Rockit Crew

The Adventures of Teenage Hip-Hop Misfits

By: Shane Robitaille

Narrated by: A.W. Miller

Length: 2 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the summer of 1984, four best friends become hip-hop outcasts and learn about the power of friendship, life, death, and how hard it is to be unique in a town that doesn't always welcome those who are brave enough to be different.

©2020 Shane Robitaille (P)2020 Shane Robitaille

Stand By Me (for kids of the 80s)

I LOVED this. Nostalgia and coming of age in the 80s! I grew up watching the vintage Stand By Movie with my dad. I wasn’t prepared to feel the same way. Sooo good! Well done, Robitaille!

A Fun Trip Back to the 80's

Loved this! Very well written and narrated. It brought me right back to 1984. I was very connected to each character, as if I really knew them. It's funny, sad at times, heartwarming and fun! I recommend this to music lovers and 80's babies OR anyone who wants to transport back to a more simple time.

Heartfelt

Wonderful young adult read. Heartfelt. Depth and meaning. Shane Robitaille did a fantastic job of bringing his characters to life in word and on page.

The human condition examined...

No matter what type of neighborhood you grew up in. No matter when you grew up, you will identify with these characters in what is much more than a simple coming of age story. Rockit Crew (set in the summer of 1984) by Shane Robitaille captures the true essence of what it means to be human, and that is something we can all relate to. Now more than ever it may be important to reflect on a simpler time. A time before we built walls to cope with an increasingly hostile world. A movie parents should watch with their children. We are ALL part of our own Rockit Crew. This particular crew’s journey however will live on forever through the magic of story telling.

Great story about friends

Listening to the book really brought the story to life. The book was an easy read and kept you interested to see what the characters next venture, good or bad, would be. Any age group will enjoy this book. The story includes many different feelings and thoughts that one can relate to these days, even though the story takes place in 1984.

Friends with music

A true coming of age story with laughs and sadness and music. . .

I love this audiobook!!

I’m a huge hip hop and audiobook fan so this was right up my street. This is set against a similar time period of my school years and discovery of hip hop. This isn’t a history of hip hop, but a reflection of a group of friends and how they were bonded by the music and culture that they loved. It takes you along on that journey with them and you really do feel the highs and lows with them.

I wholeheartedly recommend this regardless of if you are a fan of hip hop or not. It has a similar feel to the classic “Stand by Me” as well which is never a bad thing!!

Highly recommended!!

A great book that brought back many memories

This was a great book of friendship and love of Hip Hop

A great listen

Stand By Me meets Beat Street

I had already read the book so was interested to hear how this would 'sound' out loud. A.W. Miller narrates the story well and gives a strong reading to this all-too-brief coming-of-age tale of a bunch of teenage misfits in the era when rap music was just beginning to find its (crazy) legs.

Shane Robitaille's words may well ring true to anyone who grew up in the mid-80s listening to any hip-hop they could find on the airwaves or pooling money between friends to buy the latest records that were flying out of NYC. The fact that this culture was also initially looked down upon proved to be a godsend to many who were themselves lost and could claim it as their own as a refuge in their stormy young lives.

There is certainly a good measure of the 'feel-good' factor contained in the story which ensures that the direction is not pushed into any overly harsh details which could otherwise endanger the story becoming too clouded. To be clear, the friends in this tale are not living in burnt out tenement buildings in the South Bronx and instead are more suburbanite kids - although it is explicitly explained that at least one of the crew is in a foster home.

Overall, being a big film fan I had visions of Beat Street, Stand By Me and The Outsiders running through my head when listening. The only way to know for sure is if and when Rockit Crew gets the big screen treatment - or a series on Netflix at least!

Lastly, you don't need to be a fan of hip-hop to appreciate the story as at its heart it is essentially a tale of a bunch of free spirited rebels in their early years just trying to adapt to life with the usual teenage trappings and baggage that goes along with it. The hip-hop references are, of course, just the icing on the cake.

LIKE 'STAND BY ME' FOR THE HIP-HOP GENERATION

I loved this story, it took me right back to the early 80s when Hip - Hop exploded across the world. Although the story is set in small town USA, it could easily translate to small-town UK, where I lived. The same small:minds, the same meatheads trying to fuck with you and your crew for no reason.

Rockit Crew is for BBoys everywhere, no matter how old me might be.