Miracle's Boys

by Jacqueline Woodson Narrated by Dule Hill

Overview

Nothing is like it used to be. If it were, Mama would still be alive. Papa wouldn't have died. And Charlie would still be the same old loving big brother to 13-year-old Lafayette, not a hostile stranger, just back from doing time at a correctional facility. Oldest brother, Ty'ree, would have gone to college, instead of having to work full-time to support the three of them. And Lafayette wouldn't be so full of questions, like why Mama had to die, why Charlie hates him so much now, and how they're all supposed to survive these times together when so much seems to be set against them.

Jacqueline Woodson brings us the story of three remarkable young men-brothers who have only each other to rely on and must decide whether they'll work with that or let it tear them apart.

Editorial Reviews

barnesandnoble.com

Jacqueline Woodson snagged the 2001 Coretta Scott King Author Award for Miracle's Boys, a moving tale of one family's struggle to make a better life for themselves despite overwhelming odds and terrible tragedy. Woodson is no stranger to award-winning fiction. Among the many awards she has received for her novels are two prior Coretta Scott King Honors.

The story of Miracle's Boys is told by 12-year-old Lafayette Bailey, the youngest of three brothers living in New York City. They are orphans, living under the care of the oldest brother, Ty'ree, 22, a whiz kid who was forced to give up on his dream of attending MIT so he could work full time and keep his family together. The boys' diabetic mother, Milagro (Miracle), died of insulin shock two years ago, and their father died before Lafayette was born, succumbing to hypothermia after his heroic rescue of a woman and a dog from a frozen lake. The middle brother, Charlie, 15, has been away at the Rahway Home for Boys for the past two years, serving a sentence for armed robbery. But now that Charlie's back home, it's all too clear to Lafayette that things will never be the same.

Charlie isn't the same tenderhearted and caring boy he used to be. Newcharlie, as Lafayette now calls him, is changed: bitter, angry, and mean. It's bad enough that the boys are struggling to survive against crushing poverty, oppressive grief, and the ever-present threat of gang violence. Newcharlie's penchant for finding trouble may prove to be a fatal chink in their already rusted armor, leading to a breakup that would send Lafayette and Charlie off to foster homes. In addition, each of the boys is toting a ton of emotional baggage: a collection of guilty secrets, private demons, and mind-numbing fears. Their journey out of the darkness is a step-by-step process toward an uncertain future, and the only thing helping them along is their hope, their dreams, and their love for one another -- "brother to brother to brother."

Woodson's talent for peeling away emotional layers and exposing the raw, unadulterated truth is both riveting and refreshing. Young readers should delight in the moving but funny voice of Lafayette as he deals with his grief, anger, and sense of alienation. And the story's gritty prose and complex characters provide a level of clarity and commonality that should speak well to readers from age nine on up.

--Beth Amos

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Seventh-grader Lafayette fears that he will become separated from his two brothers after the death of their mother. "Viewing household tensions through Lafayette's eyes, readers will come to realize each character's internal conflicts and recognize their desperate need to cling together as a family," said PW. Ages 12-up. (Dec.) n Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-A compelling novel about three streetwise New York City brothers trying to help one another confront their personal demons. Thirteen-year-old Lafayette still grieves for his mother, who died of diabetes two years earlier. He blames himself for not being able to save her. Older brother Ty'ree is more mature and responsible but he, too, is tormented by the past. He witnessed his father rescue a drowning woman and later die of hypothermia before Lafayette was born, and he continues to feel guilty for not being able to help him. Lafayette and Ty'ree take comfort in school, work, and other routines of daily life to keep their lives focused and their minds off the past. All of this changes, however, when a middle brother named Charlie returns from a juvenile-detention facility where he served a three-year sentence for an armed robbery. Having this angry, sometimes hostile presence in their lives forces Lafayette and Ty'ree to depend upon one another even more to work through their grief and figure out how to help Charlie survive. As usual, Woodson's characterizations and dialogue are right on. The dynamics among the brothers are beautifully rendered. The narrative is told through dialogue and Lafayette's introspections so there is not a lot of action, but readers should find this story of tough, self-sufficient young men to be powerful and engaging.-Edward Sullivan, New York Public Library Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172018299
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/24/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	1,159,749
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One "Brothers is the baddest. Then comes Dominicans. Dominicans don't mess around. I'm cool with Dominicans though. They don't mess with me, I don't mess with them.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Miracle's Boys"
by .
Copyright © 2010 Jacqueline Woodson.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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