Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun by Geoffrey Canada

  

          If you know what it's like growing up in the city and living in the roughest neighborhoods, then you will be able to compare this book to your life. 

          This book is a story of a guy growing up in those neighborhoods. It tells about how things were around the places where they lived because they would be moving constantly for different reasons. It also tells about him and his two brothers who had to go through the same things. The book tells about the fighting in the “hood”  just to see who could actually have a little bit of freedom to play. They would always be fighting since he was little because it was like a system they would follow to see who was the toughest. The guy had many problems with other kids when he was young and every time it was for the same reasons - rank, respect, and freedom.

          When he got older he became a counselor at a school he once attended. He did that because he knew the problems he had when he was young would still be going on at this point. He wanted to help kids focus their mind on something else and not just fight every day.

          At first, he had problems trying to figure out how kids in the school worked and how they behaved during school. It took him about a year or so to understand the rules they had when it came to fighting and how they planned their troublemaking actions. After that, he began to talk and settle things with the students who were the most likely to get into trouble. And he did all of this because he didn't want these  innocent kids living the hard and rough life he was living. He wanted to make a change in that community. That's what he accomplished as a counselor in that school.

          So, if you’re willing to read about a guy who had to go through a lot at a young age just to survive around the city's neighborhoods and how he grows up to make a change in other kids' lives, read Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun.

Diego C.