This was really amazing, eye opening, and scary. Although it is clearly meant to educate, the story avoids being preachy, and I was completely drawn in. Is it appropriate for middle schoolers? I think it would be a great book to read and discuss, because there is a lot to process. Ultimately I think everyone should read this at some point - maybe in eighth grade, maybe later, depending on the student and whether they have a chance to talk about it with an adult. Some people might be put off by the trash talking language, but the real story being told is too important to focus on the way people talk when they're trying to be tough. It's an inspiring story that I will definitely be curious to learn more about. ( )

This book was about Geoffrey Canada growing up in the Bronx. The book spanned from when Geoffrey was four to when he was in college. He mentioned important lessons and experiences he went through in that time. Some were as simple as standing up for yourself and your family, while others included lessons in what to do when in dangerous situations.


It was a great experience seeing Geoffrey grow up and see him learn. The book was told from his perspective and you can see his mind developing over time. He absorbed the lessons taught to him and then applied his own personal convictions to them. I think it was a good idea to turn this book into a comic book. I really liked the images and the way it was constructed. To me the only thing that would have made the book better was if it was in color. One of the most powerful images to me was when Geoffrey decided to get rid of his gun. He realized that the longer he held onto it the more likely he was to use it and he didn’t want to kill anyone.


This book was an enjoyable read and I would definitely put it in my class library. It’s something my students would read to relax, but they would also get a few lessons out of the book as well. Sometimes you have to do things to adapt to your environment, but you can also make personal decisions that can positively further yourself. Just like Geoffrey did. ( )

Violence is usually damaging in many ways, always for the victim but for the perpetrator too. Canada's depiction of his childhood in the ghetto, were violence and retaliation was encouraged by not only peers but parents as well makes for a disturbing story and an insightful look into effects of violent culture on children and how it translates into antisocial adult behavior. Definitely a worthy read.

This is a quick read, but it was fascinating. Violence begets violence, especially in the cities, and even more so in the South Bronx. Harrowing and uplifting all in the same. ( )

This "true story in black and white" picks incidents from Geoffrey Canada's life, growing up in the South Bronx. That's obviously a hard place to live. And the lessons Canada had to learn in order to survive on those mean streets are also very hard. Every place has bullies, and Canada's first lessons are about having to stand up to them. But not every place has a social milieu where the bigger kids force the little kids into fights in order to create a pecking order. The "rules of the block" were apparently full of lessons that were brutal, and based on fights in order to get a "reputation."

That brutality gets escalated as Canada gets older. It's what forces him to graduate from using fists to other weapons. Each step carries it's own lessons. When he gets a knife, Canada practices and practices with it, until the day he makes a mistake and cuts himself badly. Tellingly, he says "I knew that I needed to get to the hospital. But if I went, I would have to tell my mother about the knife...and there would go my protection and my newfound freedom...I decided I would rather take the risk of infection than give up my weapon."

Makes me glad, that I never grew up in the South Bronx. What a stupid position to have to find yourself in.

The last chapter, Chapter 10, is about Canada's relationship to the gun he buys for protection. It's revealing to see how possession of the weapon changes the way he acts. For me, that was the best part about the whole book, since I have so many friends into guns - and EVERY one of them voices a variation of Canada's point of view, Every one of them has had their personality and judgment skewed by the gun in their pocket. Every one of them has become more reckless because of the supposed protection the weapon supposedly brings. I wish every one of them had the (Christian) upbringing that Canada had, and the serenity and peace that would allow them to think through their situation, as Canada did. He threw his weapon away. He has ended up being a hugely respected educator, with a Master's degree from Harvard.