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15th out of 42 books
—
75 voters
A Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich
Benjie can stop using heroin anytime he wants to. He just doesn't want to yet. Why would he want to give up something that makes him feel so good, so relaxed, so tuned-out? As Benjie sees it, there's nothing much to tune in for. School is a waste of time, and home life isn't much better. All Benjie wants is for someone to believe in him, for someone to believe that he's mo...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
February 1st 2000
by Puffin
(first published 1973)
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This book brings up many great points to discuss with teens in a book club or school setting. Issues include: teen drug abuse and addiction, race relations, the successes and failures of the civil rights movement, the education of urban African-American youth, family communication, etc. Unfortunately, this book was written for a teen audience in the early 1970s, and that causes a tremendous amount of dated-ness. The hip jive dialect bears little resemblance to the language used by urban teens (o...more
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Benjie a 13 year old teenager, is having a bit of trouble admitting is issues. From smoking marijuana to injecting heroin, he keeps on saying he isn't addicted to any of the drugs. However, his mother and her boyfriend, Butler, constantly deals with Benjie stealing household items for drug money.
A book about teenage life in the 70's isn't necessarily the novel you thought it would be about. This book wasn't the best book if you don't pay attention to the headings and names of the chapters. Each...more
A book about teenage life in the 70's isn't necessarily the novel you thought it would be about. This book wasn't the best book if you don't pay attention to the headings and names of the chapters. Each...more
Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Benjie is like a lot of ghetto children: he's black, he's poor, he hasn't got a father, and he's gone from smoking marijuana to using heroin. He says he’s not addicted. He can stop anytime he wants. However, his mother and her boyfriend, Butler Craig, are getting fed up because he's stealing all their stuff and selling it for drug money. When the teachers see him stoned at school, they send him up for detoxification and treatment. Benji is released and things seem OK fo...more
After reading a fascinating article on actress/author/playwright Alice Childress in the October 10 issue of The New Yorker, I decided to check out her young adult novel A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich published in 1973. Although some of the language is dated, this is still a powerful and moving book about 13-year-old heroin addict Benjie trying to find his way in New York's Harlem. Written in short, alternating chapters from differing perspectives (Benjie's mother Rose, best friend Jimmie-Le...more
I remember seeing this title when I was in junior high. My librarian steered me away from it. Although I never read it, I always remembered it because of the title.
Flashforward many, many, many years and I see the title again. The book is much thinner than I remember. I decide to read it anyway to see if it might be of interest to my struggling readers.
It's a good story with ever-changing points of view. The problem is the language. There is no way that I could get away with having this on my sh...more
Flashforward many, many, many years and I see the title again. The book is much thinner than I remember. I decide to read it anyway to see if it might be of interest to my struggling readers.
It's a good story with ever-changing points of view. The problem is the language. There is no way that I could get away with having this on my sh...more
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A quick read that gets right to the heart of the matter regarding a heroin-addicted 13-year-old boy. It is presented as a collection of statements by the boy himself and the other people in his life. There is a moment or two in the book where it appears to be headed in an unrealistic direction, but then the story line, the characters, and the reader are brought back to reality.
Written 36 years ago, this book for young adults focuses on violence and drugs that now seem mild compared to the change...more
Written 36 years ago, this book for young adults focuses on violence and drugs that now seem mild compared to the change...more
My last book of the summer! This was a quick, arresting read, a story told in the voices and vernacular of its characters, with the occasional newspaper clipping thrown in. I have never lived in an urban slum, but the characters and events seemed convincing to me. There were only a few lines that sounded too snappy or poetic to be real--the title line was one of them. It's easy to imagine this novel being performed as a series of monologues. Each character has redeeming qualities, and in the end...more
Aug 16, 2008
El
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
late20th-centurylit,
i-hate-ya
I snagged this book off of my boyfriend's sister's bookshelf before I flew out of town, mostly because the title was funny to me. Benjie is a 13-year-old boy living in a rough neighborhood with his mother, her boyfriend and her mother. As is typical in many young adult books the boy's descent into drug abuse goes almost entirely unnoticed though, interestingly enough, not because no one cares about him. It was refreshing that Benjie is not an abused child but simply a child living under poor cir...more
This book was written in the early seventies and is pretty dated now, both in the attitudes of the characters and the way they talk. Modern-day high school kids may find it hard to relate to and I, a white girl from suburbia, found the Ebonics hard to understand.
However, the book definitely has its merits. I was impressed with the author's ability to create a multitude of narrators, none of them sounding too much like the other. The author also did an excellent job establishing the setting (whic...more
However, the book definitely has its merits. I was impressed with the author's ability to create a multitude of narrators, none of them sounding too much like the other. The author also did an excellent job establishing the setting (whic...more
I liked the shifting narrators and the depth of each POV; each person's story helped me understand the circumstances that led up to and continued through Benjie's story. I liked the historical context--I have a sense for early 1970s NY now. This book is essentially about addiction and the devastation it causes in individuals and communities; and it's about the role of autonomy within family systems. The slang is something that takes getting used to, but I think this is a very valuable quick read...more
I liked the use of multiple characters leading a narrative A Hero Ain't Nothing But a Sandwich. I think it helped because the main character Benji and his addiction to heroine compromised his interpretations of events, specifically with Benji’s teachers and his Benji's stepfather, Butler. Benji had many moments complete and utter disrespect of Butler for the plain reason that he is not his real father. I can see how the fact that Benji's real father abandoning his family could foster harsh feeli...more
A controversial book because of its slang, street language and drug activity, I think this book is more suited for teens/adults. It's not a "children's book" just because there is a child character. The book is set in a tough NY neighborhood. Benjie is a 13-year-old boy who abuses drugs, and the book is told from his point of view, as well as his mother's, his mother's boyfriend (Butler Craig), his grandmother, the next door neighbor lady who wishes Butler were hers, the school principal, and te...more
The language in the book was a little hard to follow at first. Reading the story from the characters view gave a more in depth view of the psychological thinking’s & personal troubles of the characters. This book made me feel many emotions from laughter from a funny joke made by one of the characters; anger due to the situations that many of the characters were facing as well as sadness due to the struggles the young boy was facing and knowing that there are far too many Benjie’s in the worl...more
This was a pretty quick read. Great for teenagers. It is written in slang - so adults may have some trouble reading it. You fall in love with the main character like a brother, and you want to see him succeed so badly. Great for teens looking for some self-esteem.
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wellllllll its not the best book but i diddnt get why he would even do drugs iget that hes strest out but thats not an excuse to do drugs. i ended up not liking this book at all i do not recomend this book to anyone unless your disapointment.
A powerful book about a young black man-child growing up in the Harlem ghetto and struggling with life's challenges, told from the perspectives of the boy, his mother, step-father, teachers and others. Beautifully written.
This book is memorable because I chose it for my first book report in 6th grade...the book is about an inner-city kid and the language includes some adult words - most importantly the F-word. My mom flipped through the book and then flipped out - she gave the librarians more than a piece of her mind and even tried to get the book banned from our school...I was absolutely mortified. I became fast friends with the librarians, who would save books for me under the circulation desk and if it was som...more
i kinda liked the book because i heard of some of these things. i wish he could find another way to get by thing other ways then using drugs. i dont agree with thepeople talking trash about this kid, i rather them help then lable him thats stupid. the main character is benjie because everything was around him, about, or for him. i rate the book a 7.5 because i could relate, well not to the thing benjie did but to the things going on around him.
a super sad story of a young boy who becomes addicted to heroin. very very sad. very good.
This was a very good book. The challenges the kid had to face. Overall this book was very good.
Just maybe the conflicts in the book will seem as dated as eight-tracks. Maybe.
Benjie! I got you.
Aug 22, 2012
Karen
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
african-american-fiction,
favorites
A pleasent surprise. A reat tribute to stepfathers.
SUPER GOOD!!!!
if u r into the crazzy teenager books
this is 4 u
if u r into the crazzy teenager books
this is 4 u
Benjie, a young African American boy who lives in an inner-city ghetto, resists his parents and school counselors and the guidance they offer. He tries heroin for the first time and becomes addicted. After some misguidance from his friends, he eventually decides to quit because of his stepfather.
This book just blows my mind away. It feels like you are talking to the kid with all the grammer and what not. Unique narration is what kept me reading it. At times it did get annoying but good book overall. This book suprised my when i found it was about a kid addicted to heroin(kind of scary).
1973. A thirtenn-year-old heroin addict in Harlem. Told in the voices of various characters. The main character, Bejie, his mother, stepfather, grandfather, best friend, teachers, etc. Benjie is convinced he's not an addict, but he keeps stealing from his family to get a fix. Pretty cool.
I was surprised that I liked this book. It is about a 13 year old drug addict and the process that he goes through to overcome his addiction and come to terms with is stepfather. A lot less depressing than I thought it would be.
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“One day I almost said it . . . after goin over the words in my mind, "Benjie, the greatest thing in the world is to love someone and they love you too." But when I opened my mouth, I said, "Benjie, brush the crumbs off your jacket.”
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1 person liked it
“Schoolteachers can be some hard-eyed people, with talkin eyes; they mouth sayin one thing and them eyes be screamin another.”
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1 person liked it
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