Read reviews that mention death row young men susan kuklin summer reading allows readers high school justice system good read book is the young read this book prison teens choirboy inmates prisoners murder students face personal audience. Showing of 30 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews.
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. I learned about this text from a colleague who read about it. We created an entire unit with No Choirboy as our anchor text amid articles, podcasts, documentaries, etc. My 10th graders were so engaged, especially my intensive group. I had students who said they had not read an entire book in years actually read this one cover-to-cover. The structure of the text lack of interview questions, use of text features like italics for Kuklin's commentary, etc. I couldn't help but chuckle every time some one of my lower-level babies made comments about grammar or corrected the text when they read aloud.
One person found this helpful. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. This is a book that brings you face to face with the reality of the legal system, the oppression of poverty, and the realities of lives gone wrong. It puts humanity into inhuman acts and force the reader to see what society does to not only the victims but the offenders. Written with the voice of the condemned the book allows readers to see where bad choices lead you and how justice may not be as justified as it looks.
Good for young adults who can't see or need to see the realities of consequences from a first person perspective. I will be using this second semester for my 9th grade English class. It is captivating and very engaging. A great look into the real lives of people that have gotten in too deep and are paying with their life.
I bought this for my 7th grade son who is not a big fan of reading. The stories are told in the words of the convicts, so the language can be intense. I strongly recommend that you read this along with your child and talk about what your child is reading. The book opened the door for us to have some really wonderful conversations.
Love this book, especially for teenagers. My students are eating it up right now in independent reading! I suggested it to one student, and then she loved it so much that she suggested it to some other students. Next thing you know they came by to see if I had any other copies to give out!
I may need to buy some more! This book is amazing. The subject matter is a surefire draw, but the execution no pun intended is perfection. Teens will be drawn to this because of the cover, the title, and the subject matter, and will not be disappointed.
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They will undoubtedly recommend it to friends, and I'm sure that no matter how many copies I buy for my high school library, I won't be able to keep up with the demand. Good book with some information that is new to me. It does none of that. While the self-told stories of some young murderers are moving, we are given no perspective on why they are where they are. The book gives the reader no insight into the morality of capital punishment or any suggestion as to an alternative.
In some way we are led to believe that two of these young murderers are less frightening and less dangerous because they write poetry. Kuklin's dialogue by the siblings of William Jenkins in chapter five, lacks depth and feeling. Kuklin claims to be a photographer, but the photos of people and places in the book are grainy and without merit.
I am unable to understand how on the dust cover Booklist can call this work "Searing and provocative Kuklin has provided no music for them to sing. See all 30 reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row.
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No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row
Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. This book is very deep and shows a lot of the characters emotion and how hard it is to be convicted of a crime such as the ones the boys made. No Choirboy, should really be shown to kids who have it really hard and think acting out is the best way to get attention.
Kids like that, might end up like Nanon. Jan 16, Emily Meave rated it really liked it. Although it is bad enough to be jail and charged as an adult for these young adults was just the beginning because they were in death sentence. Sharing stories like these young adults did is pretty brave of them considering they went through so much. These teenagers were passionate, for example in the first chapter the cop helped Roy wear his cap and gown to his graduation, and Roy was so grateful that he wrote to the cop by sending him a letter, but Roy never got a letter back.
I liked how the victims still had faith and never let the pressure bring them all the way down although they may have changed a little in their opinion. Defending the ones you love is okay until you take it to the xtreme to the point where people take the blame and go to death row in jail. The rating i would gives this book is four star rating.
No Choirboy was a real interesting book to read with so much emotion in it. This book did not only include victims point of view but others too and how they went through jury and what they went through with their family member being in death row. Jan 16, Jess Haswell added it. The book No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row was an amazing read. This book shares the experiences of three teenagers who were placed on death row for an abundance of crimes.
Every individual case was extremely interesting and very emotional to hear about. There were multiple things I enjoyed about this book. First of all, I lov The book No Choirboy: First of all, I loved the format. I could have read fifteen or twenty, not only three.
The book was amazing, so much better than I thought it would be. My only complaint was wanting more! I definitely recommend this book, especially to anyone researching or particularly interested in the American prison system. I was so impressed with this book! I think everybody should read it, it has so many important details that I think everybody should hear. Jan 15, ChapmanH rated it really liked it. No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin is a very powerful and emotional book about the lives and thoughts of convicts that were sentenced to death row as teenagers.
She interviews multiple of these men whose childhoods and freedom were cut short by, in many instances, a wrong, split second decision that would change their lives forever. She also interviews the family member of a murder victim to share their views on capital punishment and the justice system. The thing I enjoyed most about the book was that No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin is a very powerful and emotional book about the lives and thoughts of convicts that were sentenced to death row as teenagers.
The thing I enjoyed most about the book was that the author made the reader realize that these men are not mindless, unfeeling killers. They are men with hopes, dreams, and regrets that made a very major mistake. I personally am not a crier, but if I was, this book would have definitely made me cry.
It is immensely emotional and causes the reader to think of many subjects in a different light such as the aspect of death row itself. In the book there is a quote that made me think a lot. What I did not like about the book was that the deeper the reader gets into the book, the more repetitive it seems.
The author gets her point across very well and fairly quickly but seems to run out of steam the further along the reader gets into the book. I give the book a 4-star rating. It would be a five except that it is depressing and would not be very enjoyable to read multiple times like my other favorite books. I greatly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend the book to my peers and others around me. I can't remember what compelled me initially to pick up this book years ago when I was a teenager, especially considering it took me almost 10 years to finally read it, and I'm glad I finally came around to it.
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I knew the subject matter was pretty heavy, but I did not expect to be so affected by what I was reading and feel so much for the people involved. Each chapter, with the exception of the last two, focuses on a different person who was convicted for murder as a teenager and either sentence I can't remember what compelled me initially to pick up this book years ago when I was a teenager, especially considering it took me almost 10 years to finally read it, and I'm glad I finally came around to it.
Each chapter, with the exception of the last two, focuses on a different person who was convicted for murder as a teenager and either sentence to death or to life without parole. The author's voice is almost non-existent as most of the book is made of excerpts from interviews or writings, which enables the reader to truly feel the sense of lost of people who did a mistake when they were young and will pay it for the rest of the lives.
I feel compassion for these people and anger at a justice system that's imperfect and at times warped and unfair. You can't read this book and still support the current way we treat prisoners. The last chapter is from a lawyer who's a strong advocate against the death penalty, which is pretty interesting, but the chapter ends pretty abruptly and doesn't bring any new ideas or drive any point further.
It might be hard to write a neat conclusion when the battle against the death penalty is still ongoing, but I still felt like there was something missing to conclude on the important themes of the book. Still, it was a great read that's leaving me with a lot to think about.
Dec 14, Jeffry J added it. Good book with a really good stories. Jan 11, Ivis rated it really liked it. The book No Choirboy was a book written about murder, violence, and mainly about teenagers on Death Row. The author Susan Kuklin went around interviewing and finding out information about teenagers who had committed crimes and had been given a death sentence. This book focuses on life stories and background information on the inmates interviewed and it describes their crimes committed and their sentences.
It also describes how horrible, prison can be for teenagers and how knowing that death is The book No Choirboy was a book written about murder, violence, and mainly about teenagers on Death Row. It also describes how horrible, prison can be for teenagers and how knowing that death is upon those teenagers is a really scary thought.
No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row
The book also tackles the idea of capital punishment and about whether or not death should be sentenced to people who have committed unforgiving crimes like for example murderer. No Choirboy enhances the fact that many teenagers are given death penalties for crimes committed which the author disagrees with since according to her a crime committed is not the sum total of a human being. What I liked about the book No Choirboy was that it was based on teenagers and their life stories and going in depth about how they ended up before and after committing their crimes.
The inmates interviewed made me feel all twisted inside since they always had mixed emotions while they would talk to the author. They would speak about prison and how horrible it was while they would also speak about having some good friends in prison and how they always have to stick up for themselves and not let anyone see their weakest point.
This book literally had me turning the pages since the stories were all interesting experiences and they just sent you feeling like you were in an emotional roller coaster since prison is something so horrible to read about. The stories from the inmates also went a little too in depth about prison and how it can drive you insane which just kind of scared me.
The inmates would talk about how they felt like they lost themselves in prison and how they started having relationships with other inmates which was not necessary to talk about. The book also seemed a bit too long and talked too much about one inmate and it kind of bored me when I had to read about the same person for like 15 pages. No Choirboy was a little depressing to read since some of the characters were just about done with living and they just spoke about how their lives could end any time.
Also, the author never really spoke her thoughts about the stories on the inmates and about whether or not they deserved a death penalty until the very end of the book. My star rating for this book was 4 out of 5 stars since this book was really good at making you feel different emotions at the same time which shows how I was very emotionally connected with the characters.
I indeed enjoyed the book because it taught me about how death penalties should not be wished upon anybody even if the crime they commit is unforgiving. I would recommend this book to others since it will give you an insight on families who have gone through having their teenage son or daughter in the death row waiting for the day assigned for their death.
This book will help people with offering a different point of view on death penalties on teenagers and how it is a very inhuman idea. Jan 10, Carson rated it really liked it Shelves: There was also one interview with the family of a victim toward the end. Each of the convicts were originally sentenced to death and one did suffer the death penalty. The book provides an interesting perspective.
The convicts were all very sane and calm, contrary to the popular belief that most prison inmates are terrible people and can never redeem themselves. The convicts and their families understand why they are in prison and have accepted the fact that they must serve time for their crime. They all regret what they did and most of them have matured during their time as inmates.
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They generally feel very sorry for the victims and their families and wish that they could undo their crimes. I enjoyed the story about Mark Melvin because he accepted his wrongdoing and his consequences. It is very enlightening to hear a murder convict accept responsibility and not try to escape punishment.
The book did keep me coming back because it was a new point of view and I wanted to learn more about the experiences of these people. It is very uncommon to hear directly from prisoners themselves about the conditions of different prisons and how they coped with their pain. The book also provides factual information alongside the stories that helps the reader understand what is going on.
It also made me very emotional because it showed how these people have turned their lives around but at the same time, they have to stay in prison to serve time for what they did. If the government let people go right after they started to become a better person, then others would fake it to get out of prison and they would end up returning to their old lives. They also need to serve time for their actions so that there is justice for the victim's family. The amazing thing is that the prisoners understand this. They know that they cannot be freed.
The book also rarely discussed the issue of race, which I viewed as refreshing because most of the stories that are broadcast on the news or printed in newspapers are biased one way or the other and this book provides a very unbiased and objective point of view. One of the only things that I did not like about the book was that, every time I would put the book down and then come back and pick up where I left off, I would forget about the characters and what their situations were.
I would then have to go back and re-read portions of the book so I could catch myself up again. The other thing I did not like was the fact that the book is mainly just the inmates talking about their lives. There were not very many added comments from the author and, although it was very moving, it was not very persuasive in a traditional manner where there are arguments and information to back up the arguments about why the death penalty shouldn't be in effect.
The only devices used were emotional. There were not very many facts to help argue against the death penalty. Although this book had a few issues in my eyes, it was overall very compelling and very interesting. It is not the best book I have ever read, but I definitely enjoyed it. It is a good read for anyone. It can show teens that the consequences of some of their actions could be harmful to them much later in life, and it can depict a very unusual perspective for close-minded adults as well.
Feb 05, Lauren rated it it was amazing. No Choirboy also includes interviews from the families and Lawyers of the death row victims. Williams was convicted of murder. The witness testified against him and later took back his statement and made it clear that Nanon was not the man who pulled the trigger. Williams was later sentenced to death at 17 years of age still after the witness made it clear. Nanon is 6 feet 2 inches tall, very muscular and weighs approximately lbs. Mark Melvin was 14 years old when his brother requested some of his help one day.
He never wanted to do things such as wash the dish, take the garbage out or clean. His older brother wanted him to shoot a man.
KIRKUS REVIEW
He was born and died Roy Burgess was sixteen years old at the time he killed someone. He complained to his friends that he needed money and proceeded to tell them about a plan to make money by robbing someone or by stealing a car or a car stereo. One of his so called friends tried to warn Kevin about what he others intentions were. Roy was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. I liked Nonan Williams a lot. Hat story was the best part of h book. H speaks out to a woman whom he became clos with. Nonan opens his heart and speaks out and tells his story and how he thinks he deserves a second chance, everyone does.
The woman is trying to get his story old because has a warm heart. Also to someone who likes to think to themselves when something is not right or if something is unfair, because in the book they somewhat show you how unfair our legal system is, sentencing teenagers on deathrow. Jan 18, Cassidy Frier rated it really liked it. No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin follows the lives of four people who were sentenced to death as teenagers as well as the family of a murder victim. The book illustrates how these convicts and their families have dealt with these convictions and it shows readers what it is really like inside of a prison and on death row.
The inmates are interviewed by Kuklin and their stories are portrayed in this novel. It describes the different cases and trials and how each of the inmates feel about what they hav No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin follows the lives of four people who were sentenced to death as teenagers as well as the family of a murder victim. It describes the different cases and trials and how each of the inmates feel about what they have done and how their life has changed since being in prison.
What I liked about the book is that the characters really came to life in their interviews. This book changed my views on criminal justice. It got me thinking about our punishment system. I never would have thought I would find myself feeling sorry for a murderer, but this book was so convincing.
Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. I think my favorite character was Mark. He was only 14 when he killed someone. His brother convinced him to do it and he was too young to know any better, but he still takes full responsibility for what he did. He does not make any excuses; he knows what he did was wrong. After finishing this book, I found myself wanting to fight for these people and their rights. Although I liked how the book changed my views and made me really think, I did not like how the author ended the book.
Her interview with Bryan Stevenson in chapter 6 only really mentioned Roy and Mark, instead of all the characters mentioned in the novel. After such a powerful and moving story, I think she should have found a better way to end it and include all of the characters. The rest of the book was wonderful and really got me thinking, but the last chapter was kind of boring and in no way tied everything together in the way that it should have.
I gave the book a 4 star rating because it was a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. The reason I did not give it 5 stars is because of the ending. Other than that, however, I loved the book and I would definitely recommend reading it! It will change the way you think about the death penalty and our crime and punishment system.
Jan 10, Jessica Olvera rated it it was amazing. In the novel No Choirboy, Susan Kuklin goes to different states interviewing prisoners on death row. Following different death penalty cases, the reader gets insight of what prison is really like for a teen on death row. Susan Kuklin takes you beyond the bars of prison and allows you to get inside the head of these killers. What were these teens thinking at the time of their crime? How have they grown? What have they learned? This novel takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and gets you think In the novel No Choirboy, Susan Kuklin goes to different states interviewing prisoners on death row.
No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row Book Review
This novel takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and gets you thinking, how different are we really from these teens. There was so much to love about the novel No Choirboy. Everything said by the criminals was truthful and put into perspective how much of a privilege our freedom is. All of the cases were vastly different giving you multiple takes on prison life along with what each of the guys went through. The amount of detail given allows the reader to visualize almost everything about prison life.
From food to cells, Kuklin gives you more than enough detail to paint a picture of the day to day life of these men. This book was almost impossible to put down and constantly had me wanting to read more. Nothing these guys went through was ordinary and kept me on my toes. One thing I did not like was the ending chapter. The final chapter was not like anything else in the novel and was not as intriguing as the previous chapters.
I understand how the final chapter may tie everything in together, but was not the best way to end the book. The last two chapters really let me down and I was quite disappointed with them. They did not go into as much depth about the subject as the previous chapters had and did not answer all of my questions pertaining to the case talked about in that chapter.
I gave this book 5 stars. This was a very interesting book and constantly had me wanting more. No Choirboy is easily one of my favorite, if not my favorite, book. I believe Susan Kuklin did a very good job giving these men a chance to speak freely and is very well written.
I would without a doubt reread this book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the death penalty or criminal justice. Jan 12, Daesha Conner rated it it was amazing. No Choirboy is a book about inmates who were on death row since their teen years either previously or currently. It's about stories of men who have been on death row since their teenage years under the age of 18, and how they feel about being in there. They all were interviewed about their crimes that they committed and how many prisons they visited and how they felt about it.
This book talks about their prosecut No Choirboy is a book about inmates who were on death row since their teen years either previously or currently. This book talks about their prosecutors, the crime they committed, trials, and other things. My favorite character in this book is Roy Burgess because he was a good kid in his teenage years, and stayed out of trouble more than the rest of the inmates. The characters felt real to me because of their emotions and the regret of their crimes. The story kept me guessing the whole time whether they were going to get out of prison or get a shorter prison sentence.
My favorite part of the book is when they started talking about what they did in their spare time because it showed me that inmates have not completely lost their minds being in there with mental inmates as well. They chose to do somethings that I never thought an inmate would be interested in. I thought the interview with Roy and Melvin were fantastic because they got deep into their prison lives.
The book did make me cry at times and I'm really glad it did. This book kept me turning the pages and kept me inside. The book had a good ending but I thought it could've been better. There wasn't a main character it was really a couple. They had a lot of of time being interviewed.
Some of the themes I didn't really like. Like the violence and the focusing on some things that weren't really important like the prosecutors. I gave it five stars because it was a really good book, and I like crime and things to do with the law. I would recommend it to people who like mystery and some crime involved. Someone who likes learning about people's lives. Jan 18, Whitney rated it really liked it. No Chiorboy is about death row and capital punishment. The author Susan Kuklin writes about six different stories all having to do with teens on death row.
Each chapter is a different story about different people and how they handled being on death row. All the stories are true and described in detail how each of them feels about what happened and how it happened. I liked No Chiorboy is about death row and capital punishment. I liked how all the stories are real people dealing with major life changing problems.
I also like how she goes into detail about everything to make you feel like you are there during the interview or receiving the letters. She put all the information she had in her book to make sure you understand what is going on. Once you start the book you want to read it to the very end to see what happens to each of the boys and their families.
While most of it kept you wanting to read more there were some parts that could get boring. At some parts I did not agree with everything that was said but everyone has a different opinion about the death penalty. Overall there was not much I did not like about the book. I gave this book 4 stars because to me it is a great book. It gives a lot of information about what it is like on death row and other prison facilities.
I really did enjoy the book and learning about what it is like to have such a difficult life. I would recommend the book to people that enjoy learning about things like the death penalty and what it is like in prison for a long time. Dec 02, Rachel Steahr rated it it was amazing. Non-fiction is as real as it can get.
Based on facts and real life issues Non-fiction is one of the most riveting genres I have read from. From world hunger to natural disasters, these stories seem to almost always be heart-wrenching. Susan Kuklin started out as your average girl. At the age of 8, she had become a prima ballerina. As a teenager, Kuklin switched from dance to theater. She later went on to major in theater at New Yo Non-fiction is as real as it can get. She later went on to major in theater at New York University. In graduate school, she started directing plays.
She went from acting and directing to being a Non-fiction writer all because her uncle bought her a Leica and seeing the world through that 35mm lense changed her life forever. From there she began writing anything from teen pregnancy to life in prison. No Choirboy is a paged Non-fiction book about murder, violence, and teenagers on death row. Susan actually went to these prisons and spoke to these inmates about their stories.
From life without parole to executions Susan covers it all in this heartbreaking book. There is no main character in this book.