Down

by Norah McClintock

Remy has just been released from juvenile detention and is back in his old neighborhood. He went away because he severely assaulted a guy who insulted his girlfriend—Asia. As a white boy dating an immigrant, Remy has had to take a lot of the inbred racism that exists in the inner-city—from strangers, his family and even the police. When the white kids and the "outsiders" start scrapping over the local basketball court, Remy is caught between sticking up for his friends and siding with Asia, who is now seeing Marcus—the leader of the other group.

Genres: Young Adult, Teen, Fiction, Ebooks

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Norah McClintock’s fascinating mysteries are hard to put down. Her Chloe & Levesque series, Mike & Riel series, and Robyn Hunter series, all published by Scholastic Canada, have been popular with readers in many countries. Norah has also written several crime novels for reluctant readers in the Orca Soundings series from Orca Book Publishers,

Norah is a five-time winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel. Read Mistaken Identity, The Body in the Basement, Sins of the Father, Scared to Death, and Break and Enter to find out why! Norah's books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and she has won numerous awards.

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award - Juvenile
o 1996 – Mistaken Identity – Winner
o 1998 – The Body in the Basement – Winner
o 1999 – Sins of the Father – Winner
o 2002 – Scared to Death – Winner
o 2003 – Break and Enter – Winner

Red Maple Award
o 2004 – Hit and Run – Winner

Reviews

[Martin Leyva]

Down
Personal response: I like this book because it has a lot of crimes and violence in it which got me more interested in it.

Plot: Remy is the Main character, and he has anger issues. 9 months ago he got sent juvenile detention because he beat up a kid and almost killed him. When he comes back, he tries to fit back into his old life. His mother and sister hardly speak to him and don't seem happy that he's back. Remy’s girlfriend Asia has moved on to another guy named Marcus. His life then gets harder by people thinking that he's going to do something bad or thinking the worst of him. Remy doesn't like how Marcus is one of the new guys making him more angry about losing her. This problem then builds up and ends up to street fighting between each others groups. They use chains, baseball bats and rocks when the fight is about to start two cop cars arrive and Marcus is about to throw a rock but the cops tell him to get on the ground. When Dunlop’s partner has a knee on his back about to handcuff him. Marcus tries to fight back. Remy then sees Marcus' hand go up and Remy screams he's got a knife. Marcus then hits him on the shoulder with something that he has in his hand. Dunlop tells his partner get done and then he shoots 3 shots. Marcus is on the ground not moving. Asia doesn't believe Remy that Marcus had a knife but she still tells him that she loves him and walks away.

Characterization: Remy is mad at the world.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to kids that are older than 15 years old because it has a lot of violence in it.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it is short and it has a nice sires of action in the book, since i like action i like this book off the bat. I give this book three stars because the ending came down way too fast for me to handle so i read over it a couple of times. this book also kinda has a love triangle because Emery the main charter is madly in love with Asia but Asia is already dating marquis.(Emery and Asia are Ex's)
I do not like love stories either so yeah. But good book and i recommend it if you don't have anything against love stories and if you like action like me.

[Doc Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Down
Personal Review
I did not really like this book because of the sheer lack-luster. I would have preferred more descriptive words and a thicker plot. If I would have known that this book is just a guy with girl problems smoking weed and beating people up I probably would not have read it in the first place. When you put it into proportion with the size of the book itself it did pretty well in making a story.
Summary
As earlier stated this is basically about a high school guy that has some serious anger issues. He beats a kid up (almost to death) for insulting his girlfriend and then gets sent to jail for it. When he gets back his girlfriend found a new guy. Soon after he joins a mini "gang" and has tension with a rival group. It climaxed at a huge fight between the two and finally the leader of the rival gang getting shot by the police.
Recommendation
I do not think many people would like this because of the lack of detail and supporting plot. It is also kind of a mundane story revolving around the life of an angry high school boy. It was, however, a short and easy read that gave me another solid book for submission. In conclusion it is not a read for recreational purposes but one of necessity.

[Chuck]

This is a story about how making one bad decision can change your life forever. When Remy's girlfriend breaks up with him, he beats up the first person who stops to talk to him. When he gets out of detention, she already has a new boyfriend, but still wants to be his friend. Her new boyfriend, Marcus and Remy don't get along at all and fight whenever they see each other. When the cops get involved in their last fight Marcus is killed by the cops because Remy told them that he had a knife. Asia blamed Remy for Marcus's death and no longer wants to be his friend. He then knows that one bad choice can ruin your whole life.

Asia used to be Remy's girlfriend and she also has a disability because she lost her one hand in an accident. Remy, is the main character in the story, he has just returned from detention for beating up another kid. Marcus, is Asia's new boyfriend and he doesn't like Remy.

The story takes place in a city, somewhere out east. I think it takes place during the spring of the early 2000's. The city has a problem with gang fights and cops over stepping their duties.

I would recommend this book to high school boys because it deals with problems that they have more than girls do. I don't think girls are in gang fights like boys are.

[Noah Rucks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response :
I read the book Down this book was very good. I liked how the book kept me reading with getting tired from the book. Overall I rate this book three stars.

Plot:
When Remy's girlfriend breaks up with him, Remy beats up a person who stops to talk to him. When Remy gets out of jail, she had a new boyfriend, but still wants to be friends with Remy. Her new boyfriend, Marcus doesn't get along with Remy and fight whenever they see each other. When the cops get involved in their last fight Marcus is killed by the cops because Remy said that Marcus had a knife but Marcus never did. Asia blamed Remy for Marcus's death and no longer wants to be Remy's friend.

Characterization:
Remy is the main character. He is a guy who is in high school or just out of high school. His mom and sister are scared of him because he beat the guy up. He also had job that his mom made him pay half for food and things.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to 7-12 graders. I think this book was a little challenging because of the words they used.

[Jesseweaver]

This book is very interesting. It showes that you can expect to get away with thingd. It also showes that violence isnt the answer to anything. I liked how the author made the book feel like it actually happened. It sounds like this book is based on a true story. I would recommend that you read it!

[Lazlo Imatani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was good but felt a little generic and basic at times. It tells the story of a boy named Remy who is sent to juvenile detention after assaulting a classmate for insulted his at the time girlfriend. Throughout the story Remy has to stick up for the racism that his immigrant girlfriend Asia experiences, and often times he takes the hate that is thrown at his girl. This story is a little childish at times so if you are on the older end I probably would not recommend this book. The story is also pretty straight forward and not very detailed making it relatively boring to read. Overall I would give this book a two and a half out of five as I was expecting a lot more.

[Dr. Heather Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

there is lots in the easy read for young males to identify with. I liked the play on the title and I think students will relate.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine drama that takes longer than expected.

[Brandon Dittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response:
Overall, I didn’t really like this book. It didn’t fit in into the category of books I actually like. I thought it would be interesting to read a different kind of book, but I didn’t like it.

Plot Summary:
Remy has been sent to a juvenile detention center for beating up a guy who made fun of his girlfriend, Asia. After serving his time at the detention center, he returns to his old neighborhood. He returns to find that his ex-girlfriend, Asia, is dating Marcus, the leader of the rival group. Asia still wants to be friends with Remy though. But since Remy and Marcus do not get along at all, Asia doesn't think that her and Remy can be friends. Everytime Remy and Marcus see each other they get in a fight till their last fight when something terrible happens. Marcus ends up getting shot by the police because Remy told them he had a knife. After this incident Asia does not believe her and Remy can be friends anymore.

Recommendation:
I recommend this book to those who are looking to read a good book. I also recommend it to teens. I believe that people of all ages will like this book.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response: I really liked this book because, it kept me into the book till the end. It was also really good at keeping it interesting by not telling us what Remy did to get him locked up until the very end. I think that it could of been a better book by adding more details and by adding more main characters. In the end I feel like the book could have been longer, but other then that the book was decent in my opinion.
Plot: The book began with telling us how a 16 year old kid just got out of jail for beating up a kid and putting him in the hospital. After a couple chapters Remy and a few friends were walking towards the basketball courts and he sees a really good friend that he liked named Asia. Then they talk about how he stopped writing to Asia when he was locked up. Then Remy finds out that Asia has a boyfriend named Marcus and he realized was the bully that wanted to take over the basketball court. As the bullies kept taking over the court Remy and his friends told them to be at the court that night because, they wanna fight for the court. That night Remy and his friends gathered to the court and Marcus wasn't there yet and then they see him and all of his friends coming. Remy realized that they were out numbered but they didn't back down. At the end the cops came and Marcus was running away and Marcus stabs a cop and then gets shot by his partner.
Characterization: Remy never really changed throughout the book. In the beginning of the book he was a troubled kid and by the end of the book he wasn't troubled anymore. A girl named Asia was in the book from the beginning but she never changed throughout the book. The only thing that changed in the book was she changed schools in the middle of the book.
Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone that is in high school up because there is quite of bit of references to drugs. Other than the drug references the book doesn't have anything bad into it. I also recommend this book to people who need a quick read because the book was pretty short even though it could of been longer.

[Nour Alshurafa]

After reading the book “Down” by Nora McClintock I found it very interesting book to read because there is some action in this book. The beginning of this book is very interesting because it kept pulling you to keep reading to find out what happens next. In the middle of the book was kind of confusing because it’s kind of hard to keep remembering the characters. I liked the book title because it got me interested to know what McClintock mean by down.
I think that the author did a great job on writing this book because it’s easy to read and to understand. When I started reading the book I got more interested in it, and also while I was reading I could picture everything in my head like a movie because the author used many words to help the reader get the message, for example when the fight happened I could visualize it. My favorite part in this book is the way it keeps going back and forth about the relationship between Asia and Remy and talk about Remy's life, it also mentions different parts that help the reader know more about the characters.
This book is short and easy to read so I would recommend it to everyone who likes drama and action. This book won't take you that long to read, they’re some words that are hard. When you start reading this book you just get blend in because you want to know what will happen next. The book cover grabbed my attention and I think everyone who read this book will love it.
I enjoyed reading “Down” so everyone who likes to know about why Remy got kicked out from school should check out this book. I would recommend you to read it so you will found out more. It’s not that hard to read so I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did, so don’t forget to check it out.

[Anna12r16 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in a day Remy beaten up a guy from his school really bad for what he got sent away for nine months. While he was away a lot of things changed, Asia (his girlfriend) got a new boyfriend, his boys have some trouble with another crew of guys, school changed, the atmosphere at home changed(his mother and sister make it seems like he is not welcome at home anymore).
Remy got a job so he could buy some stuff and be independent from his mom and house, he didn't spend that much time anymore because he knew he was not welcome there, he spent time with his friends, played basketball and was thinking about Asia who he lost while was away. Now she was going out with a guy named Marcus, he was from a crew which Remy's friends had a fight over the court. He still loved Asia but she had feelings for Marcus, Remy was mad about that.
Once Remy saw Asia and Marcus fighting about something, when he caught her and asked her what was going on she told him that Marcus had a knife and he would do something stupid, she also asked her ex-boyfriend to help her, to talk to Marus about the knife.
The time when by and guys didn't stop fighting over the court. So once there was a huge fight. Cops came, Marcus got killed by oe of the cops.

I liked this book because it has relationship, drama and a lot of other emotions in it.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

After being locked away, for causing a guy to end up in the hospital in critical condition, Remy is finally released back into his old world.

Remy thought that it was bad where he was sent, but being back home is much worse. Especially since the girl that he loved has now moved on, and his mom and sister look at him more like a criminal than a son or brother.

Now that he's out, though, Remy wants to turn his life around. He doesn't want to go back where he was, and he can't control how his family is around him, but he does take one step forward by getting a steady job. Unfortunately, Remy takes two steps back when he continues to hang out with his old friends, who create enemies out of the new people who had just moved to their school -- the people who are different than them.

Before he knows it, Remy is swept back into the world that he wanted to forget. And issues of prejudice arise as two sides are unable to find common ground. He knows that if he gets involved everything will get worse, but Remy just doesn't know if he can control it.

Powerful and insightful, DOWN creates a plot out of an issue that we all thought was over but, unfortunately, is still in the air.

[Khadijaabdi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Norah McClintock Book “down” This Book is about Remy beat up another teenage boy and got sent away to juvenile detention. Now he’s back and trying to figure out where he fit’s back into his old life, His girlfriend Asia moved on and found a new boyfriend “Marcus” his mother and sister hardly speak to him and don't even seem like they want him back home. Remy wants to keep his anger in check so he doesn't go back to juvenile detention again as the school and basketball courts down by the projects have been closed down and new faces around the area’s. The area’s staked out by Remy’s former classmate It really doesn't help that one of them is Asia boyfriend he is one of the new guys in there even makes Remy more scared of losing her.The build to all fights between the two groups of teens baseball bats rocks remy doesn't want fight because he know that he’s going to get in trouble by the cops. The cops come and break it up but at the end up Marcus gets shot,Asia blames it on remy because he said that Marcus had a knife “Down was a great Book enjoyed it has lots of drama about Asia. still i can see teens with this Drama with fights and everything but i really enjoyed its great book i loved it.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a short, straightforward book, "Down" was surprisingly rewarding. On the surface, it is James' account of his return to the neighborhood after doing nine months for beating another kid. It is also about regret and redemption and choices and their consequences. For those who might struggle with longer titles, like Monster, Always Running La Vida Loca Gang Days in L.A., or The Wanderers, this is a good read with plenty of meat. I'll want to investigate others in the Orca series.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this to my summer program students and I know they like it because they requested it yesterday after the long holiday weekend. It sets up easy predictions and inferences and the speedy plot line seems to appeal to them. While it's not great literature, it makes for a quick read-aloud and would be a handy recommendation for a reluctant reader.

I'd use this Orca Soundings series again with RLA-type kids. Someone with the Chicago Public Library is on to them, too, because my little Hyde Park branch was littered with them.

[A Book Vacation · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting story about anger and racial hatred. I’m not too happy with the ending, but I guess it is realistic, and that is the point of these novels–to have a real life lesson. Overall I did enjoy this novel, and I think it was really interesting to see inside Remy’s head as he struggled with his anger and doing the right thing...

To see my full review:

http://bookvacations.wordpress.com/20...

[Jared S · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think the book DOWN by Norah McClintock was a terrible book. It was possibly the worst book I've ever read. This book was about how a boy named Remy and a girl named Asia who weren't talking to each other any more. When I read the beginning it explained how a Asia stop sending letters to her boyfriend and I didn't like that part at all. The book DOWN was terrible and I don't think people would ever want to read this book.

[Faith Redding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was very interesting. It is a lot different than reading The Hunger Games or a nonfiction book. There were times in the book where the main character got forced into doing something. I would say the climax of the book would be when the cop got involved when there were fights. If you like mystery and exiting books, I recommend reading this book.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was pretty good it was about a guy named Remy who just got back from jail for beating up a guy who made fun of his girlfriend Remy was in jail for nine months that experience has made him alot more calm and not looking for a fight.

[Lilly [Hiatus due to School] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read.

[Arin Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a very boring and weird at the begining. Throughout the story it gets more and more interesting.

[Shawn Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

High interest, Low vocab novel from the Orca Soundings series.

Fast paced, believable narrator, reasonably realistic scenarios, nice, untidy ending.

[Zacx Brunk]

Resub
Name: Zacx Brunk

Book title: Down

Personal Response
I mean honestly, this book was not that bad. so I kind of enjoyed it. It had a lot of action in it which was exciting. I think the main character was a really caring guy he did lots of things for his friends and family but also he got sent to juvenile detention from severely assaulting a guy that insulted his girlfriend. The setting is kind of like a hood type of place so most people did have to do hard things to have a good life in that place.

Plot
The book begins with Remy as the main character coming back to his old neighborhood, after serving time in juvenile detention for assaulting a man who insulted his girlfriend named Asia. Then Remy ended up having to choose between protecting his friends and family or his girlfriend. His girlfriend was a migrant and his family was a bunch of “whites” so they were on two different sides. Although, before the juvenile detention, Remy has protected Asia a lot against people from his side of the family throwing racial slurs. Now though that Remy is out of juvenile detention and Asia is now seeing a guy on the migrant side that is against the whites. All any of the people do is go to the courts and that’s where most of the guys battle it out over bail or they just end up fighting.

Recommendations
I recommend this book for guys mainly between the ages of 14 and 16. This book is also very easy to read and only over one hundred pages so you could read it quickly. It also has a good storyline plus a good amount of drama/action which makes it better. The book could also be better for guys considering a guy is a main character, but also I do think that girls wouldn’t enjoy this book as much because of all the gang stuff and fighting. Another thing is if you don’t really like reading this book would be good for you because it is very short and it actually has a good story to it that becomes enjoyable in the end you won’t regret reading this book.