Alfred's life is going nowhere fast. He's a high-school dropout working at a grocery store. His best friend is drifting behind a haze of drugs and violence, and now some street punks are harassing him for something he didn't do. Feeling powerless and afraid, Alfred gathers up the courage to visit Donatelli's Gym, the neighborhood's boxing club. He wants to be a champion--on the streets and in his own life. Alfred doesn't quite understand when Mr. Donatelli tells him, "It's the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top is an extra reward." In the end, he learns that a winner isn't necessarily the one standing when the fight is over. Teens and adults alike will be knocked out by this powerful story of how a frightened boy becomes a man.
Language Arts
"A 17-year-old Harlem boy struggles to become a champion boxer in this excellent novel [recommended] for use in the early phases of secondary school literature study."
ALA Booklist
A novel filled with hardships and hope.
Book Description
Before you can be a champion,
you have to be a contender.
Alfred Brooks is scared. He's a highschool dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn't even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it's the effort, not the win, that makes the man -- that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count.
Card catalog description
After a successful start in a boxing career, a Harlem high school dropout decides that competing in the ring isn't enough of life and resolves to aim for different goals.
About the Author
Robert Lipsyte's list of publications for young people isn't especially lengthy when compared to those of other authors who have been writing for the same length of time. But that's because writing books for and about teenagers isn't the only kind of writing he does, or the only kind of work he does, for that matter. Among other things, Robert Lipsyte has been a highly respected columnist and a prize-winning sports reporter for the New York Times, a correspondent for the CBS television program Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt, the host of his own award-winning television interview program, The Eleventh Hour, on New York City's public television station, and author of a television documentary series about sports. Most importantly, he is the author of The Contender, one of the very first realistic novels about contemporary teenagers and a book that has been required reading in many American schools for the past three decades. Recognizing the importance of that book as well as his other works, the American Library Association honored Robert Lipsyte with the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 2001. Mr. Lipsyte lives in New York, NY. Winner of the 2001 Margaret Edwards Award
The Contender ANNOTATION
After a successful start in a boxing career, a Harlem high school dropout decides that competing in the ring isn't enough of life and resolves to aim for different goals.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Before you can be a champion,
you have to be a contender.
Alfred Brooks is scared. He's a highschool dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn't even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it's the effort, not the win, that makes the man — that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count.
About the Author
Robert Lipsyte's list of publications for young people isn't especially lengthy when compared to those of other authors who have been writing for the same length of time. But that's because writing books for and about teenagers isn't the only kind of writing he does, or the only kind of work he does, for that matter. Among other things, Robert Lipsyte has been a highly respected columnist and a prize-winning sports reporter for the New York Times, a correspondent for the CBS television program Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt, the host of his own award-winning television interview program, The Eleventh Hour, on New York City's public television station, and author of a television documentary series about sports. Most importantly, he is the author of The Contender, one of the very first realistic novels about contemporary teenagers and a book that has been required reading in many American schools for the past three decades. Recognizing the importance of that book as well as his other works, the American Library Association honored Robert Lipsyte with the Margaret A. EdwardsAward in 2001. Mr. Lipsyte lives in New York, NY. Winner of the 2001 Margaret Edwards Award
FROM THE CRITICS
Language Arts.
A 17-year-old Harlem boy struggles to become a champion boxer in this excellent novel [recommended] for use in the early phases of secondary school literature study.
Language Arts
A 17-year-old Harlem boy struggles to become a champion boxer in this excellent novel [recommended] for use in the early phases of secondary school literature study.
Children's Literature - Elizabeth Colbroth
The Contender's Robert Lipsyte is the literary grandfather of modern sports series writers like Matt Christopher. However, young readers with a passion for this genre will quickly loose interest. The painfully stiff dialogue, the descriptive narrative with no visible emotional core, and a clearly old-fashioned New York City make this text boring and difficult. The story follows the main character, Alfred, from a daily existence of bullying by the neighborhood gang to the gym where he makes new friends and gains self-confidence. This Cinderella story is poorly told especially in Alfred's almost overnight athletic success. In a matter of weeks, Alfred is transformed from the cowardly target of bullying to a promising young prizefighter. Lipsyte weaves throughout a cautionary tale. Alfred's best friend James makes poor decisions while Alfred chooses wisely. Two sections are noteworthy. During Alfred's training, the stiff narrative loosens and the words flow more like good poetry. The fight scenes read individually are pretty good and might captivate an unmotivated young reader. 2003 (orig. 1967), HarperTrophy,
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