Rating: 
Summary: the boy who doesn't give up
Review: alfred brooks had problems and never gave up on the things that he wanted to do. He had a friend who is in trouble with drug abuse and it seemed like nothing would be the same so he starts training at donatelli's gym to be a boxer and he really believes he could make it. He has a dream and dosen't give up no matter what.
Rating:
Summary: The Contender -- -- I give it 5 stars
Review: The main character of "THE CONTENDER" is ALFRED. He is almost 16 and he works at a grocery store. He knows a group of kids that he hangs out with and they look at him and they make fun of him and they call him slave. His best friend is James.One day all of his friends want to go rob a store and Alfred doesn't want to because he works for the people that own the store. James is arrested and put in jail.Alfred feels guilty because he thinks it was his own fault for not telling them about a silent alarm in the store. Then Alfred's frend Henry convinces him to go down to the gym and be a boxer. Alfred sets his goals to be a "CONTENDER".I think this book is good. I would recommend other students to read it because its a fantastic book.
Rating: 
Summary: THE CONTENDER/ Boxing Out Of Trouble
Review: The book THE CONTENDER Robert Lipsyte is a book about a hard working teenager that goes through many problems in life. The main character's name was Alfred and he lives in the city. He was
in high school till he dropped out. He had big problems in his life. His friends were sinking into trouble and other kids are after him. So he started to go to Donatelli's Gym which is a boxing club in Harlem. This book was a great book to read. I would recommend this book to anybody that likes books about a young man who worked very hard to meet his goal.
Rating:
Summary: The Contender/Goal achiever
Review: This book THE CONTENDER was written by Robert Lipsyte and is about a teenage boy Alfred Brooks. He drops out of high school and he has a grocery store job that is going downhill. His best friend is getting more and more into drug addiction each day. There are also some street kids after him for something he didn't do. So Alfred decides to go to Donatellis's Gym. This is a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions before in its past. Alfred learns and conditions to become a boxer there. It requires a lot of work and a lot of time before he can become a professional boxer. He also learns that it's the effort not the win that makes you the man. I liked this book a lot. It taught me a lesson and I hope it teaches you one too. I give this book two thumbs up and a 10 out 10.
Rating:
Summary: Best seller ''Contender''
Review: If you are in to violent action packed books then this is the book for you. It is about a young boy named Alfred Brooks. His mom died and his father left him. Now he lives with his aunt Pearl and he is trying to help out by working at the grocery store. Things suddenly takes a slope down hill. I'm not going to tell the rest but I definetly suggest this book to anybody willing to read it. This book teaches how hard life was for a young African American in that area at that time. The time was in the sixteys, and he lived in Harlom,and it dosent help if your mom and dad, and you dont even know yoour dad. If you read this book I promise that you will hear a new peropect on life.
Rating:
Summary: Friendship and to never give up
Review: I felt that the story was great. I think it could have been even better if they ended the story differently. They might have put in what happened to Alfred: did he ever stay with boxing? They should have told us what happened to James: did he come over his drug problem? I think that anybody that likes a story with real problems with every day life will like this novel.The book takes place in Harlem, New York. The book's main character Alfred Brooks is faced with many challenges and how he came over them. His friend,James, has a drug problem but they never say what happens to him at the end. The book is about Alfred trying to overcome obstacles in his life and the changes boxing has on his life. For me the peek of the story was when Alfred has to box Elston Hubbard and before the match begins he is told that it will be his last fight. Yes, I believe that the book is believable. The book was pretty fast paced. The book is for about 3 year olds and up.
Rating:
Summary: The Review
Review: The book the contender was a good book that I rated a four star book. Thier were many reasons why I liked this book it was never boring or did it ever drag on. Alfred brooks was from Harlem New York and lived with his aunt. He had dropped out of school and was working at a grocery store bagging groceries. He had a best friend who had gotten into touble and some people blamed Alfred and beat him up for it. Alfred was tired of being scared and wanted to become something and defend himself so he went to join a boxing club. The action never stopped and it went to Alfred's problems on the streets at home and in the boxing ring and it was always interesting to see how he overcame his problems. It is a good book and never get's boring and keeps you thinking what will happened next.
Rating:
Summary: The Contender
Review: In the book The Contender by Robert Lipsyte, a boy named Alfred Brooks discovered dreams of becoming a boxer. I really enjoyed this story, I thought it was an outstanding read and very well written. I also liked how the author wrote the story; he made it so I didn't want to put the book down. Brooks feels he has been living his life a nobody, so in this book he challenges himself to become a somebody.
Brooks has had a hard time all his life; he had been getting beaten up on the streets and pushed around lately so he decided to become a fighter. Brooks had a good friend named James almost his whole life. James started to hang around with the wrong people and was getting into the wrong things. James starts to become a druggie and when Brooks tried to stop him James gets mad at him and the two of them split up. After a few weeks Brooks still thought about James but his mind was focused on boxing and his training, trying to become a somebody, trying to become a boxer. Meanwhile James is just getting deeper and deeper into his drug addiction. Brooks was training with a man named Dr. Donatelli. This man works Brooks hard for weeks and he leaves it up to him whether or not if he wants to keep training. Brooks is getting tired of all the hard work he is doing so he thinks about quitting but he decided to stick it out and keep doing his best. Brooks is now on his way to becoming a fighter, and his friend James, an addict. Brooks now faces the world on his own with no partner to help him, and is now trying to save his old friend and himself.
One of the main reasons that I thought this book was so enjoyable was that there was always something happening. For example the story talks about Brooks and his training and the decisions he has to make on his life and what to do with it. Another reason why I really like this book is that I have always liked boxing but I never hear about it because we don't have it around here. So I thought the book was very interesting and enjoyable because it shows and teaches me more about the sport. A third reason why I enjoyed this book was how it showed two really good friends split up, but in the end come back together. I thought it was interesting how it showed that James was getting into the wrong things and making bad choices, but he didn't listen to his friend. Later in the story James makes a very bad decision and gets hurt bad. Brooks heard about what had happened and found James and said he would help him back on his feet. In the end they both realize they need each other as friends and as partners.
As you can see I have really enjoyed this book. These two friends get in a fight but in the end they realize that they really need each other to make it through life. In any case I thought this was one of the best books I have read. The main reason is that I thought it was such an outstanding read was because I find boxing so fascinating. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes boxing, or a person who just feels the want a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: I have read this book a couple of times and I find it very interesting. One of the points I love about this book is the development of the characters in the book. This book is a great book for the 7-10 grade ages, but also great to read at any age. I also found this book very inspiring and uplifting. Although the ending is not how i would have liked it, it is a belivible ending however. I recommend this book to any reader looking for a uplifting book.
Rating: 
Summary: Alfred becomes a boxer
Review: The book was interesting, but I didn't understand the ending of the book. If you like action and you like to be surprised then The Contender is the book to read. It was a good book. I think the book should have ended up in a different way. ALfred makes wrong decisions, but later in the book, he meets people who believe in him and will help steer him the right way.
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