Rikers High - Paul Volponi

Summary:

Martin was sitting on the front stoop of his apartment building minding his own business when he was arrested for something he didn’t even mean to do. Five months later, he’s still locked up on Rikers Island, in a New York City jail. Just when it seems things couldn’t get much worse, Martin is caught between two warring prisoners, and his face is slashed. Now he’ll be forever marked with a prison scar. One good thing comes from the attack: Martin is transferred to a different part of Rikers where inmates are required to attend high school. If Martin opens up to a teacher who really seems to care, perhaps he’ll learn a lesson more valuable than any taught in class.

An award-winning author, Paul Volponi is uniquely qualified to tell Martin’s story because he taught on Rikers Island for six years. He originally wrote Rikers for an adult audience. The book has been revised for young adults and is being republished as Rikers High.


Grade: B

Review:

Rikers High is a very interesting book that is different from anything I've ever read. It's a very interesting tale about what it's really like in jail and what the teenagers in the jail system are like. It says in the beginning of the ARC that Rikers High is based off of stories that happened when Volponi was a teacher there.

The only thing that I can really complain about with Rikers High is that I never felt connected to the main character. I felt like I was just reading the story because it was interesting and I had the book for review. That's really the main thing that kept me reading Rikers High. If I didn't have it for review, I don't know if I would've finished it or not because I just didn't get INTO the story.

I would recommend checking this book out from the library rather than purchasing it. :) Rikers High is out today in bookstores, so check it out!

hope.