Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman - PUBLIC ONLY

Goodman, Shawn  Kindness for Weakness, 261 pgs. Delecorte Press, Random House, Inc., 2013.   $16.99.  Language: R 200+swears 50+”F”; Mature Content: R; Violence PG-13

Kindness for Weakness describes the journey of a young, 15-year-old boy named James as he learns what it means to grow up and become a man.  James comes from a dysfunctional family constituted of a missing father; a run-down, alcoholic, mother; a live-in, abusive boyfriend; and a run-away older brother.  Desiring anyone to want or care about him, James latches onto the praise and compassion of his English teacher, Mr. Pfeffer, who encourages him to find answers in literature--which he does.  Also fulfilling a need to be accepted, James agrees to deliver drugs for his older brother Louis which ultimately leads to his arrest and sentence to a juvenile detention center.  The remaining pages of the book detail the cruel scenes he both witnessed and experienced while in Thomas C. Morton Jr. Residential Center.  There is conflict on all sides from tough guards to encouraging counselors, from a homosexual friend to threatening inmates, from little to no family visits to encouraging letters from a teacher. Often using comparisons to the one book he has to read, The Sea Wolf, James tries to distinguish between kindness and weakness as he attempts to figure out how to stand up for himself without using violence--hoping he will make it out alive.

PUBLIC ONLY.  Reviewer:  Donna Huxford