- ISBN13: 9780375727610
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
In 1997 Mark Salzman, bestselling writer Iron as well as Silk as well as Lying Awake, paid a demure revisit to a essay category during L.A.’s Central Juvenile Hall, a jail for aroused teenage offenders, most of them charged with murder. What he found so changed as well as dismayed him which he began to learn there regularly. In voices of memorable romantic presence, a boys write about what led them to crime as well as about a lives which widen forward of them during the back of bars. We s… More >>
True Notebooks: A Writer’s Year during Juvenile Hall
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I seem to be the only one that did not care for this book. (Although that made it easy for me to sell it on half.com).
I did not feel the caring and empathy of the author for the kids that I have in other books of this type that I have read, i.e. Torrey Hayden’s books. Mary MacCracken, etc. Granted, these are two different types of kids. I just do not seem to care for his style of writing.
Rating: 2 / 5
Mark Salzman’s tale of working with young adult’s in a Los Angeles County detention center is extremely moving and an excellent story of somebody giving back to a group who rarely if ever meets adults who care and are willing to invest their time. I was moved by many of the young adults’ writings interspersed between Salzman’s writings. While moving and inspiring, Salzman’s True Notebooks is also a fair account of young adults in the justice system.
Rating: 3 / 5
This is an insightful book into the world of lost kids under the age of 18. Providing a writing program where these kids express their rage is a step forward in healing them. My son is one of these kids, and he tells me that writing has helped him a lot. I understand what these kids are battling against and I highly recommend this book. I also suggest Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self. I gave Optimal Thinking to my son 5 months ago and it turned his thinking and life around. He says he is going to use Optimal Thinking to make the most of every moment in prison. My kid says he now has the confidence to make the best of his life.
Rating: 5 / 5
I taught English to boys in Central Juvenile Hall in LA every day for years. This book refers to conducting a writer’s workshop. This book is an interesting slice of life of a selective audience, not a view reflecting the broader population.
About 75-80% of the kids are not able to function above the 4th or 5th grade level. Many are not literate in any language. There are a few who are very articulate. These kids come from all walks of life.
If the purpose was to really communicate the writing of kids who are in juvenile hall, I think this book missed it. If the attempt was to share some writing of a few incarcerated kids who messed up, it is fine.
Of course, everyone wants to work with the responsive one. The saddest were the ones who had done so much glue that they couldn’t even remember their birthdays…
Rating: 3 / 5
The first book I read by this author, a few weeks ago, was Iron & Silk and it was wonderful. Now he has written something different, though still in the teaching vein. He lives in Los Angeles and a friend of his was teaching at the Central Juvenile Hall in L.A. on a volunteer basis and Mark became curious and eventually decided he too would teach…about writing. The youths were teenagers and many incarcerated awaiting trial for murder. This book lets the youth tell their stories in their own way and it is an eye opener. Mark is guiding all the way, but you discover what is under the veneer of braggadocio for these criminals-in-training. You also find out the importance of becoming involved to help these young people and the results of your concerns. Mark Salzman has found his calling in writing books as he puts you in his picture with telling results. Bravo, Mark !
Rating: 5 / 5