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50th out of 100 books
—
24 voters
You Hear Me?: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys
by
Betsy Franco
Teenage boys speak out—without the filter of adult sensibility—in a compelling collection of poetry and prose.
In a powerful collection of more than seventy uncensored poems and essays, more than fifty teenage boys from across the country explore their many-layered concerns: identity, love, envy, gratitude, sex, anger, competition, fear, hope. Here, unadorned and without th...more
In a powerful collection of more than seventy uncensored poems and essays, more than fifty teenage boys from across the country explore their many-layered concerns: identity, love, envy, gratitude, sex, anger, competition, fear, hope. Here, unadorned and without th...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
May 1st 2001
by Candlewick Press
(first published August 1st 2000)
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I give this book four stars because I think its very existence is so important. Poems by teenage boys--a representation of a hugely underrepresented group; if we listened to teenagers more often, perhaps we'd understand them better. I enjoyed reading it and appreciated the vast (and intense) array of ideas and topics, and the young people's approaches to them, which were very brave and focused. I do think that this book could have been edited more closely . . . more than that, I think that the t...more
You Hear Me?
Summary: This piece is an anthology of poems and personal writings written by teenage boys from across the country. The writing includes thoughts on love (both falling in love and experiencing a broken heart), family relationships, drugs, self-esteem, anger, and everything in between.
Personal Reaction: I really fell in love with this book. If I had my students write poetry, and they were to lose all inhibitions in their writing, this is the type of writing I would receive. Working in...more
Summary: This piece is an anthology of poems and personal writings written by teenage boys from across the country. The writing includes thoughts on love (both falling in love and experiencing a broken heart), family relationships, drugs, self-esteem, anger, and everything in between.
Personal Reaction: I really fell in love with this book. If I had my students write poetry, and they were to lose all inhibitions in their writing, this is the type of writing I would receive. Working in...more
Summary: This collection of poems presents works written a broad cross-section of teenage boys from across American society. Young men, aged 12 to 20, don't often profess a love of poetry; nor would they often admit to writing it. This collection breaks that stereotype by presenting young men's honest views on many of the issues that face modern society. Love, death, drugs, racism, homosexuality, and other topics that are on the minds of teenage readers are addressed with candor in these poems....more
Summary:
This is a book that contains several poems written by teenage boys. These boys all come from diverse backgrounds and around the United States. These young men all seem to have a strong voice and write from a honest place from within them. The prose and poetry included in this books seem to cover so many emotions that teenage boys face today. Topics like homosexuality, love, neglect, coming of age, loss, pride, drugs, death, racism, and social class are all found in this compelling book....more
This is a book that contains several poems written by teenage boys. These boys all come from diverse backgrounds and around the United States. These young men all seem to have a strong voice and write from a honest place from within them. The prose and poetry included in this books seem to cover so many emotions that teenage boys face today. Topics like homosexuality, love, neglect, coming of age, loss, pride, drugs, death, racism, and social class are all found in this compelling book....more
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Summary: "You Hear Me?" is an anthology of poems and personal writings written by teenage boys from across the country. The writing includes thoughts on love (both falling in love and experiencing a broken heart), family relationships, drugs, self-esteem, anger, and more.
I gave this a 5-star rating because of the concept - poems written by young men, ranging from age 12 to 20. It's important to remember that we need to listen closely to teenagers, what better way is...more
Summary: "You Hear Me?" is an anthology of poems and personal writings written by teenage boys from across the country. The writing includes thoughts on love (both falling in love and experiencing a broken heart), family relationships, drugs, self-esteem, anger, and more.
I gave this a 5-star rating because of the concept - poems written by young men, ranging from age 12 to 20. It's important to remember that we need to listen closely to teenagers, what better way is...more
I liked it okay. It is not the kind of book I will ever read again. It saddened me to read many of the poems as they were of such utter despair and anger, but maybe that is how they feel and what they are going through. I imagine that many of my previous and current students could relate to many of the feelings and scenarios that are depicted in this book. This book make me think it is not fun to be a black, male teenager these days.
This book is a compilation of over 70 poems and writings by yo...more
This book is a compilation of over 70 poems and writings by yo...more
A very poignant collection of heartfelt words from a population not usually known for heartfelt words. This book is a genuine, and very honest portrait of teenagers in urban America. There are those, no doubt, who will be offended by its explicit language and subject matter. If you are an LMS at a very conservative school or community, you may have to fight to keep this one on your shelves. However, explicit language is pretty typical of teenagers dealing with issues of sexuality, drug use, disa...more
The mood that this novel makes me feel depends on all the different and specific tones of the multiple poems that the teen males created. The poems, stories, and essays talks about topics that the world is surrounded with and these males don't want to be ignored. The males in the many poems and stories address issues like responsibility, insecurity, sexuality, confusion, teen pregnancy, sex, education, struggle and ethnicity with truth and emotion. The boys stories ranges from anger, envy, lonel...more
Apr 28, 2010
Samantha
added it
I'm currently reading this book and it gets better and better every page. Some of these poems i can realate to is i have many male friends and they are going threw some of these poems these teenage boys that go threw some rough things. most of them are either hispanic or black, most of these boys or either on of them. hopefully the stories get more interesting or more intense..
Just because i love darkness
Doesn't mean I'm depressed
Doesn't mean i can't love
Doesn't mean i'M Blind.
Just because i...more
Just because i love darkness
Doesn't mean I'm depressed
Doesn't mean i can't love
Doesn't mean i'M Blind.
Just because i...more
This book talks about devastating issues present daily in the lives of children and young adults. Although You hear me is a book worth reading, it should remained banned to particular content present in the book. The book contains profanity and passages pertaining to sexual content. Also the book is for a more mature audience; I believe a ninth grader would be considered too young to read it. It talks about drugs, abuse, and complex issues/problems teenagers have faced. The book speaks of boys’...more
This book was really great, even though i thought it was about something else, like gang related book. But after, i kept reading it and by the time I was done with it, i realized that most of the poems are kind of how I feel. But this book, really dosen't have any plot invovled because the book is full of awesome poems. My favorite poem in this book is "I Live" becauseit really connects to my life.I think the most of the writers in this book use emotion and conflict because most of the poems dea...more
in the poem song for my father by Stephan Johnson on page 95 it tells about a boy who's father died. it is a very heartfelt poem and it really shows how he feels about his fathers death. in the first line it shows how hurt he is from the death. in the second and third line it shows that he never knew his father which mean he would not be hurt as much but there is something still missing. when he calls his father a raft that means that he is saying how his father protects him. stephan recieved hi...more
May 12, 2010
Will Gebbie
added it
I read Song For My Father. I think this poem is about a girl who's father died when she was young because in the first line of the poem it says,"Death is a sad song that embraces even children." I think shes one of those children. Then it says,"I could have known my father, my heart would mourn." I think that her fathered died before she could got to know him, that's why she says I could have known my father. In the second stanza she says he left me his name but no name at all. She knows his na...more
Summary...You hear me? Is a compilation of poems and short stories written by teenage boys from across the board. Each comes from some deep place within the young authors. The issues the boys deal with, are real life issues.
Reaction...I had mixed feelings about this book, I did enjoy reading the book itself, it was very 'real', but the fact that I have a boy who is about to be a teenager scares the pants off of me!
Extension...I would have my students come up with a hard subject to write about....more
Reaction...I had mixed feelings about this book, I did enjoy reading the book itself, it was very 'real', but the fact that I have a boy who is about to be a teenager scares the pants off of me!
Extension...I would have my students come up with a hard subject to write about....more
I picked this poetry collection up because it was on a list of banned or challenged books, and I was curious. These boys are amazing! They blew me away with their honesty, pain, hope, and humor. They made me laugh and moved me to tears. One of the boys died of a drug overdose before the book was even published--a heartbreaking loss of potential and talent.
Yes, some of the language is rough and raw. A few of the boys use words I do not like. But it's authentic, and choosing less-graphic alternati...more
Yes, some of the language is rough and raw. A few of the boys use words I do not like. But it's authentic, and choosing less-graphic alternati...more
A collection of poetry and prose by teenage boys. Some are very powerful. Franco (editor) does a wonderful job of eliciting meaningful words from boys, aged 12-19. So maybe the stuff written in it isn't THE Best stuff ever, but really, does that matter? They're not aiming to win prizes. It's a collection of words written by boys who maybe thought they weren't writers. This proves they are. And? It proves to young people that they too, can be writers and poets.
I highly recommend it to any teacher...more
I highly recommend it to any teacher...more
While I feel that it is important for books like this to exist, I wasn't overly impressed with most of the writing within.
It felt to me that the editor chose too focus on issues faced by young boys over quality of writing. I assume that was a conscious decision and, if so, I understand it. There is definitely a message here -- for teenage boys and for everyone else, as well.
I think it would be interesting to read the companion collection of Teenage girl's writing to compare them. Hopefully, I'll...more
It felt to me that the editor chose too focus on issues faced by young boys over quality of writing. I assume that was a conscious decision and, if so, I understand it. There is definitely a message here -- for teenage boys and for everyone else, as well.
I think it would be interesting to read the companion collection of Teenage girl's writing to compare them. Hopefully, I'll...more
Summary:
You Hear Me? is a collection of poems and short essays written by teenage boys. The topics vary from relationships and sex to drugs and emotions. These young men come from different backgrounds and it is displayed in their words which are powerful and real.
Reaction:
I was surprised by the strong emotions presented by these youngmen. Boys are known for not expressing their feelings verbally. These boys not only proved that the can express themselves, but that they can express themselves wi...more
You Hear Me? is a collection of poems and short essays written by teenage boys. The topics vary from relationships and sex to drugs and emotions. These young men come from different backgrounds and it is displayed in their words which are powerful and real.
Reaction:
I was surprised by the strong emotions presented by these youngmen. Boys are known for not expressing their feelings verbally. These boys not only proved that the can express themselves, but that they can express themselves wi...more
I read You Hear Me?, a booke edited by Betsy Franco for my book report. This is a book full of poems written by struggled teenage boys about topics like girls, crime, their family, religion, their enviroment, and their future. These poems are all un-censored and are all things that the boys have never said before. I think that this book is best for older teenager's with an interest or a talent in understanding poems. I do warn you though, that some topics are very racy, contain language, and so...more
I think this book is a four star book. If you like poems this a book to check out. this book had many good poems but one of my favorite poems was "I hate school." this was a poem about a seven-teen year old boy who couldn't stand school. he uses strong language to tell the reader how much he hate school. Another reason this was my favorite poem was because this was a lyric poem. This poem had great rhyme and meter. This book held more then just poems. It also had writing like short stores. I mys...more
You Hear Me? is a collection of stories and poems by teenage boys from Detroit, Houston, and Chicago. Many of the stories and poems speak of male teenage angst. Among the stories and poems are subjects of a teenage dad, driving, the color blue, a secret, a shaved head, homosexuality, a hair tail, a dream, school, violence, and of love and hate. The emotional range of each poem varies from light-hearted to deep pain but in each the writer relays an inner voice that has been waiting to come out.
May 05, 2012
Linda Dexheimer
added it
Linda Dexheimer
Poetry
This a truly unique collection of poems by teenage boys. Poetry isn't usually a genre you see a lot of male interest in at any age. These poems are often graphic and obscene but they provide insight into the life of teenage boys. The poems cover a broad range of topics and the writing is honest. Readers can identify with the poems and sympathize with the writing. They are also fairly easy to read and understand.
Poetry
This a truly unique collection of poems by teenage boys. Poetry isn't usually a genre you see a lot of male interest in at any age. These poems are often graphic and obscene but they provide insight into the life of teenage boys. The poems cover a broad range of topics and the writing is honest. Readers can identify with the poems and sympathize with the writing. They are also fairly easy to read and understand.
I thought this book was both very approachable and very powerful. I think the internal life of young boys is still such unknown territory. I really appreciated that these boys were willing to try their hand at creatively telling their stories.
Also, as a lay person who neither teaches writing nor poetry, I was really touched by many of the pieces. There are some very beautiful lines if not beautiful pieces. I was glad I read it. It was extremely touching, especially considering the current news...more
Also, as a lay person who neither teaches writing nor poetry, I was really touched by many of the pieces. There are some very beautiful lines if not beautiful pieces. I was glad I read it. It was extremely touching, especially considering the current news...more
This collection of poems is written by teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18. Here they in an un censored fashion share their feeling about every day life, offering a compelling glimpse into lives of young men in this age range. Although some of the writings are intense, they are honest and offer insight into the lives of the young authors. The poems are in a variety of styles and have something to offer to every reader.
Through these mostly free-verse lines, the hopes, dreams, fears, and desires of young men from different cultures and backgrounds shine through. They talk about what you'd expect: drugs, girls, sex, parent relationships, etc. I could see teaching this book, although for now I'm going to shelf it. Although I may pull a poem or two to read aloud as a class during the poetry unit.
You Hear Me?: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys is a collection of poems and essays written by different teenage boys all across the United States. The poems--free-flowing and bursting with raw feeling and brutal honesty--are evident of the boys' various backgrounds and experiences, touching on subjects like sex, identity, fear and anger.
This book is about a bunch of teenage boys who express their feeling through a different poem. It is very interesting of how boys can be. They are way deep and sensitive on the inside. Also its amazing how they are be able to show their side that people would never thought that they have.
This book was really interesting. it is a book of poems about teenage boys lives. they range from things about drugs, to having kids. some of the poems are funnier than some of the other darker poems. my favorite poem is called "chant" on page 39.
A collection of poems of at risk teen guys. They range in topic from events at school to their relationships with their parents. Some are very young, 11, and some are about 20. a surprisingly powerful collection.
Like that, you're caught up in their angst, insecurities, loves, relationships, struggles, will, determination, and survival. It was like moving into the depths of contemporary boys' psyches~~multicultural at that.
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Betsy Franco has published more than eighty books, including three previous anthologies. She lives in Palo Alto, California.
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Feb 24, 2012 09:42pm