Module 7 - Dope Sick

Summary:

Lil J is a very sad and distraught young man.  Not only does his mother have a drinking problem, Lil J is having a difficult time in all aspects of his life.  He can’t seem to find a descent job or find his way in life.  He also has his own addictions.  He is hooked on heroin does not see any light at the end of the tunnel. Then if that was not bad enough, he finds himself involved in a botched drug deal and is on the run.  He leaves his mother and his son alone while he tries to hide out.  He eventually finds himself in an abandoned crack house where someone begins showing him scenes from his own life and begins asking all of these crazy questions.  Kelly tries to show him what he wants to see and as Lil J tries to answer his questions he realizes that there is not just one.  Lil J has been trying to find that one moment in his past that changed him or sent him down the wrong path.  He soon realizes that there were many events and bad choices that caused him to be where he is.  It turns out that he might be given a second chance to reexamine his life and to change it before it is too late.  

APA Reference:


Myers, W. D. (2009). Dope sick. New York, NY:  HarperCollins Children’s Books.

My Impressions:

This is one of those stories that allow the reader to be right there with the character during the intensity of real life.  There is drug dealing, drug doing and a mess of other immoral things taking place in this story.  Lil J is classic.  There are thousands of kids that find themselves in a mess before they even realize what has happened to them.  Many of them are misguided and do not have the means to survive the real world without having to suffer many consequences. I really like how Myers tells the story and also allows Lil J a chance to rectify his situation.  Most people are not given that proverbial second chance and I think that it is important for the reader to see where he was headed before he was allowed to change it.  It is not always about the end but how it all started and the events that led up to him being on the run.  Many people can identify with what Lil J struggles with and that is a very important connection this book can make with its reader.    

Professional Reviews:

Booklist Review

Grades 9-12. Pursued by police after a drug deal goes disastrously wrong, 17-year-old Lil J hides out in an abandoned building where he encounters a strange, solitary man named Kelly, who is watching television. Stranger still is what Kelly is watching: scenes from Lil J’s past and his prospective future! How can this be? And how to answer the question that Kelly then asks: “If you could do it all over again and change something, what would it be?” As Lil J ponders his answer, Kelly screens more scenes from the teen’s unfortunate life, including his growing heroin habit. Is this a drug-induced hallucination? A ghostly visitation à la Dickens’ Scrooge? A metaphysical fantasy? A cautionary tale? All of the above? Wisely, Myers provides no easy answers to these difficult questions, trusting his readers to find their own truths and lessons in Lil J’s life. Yes, “lessons,” for there is definitely a didactic element here. But, happily, Myers’ narrative strategy is so inherently dramatic that it captures his readers’ attentions and imaginations, inviting not only empathy but also thoughtful discussion. - Michael Cart

Cart, M. (2008, November 15). [Review of the book Dope sick]. Available from Booklist Website: http://www.booklistonline.com/Dope-Sick-Walter-Dean-Myers/pid=2903806

Library Uses:

a.       This book could be used for discussion topics over African-American youth and poverty.  The author grew up in Harlem and writes many books about young teens and the struggles they endure.

b.      In the words of a science teacher, “Action. . . Reaction”.  There are consequences for your actions and this book offers the perfect example that kids can relate to.