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Miracle's Boys

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
From a three-time Newbery Honor author, a novel that was awarded the 2001 Coretta Scott King award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize

For Lafayette and his brothers, the challenges of growing up in New York City are compounded by the facts that they've lost their parents and it's up to eldest brother Ty'ree to support the boys, and middle brother Charlie has just returned home from a correctional facility.

Lafayette loves his brothers and would do anything if they could face the world as a team. But even though Ty'ree cares, he's just so busy with work and responsibility. And Charlie's changed so much that his former affection for his little brother has turned to open hostility.

Now, as Lafayette approaches 13, he needs the guidance and answers only his brothers can give him. The events of one dramatic weekend force the boys to make the choice to be there for each other—to really see each other—or to give in to the pain and problems of every day.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 3, 2001
      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.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 10, 2001
      Currently riding high with a role in TV's The West Wing, actor Hill's hip reputation and powerful performance here are a perfect match for Woodson's affecting novel about three orphaned African-American brothers struggling to stay together and survive on their own in contemporary New York City. Hill narrates as sensitive, 13-year-old Lafayette, youngest of the three siblings, who is trying to cope with the stresses that often overwhelm him. He's still haunted by the memories of finding his mother Milagro, or Miracle, dead from illness, and confused by the evil actions of middle brother Charlie, recently released from a juvenile detention center. As a stabilizing, caring force, oldest brother Ty'ree works hard to hold the family together in the face of great personal sacrifice. Woodson's realistic situations and dialogue are given even more resonance via Hill's comfortable delivery. And her message of love and hope winning out shines through loud and clear when Hill rises to the emotional, but never sappy, conclusion. Ages 10-14.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 24, 2000
      Once again, Woodson (If You Come Softly; From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun) reveals a keen understanding of the adolescent psyche via the narration of a winning seventh-grader. Lafayette, whose mother has recently died, is worried that some day he will be separated from his two older brothers: high-school-graduate Ty'ree, who gave up a scholarship to MIT to take care of his younger siblings; and Charlie, the rebellious middle boy, who, after spending more than two years in a correctional facility, has returned home cold and tough. (Lafayette calls him "Newcharlie," because his brother, with whom he was once so close, now seems unrecognizable to him.) Viewing household tensions and hardships 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. The boys' loyalties to one another are tested during a cathartic climax, though it is resolved a bit too easily, and Lafayette's visions of his mother aren't fully developed or integrated into the plot. Gang violence and urban poverty play an integral part in this novel, but what readers will remember most is the brothers' deep-rooted affection for one another. An intelligently wrought, thought-provoking story. Ages 10-up.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.3
  • Lexile® Measure:660
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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