Rikers High

Paul Volponi

- 4.3 • 12 Ratings

- $8.99

- $8.99

An unflinching story about justice, courage, and the life of one young man behind bars.

It started out as an innocent day for Martin, but it quickly turned into his worst nightmare--arrested for something he didn't even mean to do. And five months later, he is still locked up in jail on infamous Rikers Island. Just when things couldn't get worse, Martin gets caught in a fight between two prisoners, and his face is slashed. He's scarred forever, but one good thing comes from the attack: Martin is transferred to a part of Rikers where inmates must attend high school. When he meets his caring and understanding teacher, will Martin open up and learn from his situation? Or will he be consumed by prison and getting revenge on his attackers?

"Volponi, who taught on Rikers Island for six years, writes with an authenticity that will make readers feel Martin's fear."--Publishers Weekly

"Volponi . . . brings to life a believable range of teachers, COs, and inmates and portrays power, hierarchies, and race relations both outside and inside the jail walls with unflinching realism."--School Library Journal

"With down-to-earth language based on his own experiences . . . Volponi captures the reader."--VOYA

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JAN 18, 2010

Volponi (Homestretch) recasts his adult novel, Rikers (Black Heron, 2002), for a teen audience that will likely be riveted. Seventeen-year-old Martin Stokes has been imprisoned for five months, awaiting trial for a petty crime. Returning from court, he cannot get out of the way when another inmate attacks the boy to whom he is shackled. Martin's face is slashed with a razor; the ensuing scar is a metaphor for the mark prison will leave on the boy, who is no angel (he tells his harried legal aid lawyer she is a miserable shit ), but whose punishment bears absolutely no relationship to his crime. His break comes when a jailhouse teacher helps him see the importance of finishing school, setting Martin on a path to make the right choice when he's yet again thrust into a violent altercation not of his own making. Volponi, who taught on Rikers Island for six years, writes with an authenticity that will make readers feel Martin's fear. Ages 12 up.

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