Bang!

by Sharon G. Flake and Sharon G Flake

Book Overview

As violence continues in his community, a 13-year-old boy must make some difficult choices to set his life on another course. Bang! Guns really sound like that, you know. Bang! And people bleed from everywhere, and blood is redder than you think. And little kids look funny in caskets. That's 'cause they ain't meant to be in one, I guess. Mann is only thirteen, yet he has already had to deal with more than most go through in a lifetime. His family...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078684955X
• ISBN13: 9780786849550
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Bang!

Bang! "Bang! Guns really sound like that, you know. Bang! And people bleed from everywhere and blood is redder than you think. Bang! And little kids look funny in caskets" (p. 2). I think this is one of the great quotes from the book Bang! Bang! is a fantastic book about a boy and his brother who was killed on his porch playing with toy solders. The main charter is scared and disturbed. The dad wanted the main charter to go on because people will die in the world every day. The dad took him to a campgrounds and left him and his best friend to make them get home and battle against nature. Bang! is a quick read and a good book. I think this great for teens and young adults.

My daughter loves this book

My daughter would always give me a hard time about reading until we discovered Sharon G. Flake. Now she wants her whole collection and I will get if for her too, to encourage her excitement to read.

Bang

Terrence Clarke "Bang" Bang Review The book "Bang" by Sharon G. Flake is an invigorating story to read. This book shows the struggles between man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. his environment. The main character in this book whose name is Mann shows the troubles that many African American males experience, such as a troublesome neighborhood, racism, and the hardships of being torn between being a boy and being forced to grow up. The conflict of this book can be seen in many different ways. The book makes it out to be that Mann, the main character in this book's father drives him out in the woods and leaves him, forcing him to find his own way home. However I interpret it to be something much deeper, the actual conflict in this book is that an African - American adolescent is left alone to fend for himself in a white man's world. This book has a lot of strong quotes. One of my favorite quotes from this book is on page 187, 5th paragraph, 1st sentence where Mann says "Boys aint men yet". This is one of my favorite quotes because it shows how Mann feels about the situation he is put in. which is his father forcing him to become a man when he hasn't finished living out his childhood. It is also one of my favorite quotes from this story because I can relate it to my life. Everyone is giving me big responsibilities like choosing my future when I am still a boy. All in all this entire book is a exciting experience to read. It goes far into the horrors of the "ghetto" and how people from the "ghetto" look at the white man's influence not only the black neighborhoods but influence the whole nation. If you are looking for a good book with nonstop adventure while still having touching moment's that make u want to cry. Bang is the right choice for you.

(RAW Rating: 3.5) - Guns really sound like that

Bang! Thirteen-year-old Mann can still hear the sound of the gun which killed his six-year-old brother two years ago. He and his parents still struggle with the death and with the breakdown of their family because of it. Because his brother was gunned down while playing on their front steps, Mann will only enter the house through the back door. Believing he is too soft for a young black boy on the brink of manhood, Mann's father decides to toughen him up so he will not be a victim of the streets. Using an ancient African ritual, he abandons Mann and his best friend Kee-Lee at a campsite miles away from home, with only a cell phone and a gun. He hopes that the struggle to get home will make men of them. But his methods are different from the African custom. In Africa boys are guided into manhood, not thrown into the streets. What results are tragic occurrences and senseless violence, which ends another life. Suddenly Mann is alone and spiraling into an almost surreal existence. As he struggles to grasp control of his life, his life preserver is his gift to draw; it is his only link to sanity. Mann becomes bitter about his life and he abandons his family; he no longer needs them. BANG! Is a meaningful story, which is filled with disturbing circumstances. Flake delivers this raw tale with the sad, yet vivid, attitude of teenagers in urban cities. At times the story was somewhat muddled and some events were a little hard to digest, but an encouraging aspect is the relationship between Mann and his father after the tragic occurrences. His father finally accepts his own misguided judgment, and fights to recapture his son. This time he wants to be a real father. BANG is Flake's fifth book and this portrayal of inner-city life is quite sobering. Reviewed by aNN of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

The book had me on the brink of tears!!!!

Di R. 1A I gave this book five stars with no doubts in my mind. I laughed with Mann as he joked with Kee-Lee,I grew angry with him as his hatred for his father grew and cried with Mann as he cried. The book grabbed me from the first page and didn't let me go until the last. There was never a dull moment in this realistic tale.