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lilbluebelle's review against another edition
3.0
I think the idea of this book is great but it somehow missed the mark for me overall. I think it is very difficult to compare the two Wes’s because while they share a name and a few other similarities, they both have key differences. For example, one Wes has a mother and a support system that is able to send him to a very expensive military school. The odds stacked against both of them are very different, and in the end they make different choices that of course lead to different outcomes.
buddy524's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing story. I always enjoy true stories that border on the unbelievable. Wes Moore, from the inner-city of Baltimore, grows up to be successful. The other Wes Moore always grows up in the inner-city but ends up in jail. While I was immersed in both their stories I kept on waiting to hear the final conclusion. Wes Moore did not fully answer the question of why, a question he brings up in his epilogue. It would have been nice to see a more definitive ending.
bioniclib's review against another edition
2.0
This was like the Cliffnotes version of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.
Two boys came to a crossroads in their boyhoods and one took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference...sort of. While there's the same spotlight on the socioeconomic hardships poor black families in bad neighborhoods in both boys lives, they really didn't go through the same things. The author had a more invested family and as a result a stronger support system. The Other Wes Moore was jailed for attempted murder, the Author Wes Moore was jailed for graffiti.
While well-intentioned, the book fell a little flat for me. It was less of a pair of narratives and more of a series of anecdotes from each of the boys' lives. That left me wanting, a-hem, more. That's not to say the book isn't worthy. Had I not read the Peace book first, I would have liked this one more. Also, at the end of the book is page after page (after page) of resources to help at-risk youths.
I would definitely recommend this book, even though I was disappointed by it.
Two boys came to a crossroads in their boyhoods and one took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference...sort of. While there's the same spotlight on the socioeconomic hardships poor black families in bad neighborhoods in both boys lives, they really didn't go through the same things. The author had a more invested family and as a result a stronger support system. The Other Wes Moore was jailed for attempted murder, the Author Wes Moore was jailed for graffiti.
While well-intentioned, the book fell a little flat for me. It was less of a pair of narratives and more of a series of anecdotes from each of the boys' lives. That left me wanting, a-hem, more. That's not to say the book isn't worthy. Had I not read the Peace book first, I would have liked this one more. Also, at the end of the book is page after page (after page) of resources to help at-risk youths.
I would definitely recommend this book, even though I was disappointed by it.
greengecko's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Reflections on how the lives of the two Wes Moores differed
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great step in a growth journey to understanding racism imbedded in American culture. A well written and easy to read look at two men who started from a similar spot but wholes lives diverged into wildly different ends. The book makes no strong conclusions but demonstrates through example the huge difference that mentors and social expectations can make in a child’s life. The author shows in his story the promise of brilliant minds that are sacrificed every day to our racist culture and explains the effort it took to break him out of that orbit.