Bronx Masquerade

The book A Bronx Masaquerade provides a literary emotonal, book that ispires us to take a stand, and to look at all the oppertunities life has to offer.

This is the first book of Nikki Grimes' that I have ever read and I loved it. "Bronx Masquerade" gives teens like me, a whole new perspective on not only the importance and enjoyment of literature and poetry but also the identities of individuals in a diverse society. The fact that this book is writen by teen's thoughts about themselves and others and the pomes they create in response to these thoughts really capture your attention. Each of the 18 students learns something about himself that changes his perspective about his future. A young black teenager who sees no future for himself in a community where guns and violence have taken over suddenly realizes he has a passion for words. A chubby teenage girl notices that her friends no long pay attention to the way she looks because they have become so immersed in her beautiful poetry. All of this comes from writing poems and reading them in front of the class on what their teacher calls Open Mike Friday. The poems these students "write" are so creative and really make this book quite unique. I could not put it down because I was so eager to read how these people living their everyday lives in the slums, were going to write about their lives in the ghetto. This book shows us that they are allowed to different and they are allowed to be smart. It's ok to want to read and do well in school. I think that any teen that is interested in poetry, or rap for that matter, even in the slightest should read this book. I am truly inspired.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bronx Masquerade- A story about hope and renewal

This book was different from most books I read because its written in different pov's and poetry. But I enjoyed it because it was about how you can rise above your problems, even if your problems are serious ones, and change your circumstances and your life.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Please read this book.

Such an amazimg book. Very relatible. Great read when you feel down at times.

Bronx

I loved this book. It was very interesting. I liked how i could lmost connect with the characters. I also liked how tyrone shared his thoughts about each persons poem. The book was emotional i felt mad when chankara talked about her boyfriend beatting her up and i felt angry with the boyfriend for doing this even thiugh he is not real. I was sad when i read lupes story. And when i read glorias i felt lucky for my life. Thank you karen for making us read this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi

Im reading this book now for la and i love it

One of the most inspiring books ever

This book opens your eyes to the children living in the Bronx. It tells the story in a form of poetry. the characters make you laugh,cry,and think. IT is suprisingly realistic and tells an amazing story. I would recommend this to absolutely ANYONE.

Highly Recommended

I absolutely love this book. I enjoyed reading it. This book showed me a completely different culture. Almost every character in this book has some major struggle in their life. Most struggle to pay the bills at home. The characters, especially Tyrone use a lot more slang then I've ever heard. I had to re-read some lines just to make sure I got what he was saying. This is an amazing book though. I've read it over 10 times.

Masquerade

This book is a great read! Each of the characters is very nicely developed. You can really hear each of their voices shining through in the story, especially Tyrone. I especially like how he tells what he thinks of everyone's poems. It's a very creative way to write a book. The poems are nicely spread out among the narratives, and you really grow attatched to some of the characters.

Bronx Masquerade Review

This book is amazing! It is one of my favorites..all time! Never have I read another book like this one. The author does an excellent job of character development and how the story was written with narratives and then poems. If you want to find yourself, this book is great. As the characters start to find themselves in this book, you realize some things that may help you find yourself as well. Alot of lessons can be learned from this book. It is definately realistic. Guys and girls would enjoy it. I can honestly say, if you have not yet read this book, you're missing out.

Bronx Masquerade...good book

i just finished reading the bronx masquerade. i thought it was avery rewarding book, and it was easy to understand. i thought the author did and excellent job in creating the characters and putting a different voice into each one's character. while reading this book, you will be taken to a highschool in inner city new york, and you will experience different highschooler's lives through their narratives and their poems. you will get to know around eighteen different teenagers, and you will get as glimpse into their lives. you will see how they struggle with their identity, how they are everything but themselves, and how all they want in life is to succeed. i really liked the style of this book, and i would reccomend it for both boys and girls in highschool or middle school.

Looking at things differently.

Our english class had to read this book as a group discussion, and I really enjoyed it. This book is about an english class that writes poems and reads them aloud almost every friday. Doing this not only helps them express their feelings, but it helps other people get a better understanding about them. Throughout the book they became one big family, and I thought that was really neat to see. I loved this book truthfully. I liked how the author wrote this and included the poems they wrote because you really heard their vocie. Also her grammar was exactly how the kids would talk, so I found it really interesting to read. This story helps you realize that people aren't what you mistake them for. I recommend this book to both guys and girls. If you don't read this you are missing out.

An Excellent Read!

Though we are not in th "Bronx", my students enjoyed reading "Bronx Masquerade". We had been studying poetry & completing power points over poetry terms. While reading the book, I was able to review poetry terms and their task was to find examples in the text- what a great way to learn. (Better than memorizing!) All the students wrote their version of a character to add to the book as well as a poem that this character would have composed. Many of the profiles written by students were chosen as "Exceptional Writing" by our school. This was very important to many of my students, they are attending an alternative school were they are limited to specific classes, no extra curricular activities, and no arts classes.
I will use this book in the future for the same lesson, and will also incorporate it into a drama class.

No

This book is boring. Its nothing special and is not awe-inspiring or awfully original.

Life Forever

In this book, students wrote poems for English class to express their feelings about family, love, and dreams. One of the characters, Lupe wanted to have a baby like her sister Cristina. I thought the book was nice because it was easy to understand. I feel the same about life and love as the characters in the book. Everyone should read this book, especially if they like poetry or good characters.

Looking to discover yourself? GREAT BOOK FOR TEENS!

Bronx Masquerade is an enthrilling book that you will definitely want to read. It sits you down in the lives of eighteen different hig school students who are mainly African-American and Hispanic. They each have their own story to tell. Nikki Grimes, the author, portays each of these characters so greatly and their stories are completely relateable to the everyday teenager. If you are looking for a book to tell you more about yourself or just find out who you are, this is a MUST READ for you. You won't want to put it down. Grimes gives you a great understanding of the characters. Bronz Masquerade is a great book!

This is a good heartfelt book, but not one to always be entertaining.

This book is a touching book about the lives of eighteen kids that lived in Bronx, NY. The book displays the emotions of the students though their sophomore year and the experience they have gone threw. the writing is tasteful done by having the owner of the poems thoughts that led up to the poems and the thoughts of Tyrone afterward. Even though I thought this was a well written book, it did seem at sometime the characters thought and opinions were unnecessary and didn't do anything but fill up paper. IF you are wanting a heartfelt book this is a good book to read but if you are looking for an attention grabbing book I can't promise that this the book for you.

Great Book!

Bronx Masquerade is a phonominal book with so much energy. Each character that is introduced has their own personality and ability. My favorite character in the book is Janelle Battle. She is young, sweet, and incredibly bright. Janelle enjoys reading poetry and shares her poems at the open mike friday as do other students. The book is about a class of students, who all have their own problems and they all have an amazing gift to write poetry. Janelle who is quiet, gained confidence from open mike friday. One of my favorite lines from Janelle's poem 'Inside' is: Besides your loss is someone else's gain for I am a cocnut,and the heart of me is sweeter than you know. When a student reads their poem, their personality shines through his or her poetry. This book is combined of so many powerful emoitons, and it has touched me personally, and has given me strength to present in front of my class. I would happilly reccomend this book to anyone who has a love for poetry, and to share it! I know if you read this book, you will be touched in a special way that will be unforgettable!

Bronx Masquerade

Leslie Lucas is a lonley,sad girl who has no one. Her mom died and to top it all off she is one of the only white girls at her school. Leslie ends up having to move to move to her grandparents house and a new school. She is afraid that no one will like her until she runs into a girl named Porsha who is known as a bully of the school. When they run into eachother they get to talking and find out they have a lot in common. They begin talking more and more and became friends cause they can relate to eachother! Bronx Masqurade is a great tale of chrildern who are going through rough times in there lives. But then they get to let there feelings out in open mike Fridays. They can now reveal themselfs in there poems. Bronx Masqurade is a exciting and sad book. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read about kids who have problems and learn how to solve them!

Bronx Masquerade 3 stars

Told from the point of view of many troubled teens, Bronx Masquerade is a story of overcoming inner turmoil while living in a pwverty stricken area. When Mr. Ward opens his English Classto open-mike Fridays, it becomes a sort of counseling session for his students whose problems range from neglect, to bullying, to lack of self esteem. As the school year continues, these kids come to grips with their issues and form a bond with each other. By the end of the story many have found the strength to solve their own problems. I thougt the book was interesting, but wouldn't rocommend it because it didn't have a full story line. Some of the characters were on mentioned briefly and I wanted to know more about them. I think the author did a good job portaying true-life issues that face kids like those in my school Beastly McBeastBeast A.K.A Michael Jacson2 A.K.A Michael Jackson Stalker

Must Read Book!!!! :]

The Bronx Masquerade, is basically about a group of students that write about the way that they feel about their family, friends, and their life. My favorite charicter was Tyrone Bittings, because he is strong and he stands up for what he believes in. Tyrone thinks school is nonthing but a joke and that he doesnt have a future ahead of him. His teacher Mr. Ward, has this thing called 'Open Mic.' This is when the students go up and and read their poems that they wrote about how they feel about friends family and troubles at school. Tyrone had the oppertunity to respond to how he thought their poem was, kind of like what im doing know but im telling you about the book. Bronx Masquerade is an outstanding story of opening up and not being so shy. I mean some people need to open up. Nikki Grimes did a great job writing this book and i applaud her for it. You kind of felt like you were there most of the times. I got to read about alot of characters and hear about how much all of them, and how they have changed. Bronx Masquerade is exciting and touching. I reccomend this book to anyone middle school up. If it is your first time reading a good book and its been a long time since you read a good book, read this one its great and you will love it.