Scorpions

"That ain't real," Dwayne said. "Come on," Jamal said. There was a taste of blood in his mouth. "You gonna see it's real." Dwayne didn't move. Jamal held the gun pointed at Dwayne's head... Jamal is a troubled teen that has more problems than average. His brother, Randy, is in Jail and the lawyers keep on increasing the prices for their services. Then Jamal meets a former gang member, Mack, who's trying to persuade Jamal to follow his brother's footsteps and join the gun toting, case catching, robbing, Scorpions. Jamal's mother doesn't want him to meet with Mack though. She thinks that Mack is bad news. Jamal and his best friend, Tito, are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They can either join the Scorpions and get the money for his brother's appeal, or let his brother rot in jail.

What happens when you combine peer pressure, a teenage gang, a somewhat unstable family, and drugs? You get Scorpions, a young adult book by African-American author Walter Dean Myers. Jamal, the main character, goes through all of the troubles of adolescence, beginning with the loss of a loved one and continuing with such things as difficulties at school, tension at home, and dealing with a gang. Though Jamal and all of the main characters are black, all teens can relate to Jamal's problems. The main contributors to this book's amazing flavor and personality are the style in which it is written, the many diverse characters, and the plot's appeal to teens of all races. This book deals with the problems a black family has and the ways they must cope with these problems. Myers, a black man himself, has a feel for the way that lower-class black people tend to talk. In fact, all of the dialogues between Jamal and his family or other black people in his surroundings are in the characteristic dialect. This is difficult to get used to at first, but after you realize that this is exactly how the characters would talk, you are drawn into the intricacy of this slightly tweaked version of our language. This language style makes Scorpions all the more fun to read because all of the characters think and speak in an unusual manner. The characters in Scorpions are very diverse. Jamal, Sassy, and Mrs. Hicks (we know her by no other name) are a lower-class black family. Jamal, a boy who has just turned 13, really doesn't know what to do with his life and doesn't deal with trouble well. He can be laid back (sometimes too much - like in school), but can also be mean to Sassy. Sassy is a typical bossy younger sister, and Mrs. Hicks is a hardworking, God-fearing, tough-loving black mother. Jamal's best friend, Tito, is vaguely Puerto Rican, but this isn't brought out very well. Tito lives with his grandmother, Abuela, but other than their Hispanic names, they don't seem Hispanic at all. They do no speak in the dialect like all of the other characters, so they come off as being somewhat flat. Tito is very laid back. The boys in the gang (the Scorpions) are all much older than Jamal and Tito, and they drink and smoke a lot. This comes through in their personalities, for they're often abusive and/or have weird ideas about things, such as the law and how to treat others. The contrast between the uncaring Scorpion members and the laid-back Jamal and Tito brings all of their traits out more. Jamal's every last trait is expressed as he goes through probably the worst time in his life. Jamal's brother, Randy, was arrested and jailed a few months before this book begins. Jamal and his mother are trying to raise money to post Randy's bail, and Jamal eventually ends up running into Randy's old gang members, the Scorpions. Randy's right-hand man, Mack, wants Jamal to become the leader of the Scorpions and run cocaine in Randy's stead. At the same time, J

As a teacher of high school students with reading difficulties, it is very important that I find novels that motivate my students to read. Scorpions has truly gotten my students to enjoy reading! I teach in a large school in the Poconos and many of my students are new arrivals from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Harlem...Scorpions presents the students with a bit of the world they are familiar with. Unfortunately, many of my students are all too familiar with gangs, guns, and drugs. The dialogue in the novel is exactly the dialogue many of my students use when they speak and that, I think, makes Jamal, Tito, and the rest of the characters come alive. This book was actually recommended to me by a student, and now I have many more students interested in the life of young Jamal Hicks. Bravo, and thank you, Walter Dean Myers!

"That aint nothing but a cap pistol"Dwayne said "The scorpions don't have no fake guns"...Jamall's brother, Randy is in jail and he will do everything in his power to try to get his brother out. The Scorpions a book by Walter Dean Myers is a very intriguing book that will keep you on the edge of our seat. This book takes place in New York City in the Projects. To save his brother, Jamal joins the Scorpions, a street gang that sells drugs. To get the money for his brothers appeal he needs to decide whether he should work or take teh easy way ot and sell drugs? Walter Dean Myers uses a great amount of dialogue. The dialogue helps the reader visualize the realistic and interesting events that can take place in teh city and among gang members. In our opinion this is one of the best ones we've read, and should be ennjoyed by everyone. Walter Dean Myers depicts every day problems for teenagers in this incredible book Scorpions.

Scorpions, a book about a gang. Very true to life. It really makes you think about the society today. Drive-by shootings, drugs, sexual harrassment, mostly by gangs. In this book, it really makes you think about these gangs and the dangers of being involved with them. That's what happened to Jamal, isn't it? This is a very sad story about a poor family who is just kind of having to eke out on the edge. Jamal's brother is in jail, and he wants Jamal to take over his gang. The problem is, the whole gang's whacko. This story is very well-written, and you can actually feel Jamal's fear and his sadness. This book is excellent, and I reccomend it to anyone who likes read.