jaywithwhiskey's review against another edition
5.0
Although arguably badly titled, A Stone of Hope is more than just a coming-of-age story. This inspiring memoir reads like fiction and is packed with gut-wrenching stories that remain unforgettable. St. Germain’s story is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s understanding of a black teenage boy’s world perspective in Between the World and Me meets Dave Peltzer’s foster home system struggles in his second book, The Lost Boy. We’ve heard of stories like this before and yet this story remains different from the rest. St. Germain tells his story through a very straight-forward narrative incorporating other novels and biographies of African American men. He explains how a young boy is expected to survive in a poor neighborhood and how this shapes him into acting a certain way. Through his journey, we can easily understand how young men raised this way need to work twice as hard and given a more opportunities in order to be equipped with the tools to succeed.
odearrr's review against another edition
5.0
You are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but honestly, this book’s packaging and the title does not do it justice. It is a remarkable story. It is a coming of age story of a young Haiti immigrant who ends up in the foster system. He was arrested, sold drugs, lived in poverty and existed in a system that appeared to want him to fail. It would be a great book to create a dialogue in the classroom about racial privilege, youth rights, and the US criminal system.
betta's review against another edition
5.0
an amazing and important read!
I would really recommend this memoir!
also, please donate to and check out the PLOT (preparing leaders of tomorrow) organization!!!
I would really recommend this memoir!
also, please donate to and check out the PLOT (preparing leaders of tomorrow) organization!!!
kellyhager's review
5.0
Jim and his family left Haiti and moved to Brooklyn when he was a child. By the time he was a teenager, he was dealing drugs and had already been arrested multiple times. Before he could legally drive, he had been convicted of a felony. Generally speaking, we know how this story ends: life in prison or dead at a young age, right?
But instead, Jim was put in Boys Town (a group home that works as rehab, almost) and surrounded by people who expected him to succeed, get his GED and go to college. And he did all those things.
This memoir shows how Jim's life was turned around, yes, but also shows how the system is largely failing us. For the most part, young men (and specifically young black men) aren't helped. More money is spent on prisons than schools, and people are being almost set up to keep going from the street to prison, over and over.
This is an inspiring read and, more than that, an easy to follow blueprint of how the system can improve.
Recommended.
But instead, Jim was put in Boys Town (a group home that works as rehab, almost) and surrounded by people who expected him to succeed, get his GED and go to college. And he did all those things.
This memoir shows how Jim's life was turned around, yes, but also shows how the system is largely failing us. For the most part, young men (and specifically young black men) aren't helped. More money is spent on prisons than schools, and people are being almost set up to keep going from the street to prison, over and over.
This is an inspiring read and, more than that, an easy to follow blueprint of how the system can improve.
Recommended.
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