Richard Wright wrote the book Rite of Passage. Here Wright takes material that is precious to him and shares it with all of his readers. Wright wanted his book to be realistic. Wright wanted to involve the relationships among racism, juvenile delinquency, violent crime, and the black urban ghettos of America.

As I read on I began to feel the anxiety of wanting to know what was going to happen. At first I did not think much of the book but it then touched my heart. Not only the situations but the emotions that were being felt throughout. The best part of the book which I enjoyed was the realism. Not like other fairy tale like stories, where everything is at the lowest when all of the sudden some hero comes to your rescue, but how Johnny struggled and dealt with the real world.

Richard Wright was born on a plantation in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1908 and moved to New York City in 1927 to follow his dream and became a writer. In 1947, due to the racial discrimination he and his family came across in New York City, Wright moved to Paris, where he lived with his wife and daughters and continued to write until his death in 1960.

Fifteen year old Johnny Gibbs is an outstanding student, respectful person, and overall loves his family. One day after school he comes home to find out that his perfect life is destroyed. He learned that the family that he has loved all his life is not his own, but a foster family. And now he is being sent to live with someone else.

Frightened by the news, Johnny runs from his problems. Leaving his childhood behind forever, Johnny faces the streets where he deals with life - the hard way.

As a young Puerto Rican reader, I can relate to Johnny. Although we have different background, we both had to find the right way ourselves. Through all of the obstacles that needed to be overcome Johnny, like myself, did not give up, but stood up for what he believed in.

I highly recommend this book to teenagers who feel trapped. I feel this way because if a child would read this book he may not understand it very much, not because of the vocabulary, but one must know somewhat of what is out in this world to clearly understand what the author is trying to tell you.


By: Christina Cruz