Handbook for Boys : A Novel
Author(s): Walter Dean Myers
In the groundbreaking tradition of his award-winning Monster and Bad Boy: A Memoir, Walter Dean Myers fashions a highly readable, powerful novel about the rules for success for young men, especially those navigating coming of age while Black.
Share this book in the classroom, in a father-son reading group, or as a summer reading (or anytime) choice that's likely to spark conversation and be a favorite.
"When the proprietor of a Harlem barbershop takes over as the court-appointed mentor for two troubled teenagers, he conveys the message that the future is built not only on hard work but on sustaining dreams as well." (Smithsonian magazine).
In his introduction to Handbook for Boys, Walter Dean Myers wrote: "I know as a troubled teenager I would have loved to have a neighborhood barbershop to sit in and a group of worldly and knowledgeable men to counsel me. Thinking about this was my motivation in writing this book, hoping it will be, in the least, a jumping-off point for many interesting conversations about success."
Review(s):
“A novel that will get readers thinking. A great choice for counselors working with teens like Jimmy, and as a spark for debates. A novel that will get readers thinking.”
“Myers’s passion and concern for adolescent boys infuses the [novel] and gives it a heartfelt urgency.”
“Readers will be hooked.”
“As a handbook, it could touch many lives.”
“Myers presents the real-life pitfalls of young people in clear and concise language.”
“Jimmy and Kevin are engaging, and believable, and sympathetic characters, and the Harlem setting is, as always in Myers’s work, richly drawn.”
“I’ve been waiting for somebody to write this book. It doesn’t surprise me that Walter, who’s dedicated to these young people, has written it.”
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
ISBN: 9780064409308