Little Chicago

I'm sixteen and I actually bought this book for the cover [usually I am very good about these things haha] but it was so much better than I expected from the few lines of summary. This book is amazing. It really brought out the true emotion of Blacky. This was my first Adam Rapp novel and I strongly Recomment "under the wolf, under the dog" and this book together. They are so strong. You won't be able to put them down. The content is a little intense but there is never really detail into the abuse, it's more of a psychological experiance of Blacky Brown. The story just unfolds into a beautifully written book. The style of Adam Rapp's novels are truly mesmerizing.

This book was the best book I have ever read. I must warn you though, for me, it was also the most heartbreaking. I do not think this book is really a good choice for someone with depression, like me, but I am still glad I read it. Rapp's voice as an author is amazing. He has an ability to be a child in his writing. Blacky Brown is an eleven year old boy who I absolutely fell in love with. I love children and so it was awful to read about him going through the abuse and the cruelty from his peers and loved ones, the confusion and hopelessness. Awful only because I felt sorry for him, but the writing is still excellent and seems very true even though it is fiction. The poor boy almost seems as if he is too young to even understand how miserable he is. I would want to save any boy from the fate of Blacky Brown. He is a good kid. This book is brutally honest and depictive, there is a good deal of sexual content and I would never let anyone young read this. I think 16 or older would be sufficient, even though the main character is only 11. This author deserve credit for writing a very gutsy book, a tragedy which I will not forget.

The writing in this book is amazing. The narrative action is the car wreck you see as it occurs, time slowing, your eyes frozen on action you'd rather not witness. The subject matter is, however, far too intense and layered for a middle school student. I know few high school students who could cope with this book. Like another reviewer, I long to see this work used in a university setting.

I loved this book. It's very interesting. I originally picked it out for my brother, but he didn't want to read it. So, being the book worm i am,I read "Little Chicago".The language was a little to old for me, just to warn you. Have fun.Alley.

On a literary level, this is Kerouac or Burroughs for the young reader. Written in a plain, suggestive, stream of consciousness style, time and events flow over Blacky Brown while he innocently takes note. Beautifully written, haunting, surprisingly hopeful.On a practical level, the theme, language, and situations are quite mature. The main character is 10, the readership is 12 and up, but I would hesitate to recommend it for readers so young. I wouldn't be surprised to find it in a college freshman English course.