Forged by Fire
By: Sharon Draper
*****
In, Forged by Fire, Gerald was fascinated by fire when he was three. His mother, a drug addict, leaves him alone one time too often and he accidentally sets the apartment on fire. His substance-addicted mother is taken from him. Then he loses the loving generosity of a favorite aunt. A brutal stepfather with a flaming temper and an evil secret makes his life miserable. The one bright light in Gerald's life is his little half sister, Angel, whom he struggles to protect from her father, Jordan Sparks, who abuses her, and from their mother, who’s irresponsible behavior forces Gerald to work hard to keep the family together.
As a teenager, Gerald finds success as a member of the Hazelwood Tigers basketball team, while Angel develops her talents as a dancer. Trouble still haunts them, however, and Gerald learns, painfully, that young friends can die and old enemies must be faced. In the end he must stand up to his stepfather alone in a blazing confrontation. I believe Sharon M. Draper has interwoven characters and events from her previous novel, Tears of a Tiger, in this unflinchingly realistic portrayal of poverty and child abuse. It is a very inspiring story of a young man who rises above the tragic circumstances of his life by drawing on the love and strength of family and friend.
Forged by Fire is the second book in the series of the Hazelwood High Trilogy. Reading the first book is not necessary, but I would recommend it just to get the feel of the whole series. I would definitely recommend this book to others along with the rest of the trilogy. Forged by Fire would fall under the genre “teen angst” along with a similar book called “The First Part Last” by Angela Johnson. I also would recommend that book and give it five stars just like Forged by Fire.
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