The Taking of Room 114
From AwardAnnals
| Book: | The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems |
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| Author: | Mel Glenn |
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| Publisher: | Lodestar Books Dutton |
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Reviews
Amazon.com
Did the subtitle jar you a bit? “A Hostage Drama in Poems.” Poems?! It works remarkably well. Mel Glenn takes a difficult subject—a berserk teacher holding his students hostage—and lets the drama play out in this unusual format. The poems—five from each student, one for each year of high school, and the last composed on the day of the crisis—reveal the thoughts, dreams, and fears of contemporary teens in an urban classroom. A bit like rap in visual form, the poems cut deep, build in suspense. The honesty expressed will capture the interest of even the most reluctant readers.



