Bad Trouble

Lately everybody's messing with Jamal. His teachers, the kids at school, even his dad. And now that Jamal's brother Randy's in the slam, Crazy Mack has a crazy idea. He wants Jamal to take control of the Scorpions and run crack.

All the gang jive--Jamal has no use for it. Unless, like some say, it's the only way to cop the bread for Randy's appeal...

The story of twelve-year-old Jamal, whose life changes drastically when he acquires a gun. Though he survives the experience, it's not without sacrificing his innocence and possibly his relationship with his best friend.

There are only a couple of characters, but they are all well developed. It tells the story of a young boy named Jamal and his family going through the trouble of not having a father around and having an older brother in jail. It explains his experiences trying to be the man of the house and trying to protect his family through rough times, of having to get a job to support his family. It discusses how a gang that his brother was in helps out the family and how they take Jamal and try to help him. This does not work out when they give him a gun and he hurts the people who he loved the most, like his friend Tito. So if you want to find out what happens to Tito, Jamal, Randy and his family read Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers.


Scorpions - The stinging reality   October 9, 1999
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Scorpions, a book about a gang. Very true to life. It really makes you think about the society today. Drive-by shootings, drugs, sexual harrassment, mostly by gangs. In this book, it really makes you think about these gangs and the dangers of being involved with them. That's what happened to Jamal, isn't it? This is a very sad story about a poor family who is just kind of having to eke out on the edge. Jamal's brother is in jail, and he wants Jamal to take over his gang. The problem is, the whole gang's whacko. This story is very well-written, and you can actually feel Jamal's fear and his sadness. This book is excellent, and I reccomend it to anyone who likes read.


My Life   January 23, 2006
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful



My Life

Scorpions is about a kid named Jamal and his brother goes to prison and his brother wants him to take over his gang. And Jamal ends up taking over but he doesn't get respected and the guy who said he could join and help him get in he was a wino and his name was Mack. And he didn't know what he was talking about so Jamal joined.
And a guy named Indian and Blood were in the gang called the Scorpions they didn't respect Jamal because he was only 12 and everyone else was either 15 or older so they didn't respect him like he wanted to be. And eventually he got out of the gang because his friend Tito didn't want to be in the gang any more and Jamal kept getting in a fight with a guy named Dwayne.
And Jamal got a gun from Mack the wino and he scared Dwayne with it and that was the last time they fought. And Jamal almost got caught because Dwayne told his mom about it and his mom told the school. And later on Jamal gets out of the Scorpions and Tito gets in trouble because Jamal was getting beat up by Indian and Jamal seen a knife and he thought Indian was going to stab him so he just lets him beat him up and he gets knocked out and all of a sudden he hears gun shots and his friend Tito shot Indian and Blood. And Tito got scared and they ran off and Tito went home and so did Jamal. And Tito didn't want to tell his sister about but he had too and his sister got mad and said that this neighborhood is too bad and they moved to Puerto Rico. Jamal was really sad.
My connection is that he gets mad a lot and he doesn't like it when people tell him what to do and that's how I feel sometimes.
And I think the author did a great job because this really could happen.



Scorpions   March 29, 2000
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

This was a very good book. This book deals with things that happen in real life, that's what makes it so good. It takes place in New York and is about a boy named Jamal. He is asked to lead his brother's gang because his brother is in jail. Jamal is not sure if he wants to lead his brothers gang. One of the reasons he is afraid is the fact that no one will listen to him because he is younger. The gang sells drugs on the streets. Jamal will do anything in his power to get his brother out of jail. But should Jamal sell drugs and go the easy way to get the money for his brothers appeal? Or does he do it the hard way and work for it? What will Jamal do? What decisions will he have to face down the road? Read the book and find out like I did.


Scorpions   February 17, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

"That aint nothing but a cap pistol"Dwayne said "The scorpions don't have no fake guns"...

Jamall's brother, Randy is in jail and he will do everything in his power to try to get his brother out. The Scorpions a book by Walter Dean Myers is a very intriguing book that will keep you on the edge of our seat. This book takes place in New York City in the Projects. To save his brother, Jamal joins the Scorpions, a street gang that sells drugs. To get the money for his brothers appeal he needs to decide whether he should work or take teh easy way ot and sell drugs? Walter Dean Myers uses a great amount of dialogue. The dialogue helps the reader visualize the realistic and interesting events that can take place in teh city and among gang members. In our opinion this is one of the best ones we've read, and should be ennjoyed by everyone. Walter Dean Myers depicts every day problems for teenagers in this incredible book Scorpions.