Skip to main content

Book # 39 Rooftop

Over the past couple of days, I read the novel, Rooftop, by Paul Volponi. This is a book about a teenage boy, who lives in the projects and is struggling with substance abuse, gangs, and family trouble. The main character, Clay, struggles with smoking pot too much, and so he is sent to a day program like school called Daytop, where kids that have all kinds of issues, go to get better, and study for their GED. Clay is  really trying to make an effort  to get better, and get on the right track, when his cousin, Addison, comes to the program after getting caught selling drugs on the street. Addison and Clay start to becomes friends again, after their mothers fall out years ago. Clay finally has someone to talk to about everything, but Addison is only going through the motions to pass and not really change. Then, Addison is killed by police coming up on the rooftop to find out what is happening. Clay is left devastated, and has a hard time getting over Addison's death, and staying on his path.

I actually really enjoyed this book, and all that it has to say about addiction, family, drugs, school, and how hard life really can be everywhere. It's a wonderful coming of age novel, that can show kids that no matter what you are up against, there are always people there to help, and that you always have yourself to count on. There's a lot of depth to this novel, that I was surprised to find, but it really gave this book a good meaning. The more I read it, the more I enjoyed it, and the more it had to say. Life is hard all around, but you have to try to make yours better, or what do you really have? Volponi lays all the issues right out there, and doesn't try to hide or sugarcoat the truth about the lives of these kids, their parents, or other members of society. Clay has to make a decision, to face the truth and stand up for his future and his family's future, or fall into a life of drugs plagued only by withdrawal.

I would love to use this in my classroom, because it is such a great coming of age novel. It's geared toward young adults, but I think anyone can enjoy this novel.

Rating: (out of seven stars)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book # 30 and 31 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking-Glass

Over the past few days, I decided to read one of the free books that I downloaded on my nook, to really get a feel of how it is to read on it. One of my free books was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , and the second book Through the Looking-Glass. I've read the first book a few times, but I haven't read the second one yet, and I was curious to see how these books matched up against the popular Disney movies. I love these books, for the magical, imaginative, and interesting quality that they both possess. There are so many elements that are completely odd, and yet they say something about our society, how we name things, why we say certain phrases, etc. They are so quick and on spot, that I don't think children would understand them at first, but as an adult I picked up on so many of them. I've always loved the movie from Disney, but now after reading the two books, I realize that cartoon movie is a combination of the two books. Which is interesting, but I think ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MORE VEGGIES!

So at the beginning of my fitness journey I decided to also concentrate on healthy eating. This meant that I reduced the amount of sugar I'm eating or drinking. I'm trying to add veggies into each meal everyday. I'm drinking more water. Thus far, I have been doing really well on my healthy eating goals. For the past 3 days I have drank 90 ounces of water, beating my 80 ounce goal. That's all in thanks to my new 30 oz inspiring water bottle. I have stayed away from sweets and sugars and cut out all soda. This was very difficult the first few days, but now I don't crave it at all. I get all my sugar from fruits that I eat throughout the day. I also snack on homemade trail mix that contains some dried fruits in it when I am craving something sweet. Lately I've been trying different ways to add new and more veggies into my daily meals. I ate a lot of steamed broccoli last week. This week I did meal planning and have roasted veggies in my lunch all week. I ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tattoos.... Addictive or Not?

Tattoos although painful, are something that society accepts and even praises now a days. Long ago it was something that mostly men who were in some branch of the service did to prove their bravery and have a lasting memory of the honor they got while serving. Now not only do men get tattoos but more and more women are getting tattoos, and not just in places that you can't see all the time either. Kat VonD comes to mind when I think of women who are very liberal with tattoos and look amazing and beautiful with them as well, (even if she is a man stealer). She not only has a lot of tattoos, but she is an amazing tattoo artist and runs her own shop, you can watch her on LA Ink. I waited until I was completely sure, and had enough money before I got my first tattoo last year on spring break during student teaching. I had to wait until I had a break from school, because I got my first tattoo along the side of my right foot, and I would not have been able to wear the correct and appro...
2 comments
Read more