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 for a while but then he tries to steal from Butler who chases him up to the rooftop and ends up saving Benji’s life when he almost falls. This is a real breakthrough in their relationship but the novel ends ambiguously as Butler waits for Benjie to appear for an appointment at the drug rehab center.


My Comments:
The story is told from several points of view: Benjie, his mother, his mother's boyfriend, his grandmother, two of his teachers who fight with each other but deeply care about their students, his best friend who’s concerned about him, and the dealer who sells the drugs, among others. The shift in viewpoints can sometimes be abrupt, but it really shows how heroin users (and all addicts) affect the lives of others around them. The story is also told in urban dialect, written with local accents and slang, which makes the reading a little more difficult but, definitely adds to the authenticity of the story. The book is filled with interesting and realistic characters, but the real standout here is the stepfather, who is willing to take on a father role to Benji, and is as loving and committed to Benji’s mother as any husband could be although they are not married. Published in 1973, I think this book still has relevance today because drug use among younger people and in schools continues to be a problem.