The Contender

Rating:
Summary: A great book I recommend for everyone.
Review: I really like the book. Robert Lipsyte really described Alfred's life well. I think anyone and everyone should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: This was one of the best books I have ever read! (**)
Review: I thought this book was really good. I have only read a few books that I have liked. This book was so good because this could actually be a real 17 year old that I know. Even though it was written in 1976. It develops a real good picture in your mind especially during his fights. After I finished the book I wanted to know if there was a sequel. So read this book!

Rating:
Summary: A book about a boy in the hood
Review: This book was tight. I had to read a book for a class project so I chose this one. The first night I read it I was like dang this is tight. The night I put it down I was like dang this book had a lot of feeling and I could relate. It left me with a wierd feeling like I wish he would make a part 2 or put it in the movies. It was real It really showed a boy tryin to make in the hood. I really got hooked on it. If yall thugs or street nigg&s, then yall gonna like this.

Rating:
Summary: This was the greatest book I have ever read.
Review: From the very beginning to the very end this book was full of action and detail. Lipstyles did an outsanding job conveying the life of an african american in Harlem. It was an all around great book.

Rating:
Summary: This book could be about any teenage boy...
Review: I enjoyed reading this book, because it could be any teenage boy living in a ruff neighborhood. I understand where Alfred is coming from. He wants to fit in, but he doesn't want to get caught up in a bad crowd. So he joins a gym to become a boxer. I would recommend this book to any teenager that is trying to better themselves.

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book 5 stars all the way, & I hate reading
Review: I fell in love with this book in the first page I loved it 5 stars all the way. For anyone who hates reading like me for me to say it's a good book you would think it would be bible

Rating:
Summary: The story offers many aspects for study and consideration.
Review: I taught this book to my 9th grade students and really enjoyed the different issues it touched upon. My students really connected with the main character and the struggles he must overcome. We were able to discuss historical aspects like the Civil Rights Movement, as well as contemporary aspects like drug use and the human struggle to overcome adversity. I think it is a great novel for young adults because it offers them a jumping off place for critical thinking and writing.

Rating:
Summary: This book is recommended to any teenager.
Review: I love this book. I am a 16 year old and we read this book in class for book report. This is the only book, out of 15 different books we read this year, That I actually liked. Thanks Robert Lipsyte, for a great story, and making my English class a little bit more exciting that it is.

Rating:
Summary: This book is awkward
Review: This book is pretty good. It's about a a boy named Alfred Brooks who has dropped out of school and is working in a grocery store. He takes up boxing for something to do, to be good at after his best friend, James, dumps him for some new friends. While the book has a good plot, it just doesn't flow together. There are some awkward pauses where it jumps from one thing to the next with no explanation. The friendship between Alfred and James is important to the book, but not well defined, making it hard to have sympathy for James or to understand why Alfred still wants to be his friend after James dumps him. All in all, this book is pretty okay.

Rating:
Summary: A young teenager fighting for his life in the streets
Review: A young teennager who is hanging with the wrong guys, is going through some tough situations. He first is being chased and haunted down by some guys that used to be very close friends with him and now they want him for a severe reason. He seems to be scared and he wants to fight for his life, so now he tries out to be a Contender. I love the book a lot, you should try reading it.