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Forged by Fire
Forged by Fire
Forged by Fire
Audiobook3 hours

Forged by Fire

Written by Sharon M. Draper

Narrated by Thomas Penny

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

Gerald is only three years old when his mama leaves him alone in the house while she visits her drug dealer. He finds the hot thing she uses to light her cigarettes and in no time, the house is ablaze. Mama is sent to prison, and Gerald goes to live with his Aunt Queen. When he turns nine, Gerald unhappily learns that his mama is being released from jail and wants her son back. Suddenly, he must switch from a loving home to a household dominated by his abusive stepfather. When Gerald learns a terrible secret about his stepfather and the half-sister he has grown to love, he'll have to find the courage to do what's right. Author Sharon M. Draper, a National Teacher of the Year Award winner, tackles tough issues like physical and sexual child abuse. Thomas Penny's empathetic narration makes Forged by Fire and unforgettable listening experience.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 10, 2008
ISBN9781436188067
Author

Sharon M. Draper

Sharon M. Draper is a three-time New York Times bestselling author for Out of My Mind, Blended, and Out of My Heart. She’s also won Coretta Scott King Awards for Copper Sun and Forged by Fire and multiple honors. She’s also the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens. Sharon taught high school English for twenty-five years and was named National Teacher of the Year. She now lives in Florida. Visit her at SharonDraper.com.

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Reviews for Forged by Fire

Rating: 4.127999872 out of 5 stars
4/5

125 ratings14 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is really interesting, great I listened to it all night.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've been reading this and it's great❤️it's very interesting ?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    this is the second time I read this book. First time 3 years ago when it was on the Battle of the Books list and it is on there again for 2011. Still just as disturbing the second time reading. I actually hurt for Gerald and Angel and almost cried when Queen died.

    Gerald is 3 when the book opens.
    Gerald's mama, Monique, is very rough as she hits him with her belt or shoe and hits and hits and hits. p 2
    Aunt Queen looks in on him regularly. Gerald goes to live with Queen after he sets the apartment on fire and his mother goes to jail for child abandonment. She is a "real" mother to Gerald, loving and nurturing.
    Monique gets out of jail and shows up with Jordan Sparks, her husband and Angel, the daughter she had in jail. She was pregnant when she went to jail. Now she wants Gerald to come live with them, but he hardly even remembers her.
    Queen decides she'll never let Gerald go with them after she sees the kind of man Jordan is. It is obvious Jordan has no use for children.
    Jordan and his mother have been raising Angel where she has been abused by both of them. Queen tried to get Angel but they wouldn't let her have them.
    Then Queen has a heart attack and dies and Gerald now has to go with Jordan and Monique.
    Jordan is especially mean to the children when he is drunk and Monique looks the other way.
    Then Jordan begins to molest Angel who is now six
    Gerald is now a student at Hazelwood Middle School and has made friends with Rob.
    Jordan is abusing Angel so badly that Gerald confides in Mr. Washington, Rob's father. He takes action and Jordan lands in jail for child molestation. Monique is angry and blames the children and never admits the abuse.
    Andy and B.J. are friends and are on the basketball team with Rob and Gerald.
    Angel is taking dancing lessons and is a natural at it.
    things change again when they come home and Jordan is there. Eventually he moves back in and leaves the children alone, but Gerald doesn't trust him.
    Kiara, Angel's friend and Rob's younger sister.
    One day Monique gets hit by a car and her brain is never right again. Jordan stays but is disgusted by Monique.
    After the basketball game, some of the guys, 17 years old, are planning to do a little drinking.
    Gerald goes home in order to watch Angel since Jordan is home.
    Keisha calls Gerald because Andy, her boyfriend hasn't come by as he promised.
    There was an accident involving a drunk driver, Andy, and Rob is dead. His family is devestated.
    Amazingly Jordan seems to become more civil to the children and Monique lives in her brain.
    But then one day, Jordan comes home very drunk to find Angel alone. He says he needs female companionship and forces Angel into the bedroom.
    She has put some hotdogs on to boil and while Jordan is raping Angel, the kitchen catches on fire.
    Gerald comes home and Jordan tries to kill him.
    Jordan is dead. He fell trying to run out of the burning apartment not even trying to save the children.
    Gerald carries Angel to safety falling over an object in the doorway.
    Firefighters come to fight the fire and an ambulance comes to take Gerald and Angel to the hospital, where Monique seems to have been jarred back to reality. She rides in the Ambulance as does Tiger, Angel's cat.
    "With flames and fear behind the,. Geral and Angel ride together to the music of the sirens which had decoaretd thier past and would forge their future." p 150
    Actually Jordan did save their lives. When Gerald tripped over Jordan's body, he fell with Angel putting them on the floor where the air was breathable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Read it with students. They LOVE this book. There is so much action, they stay interested...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book. It is an interesting read and there are LOTS of different things going on in the story. This book is about a young boy, who goes through some difficult times growing up. The book begins with Gerald being 3 years old, and it follows his experiences, obstacles, and losses throughout the story. Gerald was living with his mom until there was a fire at home, and his mom was forced to give him away to Aunt Queen. On his birthday she surprised him with a bike as a present. His mom also came back on his birthday with a daughter, Angel, and a new husband, Jordan Sparks. Suddenly Aunt Queen had a heart attack and passed away. Life became more difficult for Gerald when he was forced to live with his mother, sister, and stepfather. Jordan (his stepfather) was a drunk and he was physically, verbally, and emotionally abusing Gerald’s mom, Monica, Gerald, and little Angel. The book follows the experiences shared by this family.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The story was okay, I just didn't care for the writing. It felt very episodic. Years or months would go by, the narrator would explain what things were like for the family at that moment, and then you'd get a scene with some action and dialogue. Then, once again, lots of time would go by, lots of narration, then a scene. I didn't care for it. The ending was also very predictable.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    The protagonist, Gerald, is a 3-year-old in the first two chapters where we learn about his mother and her poor parenting skills, as a result of her drug abuse and selfish nature. Gerald's mother goes to jail after leaving him alone and the house catching fire while she is out doing drugs. The rest of the book unfolds just as expected. As a teenager, Gerald is put in a terrible situation while living with his abusive step-father and submissive, pathetic mother, and sadly his sexually abused half-sister Angel. This book was poorly planned and written. It lacked depth and description and contained a predictable, annoyingly predictable plot and resolution. I hated the author's weak character development and use of an unlikely combination of character traits. The mother, Monique, was selfish, naive, and foolish to the point of ridiculous, disgusting, and being a completely unbelievable character. The stepfather, Jordan, and younger sister, Angel, also lacked believability, which made the book even less entertaining. The events and outcomes were typical of a sappy soap-opera or low-budget Lifetime movie.I will not be reading any more books by Sharon Draper. She is a terrible writer with weak ideas and voice and no ability of producing any elements found in quality literature.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Forged By Fire, the second in the Hazelwood High trilogy was published in 1997. It tells the story of Gerald and struggles within a very troubled home. The book opens with three-year old Gerald being left home alone while his mother goes out (again) to drink at a club/bar. While playing with a lighter and an action figure, he sets a fire which almost kills him. To help stabilize his life and because his mother, Monique, is clearly not ready to be a mother; Gerald is moved in with his loving Aunt Queen. She nurtures him and he helps take care of her in her old age. This is a period of calm for Gerald but his soon becomes chaotic when his mother comes to pick him up with her new husband Jordan. Soon, Gerald and his little sister Angel have to avoid the blows and sexual abuse of Jordan, a violent drunk who makes life hell for both of them. Gerald protects Angel any way he knows how leading to a final, violent conclusion. Forged By Fire is a well written book for teens between 7th and 10th grade. It has a clear moral message. The inner and outer struggles of its young African-American protagonist add weight and depth to the story. It has won the Coretta Scott King award and wound up on a YALSA best of 1998 book list as well as being a YALSA quick-pick for reluctant readers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a great book. The bad guys were really bad, the good guys were really good, and the drama was Lifetime Original movie caliber, but the writing was good, and the characters were loveable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Forged by Fire was the first interesting book
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This. Book. Sucked. The characters were cardboard, the plot was contrived, too much time was covered in too short a space, and everything was told rather than shown. It was like Sharon Draper was trying to cram as many issues as possible into the story and they all ended up spilling out, leaving an empty shell. In addition, so many parts were unbelievable. Like: why did the protagonist's father get visitation rights towards his daughter whom he was convicted of molesting?There are so many other, great books out there that deal with the same themes -- please look elsewhere!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am normally not interested in books like forged by fire but this book causght my attention on the 1st page. Forged by Fire made me want to keep reading and wanting to know what will happen next. I am now more interested in books like forged by fire. I still read this book over and over.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Forged by fire by Sharon Draper, is a great book. I recommend it to anyone it’s a young adult novel it the second book in the Hazelwood High trilogy. Its Gerald’s story, it will touch your heart in many different ways it’s his struggle with his life changes; and his little sisters too. So let me tell you about it. Gerald’s mother takes him home from the grocery store changes his clothes and tells him to play. His mother is addicted to drugs so she then leaves him in the house by himself. For Gerald its scary but that’s when the big adventure starts. He finds a lighter and sets the house on fire by accident and that’s where the whole story unfolds.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Forged By Fire is a great book that has to do with teens going through teen everyday problems. It shows that not evrybody has such and great life and has to go through alot of problems. Not evryboydy's life is perfect.