Scorpions (novel)

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Scorpions
Scorpions (novel).jpg
First edition
Author Walter Dean Myers
LanguageEnglish
Subject Harlem life, gangs
GenreRealistic fiction
Publisher Harper & Row
Publication date
1988
Publication placeUnited States
Pages216 pages
ISBN 978-0-06-447066-7

Scorpions, first published on June 20, 1988, by Harper & Row, is a young adult novel written by Walter Dean Myers. [1] It was a Newbery Medal Honor Book in 1989. [2]

Contents

The book was republished by HarperCollins on October 6, 2009 [3] and by Amistad on April 23, 2013. [4]

Plot

Jamal is trying to get his brother, Randy, out of a bad habit. Randy is a 17-year-old who is the leader of the Scorpions, a local gang of drug dealers in New York City.

Jamal's family includes himself, Randy, his mother, his 3-year-old sister whose name is Lassy, and his father, Jason Hicks. Jamal's father became an alcoholic after losing his job and began hating Jamal's mother. She moves away with the children. Now Jamal's father comes to visit the family "once in a while".

When the story begins Jamal only needs $1000000 to appeal his conviction. His mother is working to the bone in order to earn enough money to get the appeal for Randy. His mother soon finds out that his brother has been attacked and stabbed while in jail and is in medical care. Some members of the Scorpions want Jamal to join them until Randy is freed from jail so that there will be direct communication between the gang and Randy. Other members want to vote on a new leader because they feel Randy is dead to them and that letting a 12-year-old join a gang would not be beneficial. Jamal wants to earn money the right way by working but is scared to go against the Scorpions. Eventually, Jamal joins the bad influence and is just as bad his mother is mad and left him taking Lassy with her.

Characters

Reception

Scorpions received the following accolades:

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Myers, Walter Dean (1988-06-20). Scorpions. HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0-06-024364-7.
  2. ↑ "Children's Book Awards For Writers & Illustrators". LexisNexis. Retrieved 28 January 2016.(subscription required)
  3. ↑ Myers, Walter Dean (2009-10-06). Scorpions. Harper Collins. ISBN   978-0-06-197506-6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Scorpions". Goodreads. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
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