Scorpions

By: Walter Dean Myers

Narrated by: Peter Francis James

The Scorpions are a gun-toting Harlem gang, and Jamal Hicks is about to become tragically involved with them in this authentic tale of the sacrifice of innocence and the struggle to steer clear of violence.

This Newbery Honor Book will challenge young men to consider their own decisions as they come of age in a complex and often frustrating society.

Pushed by a bully to fight and nagged by his principal, Jamal is having a difficult time staying in school. His home life is not much better, with his mother working her fingers to the bone to try to earn the money for an appeal for Jamal's jailed older brother, Randy.

Jamal wants to do the right thing and help earn the money to free his brother by working, but he's afraid to go against the Scorpions. Jamal eventually pulls free of the gang's bad influence, but only through the narrowest of escapes.

Walter Dean Myers, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, sensitively explores the loyalty and love between friends faced with hard choices. Scorpions is 25 years old, but the issues of poverty and violence make it a timeless powerful read—sadly as relevant as ever.

20 chapters done I. two days totally recommend

loved it haven't finished a good book in two days ever. telling all my friends to get audible

I liked it 👍🏽

his different voices were nice and he put body into the story. The story itself was very relatable and made me kind of emotional at the end so i liked it a lot.

Great Story but the Audio does match the book.

What did you love best about Scorpions?

It's a great coming of age story

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration in chapter 15 and 16 doesn't match the book version. It skips from chapter 15 to 16 and then back to 15.

story telling bad

I love the book its so great but the voice over on here sometimes adds a word or two than what the text says. it bugs me a little but i think its fine. overall really good story and i also recomend another book called The outsiders if you haven't read it yet!

Excellent Story - Narration very slow.

What made the experience of listening to Scorpions the most enjoyable?

Great storyline especially if you are from New York City.

What did you like best about this story?

It gave a good view of what the characters were like and what the main character was going through without being too "over the top" with the graphics and language. There was just enough action to keep young people interested in the story.

Which character – as performed by Peter Francis James – was your favorite?

The Narrator performed all of the characters well. I just wish he could have increased his pace when reading. It seemed very slow and dragged out.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. I didn't expect anyone to actually die in the story!