Forged By Fire

forged by fire is suspensful fiction novel. The first part of the book talks about this young boy who lives with his mother who is a drug adict. Gerald finds a lighter and he catches the house on fire. He's in the hospital and goes to live with his aunt. However the most suspensful part of the book is on his 11th birthday.His mother pops up with a daughter and a husband.something horrible happens to his aunt and he has to go live with his mother again. once he moves there,he finds out that his step father is a acholic. He abuses him,his sister,and his mother.Later on he finds out his step father is doing something to his sister.This book is intensed because all of this drama is going on and when everthing starts to get beter something happens.

Draper, Sharon M. Forged by Fire. New York, NY: Simon Pulse, 1997.

The story of Gerald, who from a very young age learns to struggle to survive, moves into his aunt's house after a fire sends his mother away to jail for child endangerment and for being a drug addict. As his mother returns after leaving jail, Gerald finds out she is married to Jordan, a bad tempered man, and that he has a younger sister, Angel. He is forced to move back with his mother after his aunt abruptly passes away, where he is forced to be strong and protect his younger sister from his stepfather. He soon finds out that his mother does not have free will and is controlled by Jordan. He finds his strength to stay hopeful and struggle to survive for his sister, who is being abused by Jordan. He is able to send Jordan away once, but once Jordan returns again, he needs to find the inner strength to confront Jordan again.

The 156 page book is very well written and has a strong storyline that will entertain many of the young adults who read it. The main character, Gerald, is a character to admire for his inner strength and will to survive in uncontrollable circumstances. He is an example of how to reach out to others who are in more of a need than you, through difficult circumstances in life. The book could be a very intense and at times feels very overwhelming and implausible because he faces the death of his teammate, his stepfather, Jordan, is attacking his sister, a confrontation with Jordan, and a fire that threatens the lives of everyone. Although at a fifth grade reading level, it does address many of the social issues young people have to face and experience in real life, such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse, drug addiction, eating disorders, and domestic violence. The story is about finding your inner strength and will to live not just for yourself, but for others who depend on you to continue to survive. Gerald is an example of a strong young man who is willing to go over any boundaries to protect those whom he loves.

I thought this book was one of the best novels i have ever read. i really liked this book because its a based on a true story book and those are my favorite kind. i also like it because gerals is a very brave boy in the story and he goes through alot with his evil stepfather.

Forged by fire is a suspenful thriling book that just has you on a hook and won't let go. Forged by fire was the first book that I really fell is the best book ever made. This book deals with a baby named gerald and how his life change when he starts a fire when his mom is away from home. What happens after that is that he gets left with his aunt and is happy there and when he is nine years old his mom comes for him but he refuses to leave and stays with his aunt but after meeting his moms knew boyfreind and their daugther his aunt has a heart attack and dies leaving him alone with his mom and his abusive stepfather. When all is lost for Gerald he finds a reason to live, his step sister Angel, and continues on with his life but finds help with his problems when he meets a new freind and decides to help him out with his father issue. After they send him to prison gerald gets his life together and when all is good his abusive step father comes back to the picture and want's to move back with them and he really seems like his changed but at the end of the book he gets wasted and goes back to were gerald lives and starts raping his sister, Angel, and accidentaly starts a fire and this is all happening while gerald is playing basket ball and when he sees the fire he runs as fast he can to their house and tries to protect his sister but his step father is to strong and he ends up.... sorry but im not going to tell you the end your just going to have to read and and find out but for reals this book is true for some kinds and its really hard to picture that parents would actually do that to their kids but it happens anyways to almost everyone. Well enjoy this book peace.

This is one the best books I have read in a long time! Sharon Draper is a great author and her stories will draw you into the book so well that you will never want it to end. I cant wait to read the next book in the series. This book is especially good for African-American teens who like to read.