Scorpions - 25th Edition by Walter Dean Myers (Paperback)

About the Book

Award-winning author Walter Dean Myers (Brown Angels; The Righteous Revenge of Artemis Bonner) tells the story of 12-year-old Jamal, whose life changes drastically when he acquires a gun. Though he survives the experience, it's not without sacrificing his innocence and possibly his friendship with his best friend.

Book Synopsis

The Scorpions are a gun-toting Harlem gang, and Jamal Hicks is about to become tragically involved with them in this authentic tale of the sacrifice of innocence and the struggle to steer clear of violence.

This Newbery Honor Book will challenge young men to consider their own decisions as they come of age in a complex and often frustrating society.

Pushed by a bully to fight and nagged by his principal, Jamal is having a difficult time staying in school. His home life is not much better, with his mother working her fingers to the bone to try to earn the money for an appeal for Jamal's jailed older brother, Randy.

Jamal wants to do the right thing and help earn the money to free his brother by working, but he's afraid to go against the Scorpions. Jamal eventually pulls free of the gang's bad influence, but only through the narrowest of escapes.

Walter Dean Myers, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, sensitively explores the loyalty and love between friends faced with hard choices. Scorpions is now more than thirty-five years old, but the issues of poverty and violence make it a timeless, powerful read--sadly as relevant as ever.

This special twenty-fifth anniversary edition contains the original Scorpions novel, plus an extra Q&A with New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers--including questions about juvenile detention facilities, gang life today, and friendship.

Also included are a sneak peek at Kick, by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman, and an excerpt from Myers's New York Times bestselling novel Monster.

From the Back Cover

Now with extra material to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scorpions!

Everyone is getting on Jamal's case. The kids at school are bugging him, his teachers won't leave him alone, and the principal's always giving him a hard time. Even his mama yells at him, upset because Jamal's brother, Randy, is in jail. The only person he can count on now is his best friend, Tito.

But Crazy Mack wants Jamal to take over as the Scorpions' leader and run crack. Jamal doesn't want anything to do with gang life, but he doesn't have a choice--it's the only way to get money for Randy's appeal. And as long as he's got Tito on his side, Jamal knows everything will be okay. . . .

When it was first published in 1988, Scorpions blew readers away. It continues to do so today. This special 25th anniversary edition contains the original Scorpions story, plus an extra Q&A with New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers.

Review Quotes

"Once more, readers have Myers to thank for giving them a greater understanding of the difficulty of life in today's inner city." --" SLJ.""A book honored for its honesty, realism, and vitality."-- "1989 Newbery Award Committee."