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    Harlem Summer
    Harlem Summer
    Harlem Summer
    Audiobook3 hours

    Harlem Summer

    Written by Walter Dean Myers

    Narrated by Brandon Gill

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Myers is at his clever best in this witty and action-packed, coming-of-age story of a teenager's summer during the Harlem Renaissance and his run-ins with famous gangsters, writers, and musicians. It's 1925 and Mark Purvis is a 16-yr-old with a summer to kill. He'd rather jam with his jazz band (they need the practice), but is urged by his parents to get a job. As an assistant at The Crisis, a magazine for the "new Negro," Mark rubs shoulders with Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. He's invited to a party at Alfred Knopf's place. He's making money, but not enough, and when piano player Fats Waller entices him and his buddies to make some fast cash, Mark finds himself crossing the gangster Dutch Schultz.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 10, 2014
    ISBN9781470393588
    Harlem Summer
    Author

    Walter Dean Myers

    Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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    Reviews for Harlem Summer

    3.5/5

    170 ratings24 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      HARLEM SUMMER is a wonderful book that pairs historical fiction with the day-to-day struggles of a teenager trying to find his place in life. Mark's character has a universal appeal, and his voice is genuine and humorous. At the end of the book there are brief biographical sketches and photos of many of the famous people who find their way in the story. Walter Dean Myers has written a funny and engaging tale that reminds us that all of our decisions have consequences and that life on the shady side of the street isn't always what it is cracked up to be.
    • 4/5
      Lots of information of the time period 1920's including many famous afro-americans. Marian ANderson, Langston Hughes, Du Bois...
    • 4/5
      MSBA Nominee 2009-2010

      I'm not sure there is going to be a way for me to review this book. I know my reviews tend to skew towards personal entries and my feelings, but I don't think there will be any way for me to do that. This book reminds me of my strong anti-war feelings during polisci my senior year of high school, which my teacher laughed at, and how I feel like I should be laughing now, but I can't because I'm too sad. And how in April of 2003 Bush declared our Mission Accomplished. Six years later, we're still there, and I'm pretty sure the mission was not accomplished. And I'm sitting here listening to this story about people my age (at the time) over there, and what they are thinking and what information they were given, and if it is indeed close to what they actually received, then I feel like we were doomed from the start. Maybe I'll be able to write more effectively later.

      It's now later, and I don't think I can write any more effectively about this book.
    • 5/5
      This book describes the experiences of Robin “Birdy” Perry in the Iraq war. The reader gets to meet the people assigned to his Civilian Affairs unit and experience what they experienced on the front lines of this war. Throughout the story, Birdy sends letters home to his uncle, a Vietnam vet. In them he details some of his experiences and expresses understanding for how his uncle did not want to talk about his experiences. They now share a bond based on these experiences in two different wars. Excellent historic fiction.
    • 5/5
      Acclaimed YA author Walter Dean Myers turns his gaze to Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2011) the American-Iraqi war. He captures the daily monotony, lack of knowledge, and the confusion of war and shows the inner dialogue of a soldier (Robin aka Birdy) as he struggles to make sense of his mission there. Unlike a 'traditional' war there is no Front and the enemy is hard to identify (and ever-changing). Not as gripping as his companion piece on Vietnam, Fallen Angels, Sunrise will still appeal to readers --especially boys-- who want a taste of the current military situation.
    • 4/5
      This book is amazing. It brings you into a world in which average American people would not understand. I give this book a solid four on rating due to its' amazing detail and description of war. The hardships the men and women go through in this book will blow you're mind. In my opinion I would not want anyone to go through the mental and physical pain the characters went through. The main character Robin is a African American man who joins the military to prove his to his father that he can make it in the army. When many people die Robin has to cope with the grief and pain of seeing the dead on the streets of Iraq. Overall this book is wonderful for young adults, as it may be too graphic and hard to read for younger children. But i sure know that this book is amazing and if i could i would read it again.
    • 2/5
      Listened to audiobook version. It was hard to follow because there was so much dialog between so many different characters. Typical war story, kind of hard to follow and didn't really keep my attention. It was what I expected of a story about soldiers at war.
    • 3/5
      Hand this to teens considering serving in the armed forces or who have an interest in that subject. The writing's straightforward and the audio recording is nicely read, but I don't know that it's a story that's going to particularly stick with me. Myers does a nice job of presenting different sides to the war and to the various conflicts between and with Iraqi peoples.
    • 4/5
      Robin Perry is the 18-year-old nephew of Richie Perry, main character of Myers' classic Vietnam war novel, Fallen Angels. Robin joins the army after September 11, and is placed in a Civil Affairs unit in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His group is supposed to be working to earn the trust of the Iraqi people. In reality, his group is usually put into dangerous situations to "test" things out with the local Iraqis and see how much force is required. Robin, nicknamed "Birdy" in his unit is confused by the fact that most of what he sees in Iraq doesn't make the news, and the brutality and bloodiness and unfairness of war make it difficult for him to be hopeful. Even more difficult, he feels that he cannot let his family at home know how much the war is changing him, except for Uncle Richie, who knows... really knows about war. The letters to his mother and the letters to his uncle are an amazing contrast. Excellent realistic modern war fiction, for 8th grade and up.
    • 4/5
      War books always seem to interest me. It really tells me a lot about what current war is like. seems that maybe this writer has experienced war in first-person
    • 5/5
       A boy named Robin goes into iraq for war.While he's there he feels really bad that he is doing this.
    • 4/5
      The novel, Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers illustrates war in the view of a Civil affairs unit. In the beginning Robbin Perry struggles with wanting to see some action in the war but cant because all civil affairs unit do is help the need in war zones and villages. Throughout the middle of the story his unit split apart and assigned to a new unit. I have yet to complete the book.136/281
    • 4/5
      By far the most impressive read this week was Sunrise over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers, who is a formidable author with much less formidable subject matter than Iraq. It's YA fiction that reads with the same compelling first-person-memoir feel as Jarhead, but without the English-major, I'll-be-a-writer-someday self-consciousness. It felt real -- like an 18-year-old kid tossed in over his head, trying to be tough, liking some of it, hating more of it, and fearing what he's becoming, not to mention gradually growing to believe that those in charge are not necessarily the good guys, at least not all the time. Another book I'm going to press on every kid I see.
    • 5/5
      Robin "Birdy" is a new army recruit from Harlem in Iraq. He is in Civilian affairs and is supposed to help secure and stabilise Iraq and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. He doesnt understand the conflict, the country or the culture, just fear, close connections with his unit and surviving.
    • 4/5
      It was sort of your tipical war book, but I still enjoyed it. I liked the writing style.
    • 5/5
      This book is an army recrut from Harlem. This book is about the war in the Middle east.I like this book because it is about the war in the Middle east. This book is about a kid named Robin and he doesent know why he joined the army but he know that he was vary mad about 9/11. I would recomend this book to any one that likes the war in the Middle east. My favorite part about this book is when he writes in his jurnal when we hear the mareens bomb something it scares the crap out of me.
    • 3/5
      good book didnt see the ending coming tho
    • 3/5
      I haven't read one of his books in some time, but this one makes me realize what a great author he is. This is not a book I would normally pick up, but I'm working on reading all the Tayshas books for '09-'10. However, I did read Tamarfrom this last year's Tayshas list and I liked it, too. The story follows a Civilian Affairs squad in the beginning of the Iraq war. In particular, you get to know the main character, Robin. The story really gave me some insight into what our soldiers continue to experience in this war. It provides a glimpse into that experience, and perhaps a better understanding of why things have drawn out as they have. I appreciate that Meyers didn't attempt to give a particular opinion of the conflict or cast judgment on the right or wrong of it, but rather has given us a story of things being what they are. I would highly recommend this book both as a good read and a good war story.
    • 4/5
      Although I didn't like this as much as I enjoyed Fallen Angels, this was an interesting look at what it was like to be part of the American military on the ground during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Robin Perry is part of a Civil Affairs unit, part of the group working to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. He talks about the confusion of the war and knowing who and what the soldiers are fighting in a situation where the roles of engagement shift on a daily basis. The book follows Robin aka Birdy around through his time in the war and the various experiences he and the rest of his team are sent on.
    • 3/5
      Birdy wasn't sure what he wanted to do after 9/11 but he was sure he wanted to do something. Action needed to be taken, that he knew, so he joined the army. Now Birdy has arrived in Iraq as part of a civilian affiars unit. His job is to make the Iraqis like the Americans and help everyone get along. Birdy thinks this sounds like a noble cause where he will be out of the thick of the fighting. But the better his squad does the more dangerous situations they are put in. Pretty soon Birdy finds himself doing things he wouldn't dare tell his mother about and contemplating the purpose of the war and of life and god. Although this was a critically acclaimed novel I was not all that impressed. It is kind of a sequel to Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, Birdy is the nephew of Richie. Not to much dying or swearing but enough to keep it out of middle school libraries. I just wasn't gripped by the characters, Birdy is the only one you really know, despite how much time they spend together. Most of the book is action and riding in humvees.
    • 4/5
      I'd recommend Sunrise Over Fallujah for anyone who wonders what our troops are actually doing over in Iraq and for teens who are intrigued by a career in the military. I approved it for my nearly 12-year old son, who isn't interested in being a soldier but does have a lot of questions about war. The violence is portrayed realistically, there is death and a near-rape that the protagonist inadvertently interrupts, so it wouldn't be appropriate reading for all 12-year-olds, but for most adults and older teens, it's fairly mild given the scenario. None of the violence is glorified, the main focus being on Birdy's growth as a character, and the way that growth is impacted by the war-torn world around him.For my full review, see Worducopia.
    • 3/5
      This war story tells us about eighteen-year-old Birdy's experience over in Iraq. Assigned to Civilian Affairs, Birdy struggles with his father's disapproval about enlisting, bonding with his new team mates, and understanding what they're doing in Iraq.While this book appears to be a sequel to Fallen Angels, I don't think I missed anything by reading this one first, and I would like to go back and read the first to see what other insight it adds to Birdy's family.I don't pick up war stories to read by choice, and I found the subject very uncomfortable. Meyers writes very well, and Birdy and his companions sprang quickly to life. a few of the minor characters confused me, everyone is referred to by last name or ran which was a little confusing, but the main characters were clear, Someone dies in the end, and I am not sure if it added much to the character's emotional growth, it seemed a little tacked on as if someone had to die because it was a war story. It was heavily foreshadowed, which too away from the feeling that death is random which came across so clearly the rest of the story.I'd give this to readers interested in war stories, or in the Iraq war.
    • 3/5
      This was a book that had to be written, and Mr. Myers does a pretty good job. Having said that, I somehow knew the ending from a few pages in. Certainly, it was obvious that nothing good was going to happen to these young people. Still, the characters seemed pretty real, the dialog is well written, and the horrors of both war in general and this particular war were realistically created without being so obscene that one couldn't read the book.
    • 4/5
      Several students I know, perhaps because of the desperate state of Michigan’s economy, have enlisted in the military in the past year. More students have entered military service than I can ever remember from our small, rural area. Consequently, books that deal with the contemporary reality of military service are of greater interest. Sunrise Over Fallujah is especially popular with teens I know because it describes the adventures of an enlisted soldier shipped to Iraq. Of special interest is the interconnection between this book and Myers’ (much more violent) book describing the Viet Nam War (Fallen Angels). Richie is Birdy’s uncle to whom Richie pens letters. Birdy, like the teens I know, isn’t quite sure why he enlisted. He understands that college is important, but he wants to do something important, something patriotic. Serving his country and helping the Iraqi people secure their freedom seems like the only way for Birdy to do something big and something for which he can feel proud. The Twin Towers have been toppled and Birdy needs to do something to prove that he is a man. The strength of this book is the even-handed way that Myers treats the war. Myers steers clear of the political arguments for and against the war (for the most part) and, instead, allows Birdy to come to the realization that slogans and good intentions do not really prepare one for the bloody reality of bullets and bombs. Along the way, Birdy finally understands why his Uncle Richie has such an impossible time speaking of his experiences in Viet Nam. While the ending is a bit heavy-handed, the daily descriptions of a place that enlisted teens (and other family members and friends) may visit makes this book an essential purchase for libraries serving teens.