I fell in love with this book on the first page. Paul Volponi weaves sentences and creates characters that get you thinking. Rikers High was so well- written, it had me crying... twice. The first day I got this book, I had read the first fifty pages, taken a nap, and finished the rest of the book. Only one other book has made me want to wake up from a nap to finish it. I really have to hand it to Volponi; he can really pull you in.
Martin Stokes could hold his own in the tough New York City neighborhood where he grew up, but that's nothing- nothing- compared to Rikers Island. Martin's been in the Rikers Island jail for five months and counting, locked up for a crime he didn't even mean to commit.
After his court date is delayed yet again, Martin gets caught in a razor fight between two warring inmates. Now his face will be forever marked with a jailhouse scar. But one good thing comes from this attack: Martin is transferred to a different part of Rikers, where adolescent inmates a required to go to school. There he meets a teacher who genuinely wants to help Martin turn his life around. Will he see the light, or be consumed with getting revenge on his attackers?
And so we go.
And so we go.
