This is an Online Internet Book Club on Bad Boy: A Memoir by Walter Dean Myers. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
In his own words...
As a boy, Walter Dean Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously-he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer. But growing up in a poor family in Harlem, his hope for a successful future diminished as he came to realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded him. He began to doubt himself and the values that he had always relied on, attending high school less and less, turning to the streets and his books for comfort.
In a memoir that is gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable, Walter Dean Myers travels back to his roots in the magical world of Harlem during the 1940s and 1950s. Here is the story of one of the strongest voices in young people's literature today.
Book Club Questions for Bad Boy (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Bad Boy: A Memoir (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Bad Boy:
- Did Walter Dean Myers emphasize any specific themes throughout Bad Boy? What do you think Walter Dean Myers is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Bad Boy and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Bad Boy? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Bad Boy reveal Walter Dean Myers's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Walter Dean Myers is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Bad Boy affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Walter Dean Myers's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Bad Boy (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Bad Boy: A Memoir (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Bad Boy:
- Did Walter Dean Myers make persuasive arguments in Bad Boy? Did Bad Boy change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Bad Boy?
- How does Walter Dean Myers present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Walter Dean Myers biased within Bad Boy? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Bad Boy make you want to read next? Why?
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