Reviews
Books for Adolescents (continued)

Janeczko's introduction presents his reasons for selecting and organizing the poems, providing a map for each of the sections. He emphasizes the importance of exploring the nuances and stages of love in order to understand how it affects our daily lives. By drawing selections from different time periods and cultures, Janeczko illustrates that love is part of all human communities; by reading love literature, we can reflect on other people's experiences in order to understand our own.

Blushing is an accessible and enjoyable collection of love poems and letters for adolescent readers, ages 12 and up. Readers will be drawn to the passionate emotions voiced in each of the sections, while learning the ways in which love adds both fulfillment and frustration to our lives. This balanced approach is useful, as it shows young readers that they are not alone in these experiences. While the collection contains a range of poets, most are mainstream English and American male writers. However, the familiarity of these mainstream names may be an added attraction for some readers. If young men can get past the feminine pink cover, they will enjoy it as much as young women readers.

Paul B. Janeczko (Ed.). 2004. New York: Orchard Books. 98 pp. ISBN 0-439-53056-3. US$15.95.

Brothers in Arms

Reviewed by James Blasingame, Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.

In the latest offering from the Bluford Series, Paul Langan and his coauthor, Ben Alirez, send another new student to Bluford, but this time from just across town. When his little brother is killed by mistake in a drive-by shooting, Martin Luna and his mother move to escape from the dangerous lifestyle Martin has adopted. Living in a rough neighborhood, with no father figure, Martin has looked to gang life for what is missing, and indeed his circle of friends call themselves a “family.”

As the novel opens, younger gangster wannabes are hanging out with Frankie, a 19-year-old deeply in trouble in many ways. When a suspicious vehicle pulls up, Martin suspects the ensuing shooting has probably been precipitated by something Frankie did to someone else. Tragically, Huero, Martin's elementary-age brother who idolizes him, sees the car first and rides his bike directly into the danger zone in an attempt to warn Martin. Huero gets the bullet probably meant for Frankie.

Mrs. Luna is devastated, but she is also determined that she won't lose her remaining son. Although he isn't particularly attached to his present high school, Zamora High, Martin doesn't want to move, but when he comes home from a night of gang initiation to find their apartment empty, he relents. Martin is in trouble from his first day at Bluford High in their new neighborhood. He refuses to take the taunts and insults (physical as well as verbal) thrown at him by tough guy, star athlete, and school darling Steve Morris and finds the majority of people are on Steve's side. The school authorities regard Martin as the new troublemaker, a gang member from a bad neighborhood, and refuse to consider that Steve Morris may be the problem.

Sometimes it only takes one or two people believing in someone to turn that person's whole life around. For Martin these people turn out to be a strong-willed young woman named Vicky and a teacher named Mr. Mitchell. The answer to Martin's problems are not simple, but the strength to solve them resides in his own heart and soul.

The novel's ending is somewhat surprising. In two separate climactic points, Martin takes an unpredictable stance that the reader will find admirable. The Bluford Series typically presents young people in tough situations and follows them as they solve their own problems. Brothers in Arms is no different. Many readers will recognize the troubles that Martin faces as the same ones they face or that people they know face, and they will appreciate how the book treats these problems with respect.

Teachers who are interested in this series of books should take a look at the Townsend Press website, www.townsendpress.com, for some remarkable deals on books and resources, especially if you have a rather small budget for buying paperback novels. You may find you can do more than you imagined.

Paul Langan and Ben Alirez. 2004. West Berlin, NJ: Townsend Press. 152 pp. ISBN 1-59194-017-6. US$4.95 (US$1.00 for teachers and libraries).

Brother Hood

Reviewed by Rhea Spears, English Department, Chandler High School, Chandler, Arizona, USA.

When students walk into my classroom at the beginning of the school year, I often know nothing about the “baggage” they bring with them. It may involve personal, family, relationship, or cultural issues; it may be a combination of problems with which these teenagers are dealing. Well-known young adult author Janet McDonald exhibits a good understanding of exactly that kind of baggage in her novel Brother Hood, about a teenager who finds himself in the middle of several issues in two different locations.