The Battle of Jericho

Review of The Battle of Jericho, 337 pages, by Sharon M. Draper
By: Portia M. Brummitt

The young adult novel The Battle Of Jericho was a great book! I personally don't enjoy reading books on my free time, but this book was interesting, engaging, and easy to relate to. I highly recommend this book to all young adults of any background who understand how it feels to want to be accepted. This book is about an overweight boy named Jericho who also is an extraordinary trumpet player. He is in his sophomore year in high school and he has met the girl of his dreams, Arielle. He has a cousin named Josh and a close friend name Kofi that are always at his side. They look up to this group of guys called The Worriors of Distinction which is a Brotherhood at his school who are seen as Heroes. When Jericho, Josh, and Kofi are asked to participate in a toy drive for the neighborhood by them, Jericho feels things are starting to get better for him.  Any person asked to pledge to become a Warrior of Distinction is very fortunate. Jericho, his friend, and cousin were the fortunate ones to be asked to pledge. In order to become a warrior, they must compete in extreme pledge activities for the entire last week of January. Jericho believes becoming a warrior, will make him a better person in his mind. But his heart is for trumpet playing and he wants to compete in the citywide instrumental competition which is also on the  Thursday of the last week of Januay.  He would get a scholarship to Juliard if he competes. At the same time, he can not miss one activity day of pledging or he will automatically lose his opportunities of becoming a Warrior of Distinction. So Jericho must make a decision whether he wants to go to college, or become a Warrior of Distinction. Which would you chose?

I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars.