual stories of the students of a poetry class taught in a New York public high school. Each kid in the class begins with his or her own preconceptions about their fellow students. During the course of the book/class, these preconceptions are pounded to dust as the kids write and recite poetry about their problems and dreams. Grimes is adept at making each individual in the class a different and distinct personality. In the end, no one dislikes anyone else and everyone has high hopes, or at least highER hopes, for their future.

The book is brave and endearing in what it wants to teach kids today. But there are some real problems with it that make me doubt its future staying power. To make this book realistic and applicable, Ms. Grimes has given the main character of the piece, Tyrone, some very slangy text. Tyrone refers to his "homies". He ends sentences with the phrase, "Word". Now, it's 2004 as I write this, and already I know that these terms are out of date. Any kid reading these phrases is going to doubt the legitimacy of the text. In five years, the book is going to seem dated. And in ten years it's possible the slang will obscure the message and render this book more of a historical piece than anything else. This is a real shame too. There's a lot in this book that the author is trying to convey, and in her opinion slang was the best way to become "real". The fact that it may doom this book to future obscurity is a shame, but there's nothing to be done about that now. It was a choice made.

Another slightly odd writing choice is how the author uses Tyrone. As every single person reads a poem the Tyrone point-of-view says something along the lines of, "Frankly, I didn't know Raul had it in him", or, "So, the daydreamer speaks". Tyrone, tough guy, never really ridicules any of the readers. Not even the ultra-religious Sterling. This strained my suspension of disbelief. The story takes on the feeling of a fantasy when EVERYBODY is accepted by everybody else. Couldn't Tyrone have disliked just one person and not accepted them instantly after reading a poem?

Ah well. It's a nice book just the same. Nikki Grimes is a poet in her own right. And each child's writing is unique and distinct from anyone else's. For those interested in poetry written by REAL kids in the Bronx, you might want to consider "I Heard A Scream In the Street: Poetry By Young People In the City", selected by Nancy Larrick. It may have been written in 1970, but it speaks loud and clear to kids living today.

Rating:
Summary: Hide your face so the world will never find you
Review: Nikki Grimes's, "Bronx Masquerade" won the 2002 Coretta Scott King Award without debate. It has inspired numerous poetry slams in high schools across the country. The book is beloved and honored everywhere. I'm saying all this because I have a shameful shameful secret. I didn't love this book like the rest of the world. It was well-written, for the most part, and dealt with issues that are very rarely touched on in ANY books today, let alone books for young adults. And yet I wasn't taken with it.

"Bronx Masquerade" follows the individual stories of the students of a poetry class taught in a New York public high school. Each kid in the class begins with his or her own preconceptions about their fellow students. During the course of the book/class, these preconceptions are pounded to dust as the kids write and recite poetry about their problems and dreams. Grimes is adept at making each individual in the class a different and distinct personality. In the end, no one dislikes anyone else and everyone has high hopes, or at least highER hopes, for their future.

The book is brave and endearing in what it wants to teach kids today. But there are some real problems with it that make me doubt its future staying power. To make this book realistic and applicable, Ms. Grimes has given the main character of the piece, Tyrone, some very slangy text. Tyrone refers to his "homies". He ends sentences with the phrase, "Word". Now, it's 2004 as I write this, and already I know that these terms are out of date. Any kid reading these phrases is going to doubt the legitimacy of the text. In five years, the book is going to seem dated. And in ten years it's possible the slang will obscure the message and render this book more of a historical piece than anything else. This is a real shame too. There's a lot in this book that the author is trying to convey, and in her opinion slang was the best way to become "real". The fact that it may doom this book to future obscurity is a shame, but there's nothing to be done about that now. It was a choice made.

Another slightly odd writing choice is how the author uses Tyrone. As every single person reads a poem the Tyrone point-of-view says something along the lines of, "Frankly, I didn't know Raul had it in him", or, "So, the daydreamer speaks". Tyrone, tough guy, never really ridicules any of the readers. Not even the ultra-religious Sterling. This strained my suspension of disbelief. The story takes on the feeling of a fantasy when EVERYBODY is accepted by everybody else. Couldn't Tyrone have disliked just one person and not accepted them instantly after reading a poem?

Ah well. It's a nice book just the same. Nikki Grimes is a poet in her own right. And each child's writing is unique and distinct from anyone else's. For those interested in poetry written by REAL kids in the Bronx, you might want to consider "I Heard A Scream In the Street: Poetry By Young People In the City", selected by Nancy Larrick. It may have been written in 1970, but it speaks loud and clear to kids living today.

Rating:
Summary: Bronx Masquerade
Review: The book the Bronx Masquerade takes place in the Bronx. The book is a compilation of young teenagers talking about their different experiences and views on life. To me the book is extremely insightful and real in the sense that all of the teenagers talking, talk about real things and real experiences that happen in the world amongst people such as themselves or teenagers that are in the same situaton as them. The group of students in the book come from the same english class in school but the students are all very different. The students teacher Mr. Ward is a very warm and kind man who is trying to have the students open up their minds to poerty. He tries to have the students write about whatever they like and read it infront of the class. Many of the teenagers in the book have negative outlooks on life. The students believe that because of a certain race you are you won't make it in the world. Through reading the biographies and poems that the students wrote you feel like you can relate to their experiences or maybe even understand where they are coming from. There is much worry and struggle coming from the students words and ideas. Throughout the book some characters are more memorable like Tyrone, but there is still a remembrance of all of the characters. Overall the book is interesting and great for teenagers to read amd relate to. Through the poetry and realistic views that the students try and portray the students show who they are and what they want to become.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome structure
Review: This book has incredible potential of gaining more awards. The novel is about a class of teenagers in the Bronx, NY. Their English teacher, Mr. Ward, has an idea about how to get the class involved in the subject that they are covering, The Harlem Renaissance. He asks the class to write original poetry and share it with the class on "Open Mike Friday". What he gets is teenagers opening up to reveal a side of them that hardly any knew. The book is written in a way that is anything other than ordinary. I highly recommend this to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Poetry Blowout
Review: This book is about these students who are in middle school and they are going to find whoj they really are. This book has a lot of poetry in it if you are a poetry fan. Bronx Masquerade is a very interesting story because each little poem tells a story about someone's life. It shares so much passoin in one little book. One day there teacher tells them they are going to explore the world of poetry. Thye decide that they want to share their poems with the class and so the teacher comes up with "Open Mike Fridays". This is when you get up in front of the class and share your poems on Fridays. This book is really good because there is this boy named Tyrone. Tyrone is his own person and he is a street boy who doesn't care about school one bit. But when they have these Open Mike Fridays he tells about each little poem that someone wrote and expresses what he fells. To me that is very interesting. The characteration in this book is so real. There are so many people expressing themselves. It is just incredible. I really liked this book a whole lot. I hope that you like it too.

Rating:
Summary: This Great Book
Review: This is a fantastic book that I think many people should read. It is not like a regular book that talks about one person. This book talks about different peoiple in different sorts of ways. It describes people through poems and other types of writing. It is very descriptive and tells us a lot about each character. The auther makes the book more interesting and make teenagers want to read the book.

I read this book with a group of kids in the 8th grade for an English Class we are attending. All of us in the group thought that the book was well written and that we could follow what was happening.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This is a great book. The book is very fast paced and teaches great life lessons. Although, I was sometimes bored with the same repetitive moral in each chapter, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I thought Grimes rode that line a little too much in this book, but still overall it's a great read!

Rating:
Summary: TRUE INSPIRATION
Review: This is the first book of Nikki Grimes' that I have ever read and I loved it. "Bronx Masquerade" gives teens a whole new perspective on not only the importance and enjoyment of literature and poetry but also the identities of individuals in a multicultural society. The fact that this book is composed of kids' thoughts about themselves and others and the pomes they create in response to these thoughts really capture your attention. Each of the 18 students learns something about himself that changes his perspective about his future. A young black teenager who sees no future for himself in a community where guns and violence have taken over suddenly realizes he has a passion for words. A chubby teenage girl notices that her friends no long pay attention to the way she looks because they have become so immersed in her beautiful poetry. All of this comes from writing poems and reading them in front of the class on what their teacher calls Open Mike Friday. The poems these students "write" are so creative and really make this book quite unique. I could not put it down because I was so eager to read how these kids were going to write about their lives in their next poem. This book shows kids that they are allowed to different and they are allowed to be smart. It's ok to want to read and do well in school. I think that nay teen that is interested in poetry, or rap for that matter, even in the slightest should read this book. As a future teacher, I see books like these as leading our students in the right direction toward enlightenment. The only thing I think could have been added to this book would be the teacher's perspective on what is taking place in his classroom. I wonder what he would say? This book makes me want to write my own poems!! I am truly inspired.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Truly a wonderful book. The characters are realistic without being cliche, the poetry is artistic and moving, and I love the premise of the story. As a high school student, I myself took a creative writing class every semester (even though it didn't count for credit after the second time), and I can't say enough about the importance of expressing yourself through writing. Especially during the rough time that is adolesence.

Jazmin's Notebook, also by Grimes, is great too.