Book Review of Black and White, by Paul Volponi

Vanessa Friedman
5th period
February 17, 2012

Black And White Paul Volponi

I read the book Black And White which is a book about two seventeen year old boys who played football and basketball for their high school and both have the skills and potential to continue their career throughout college and possibly the professional career. Eddie and Marcus, the two high school boys, have some other plans of how to make money without going to work they set up a few “stick-ups” and rob people at gunpoint so that they can afford the new Nike basketball shoe that some professional basketball players are signing to wear like Kobe and LeBron. Something tragic happens right in the middle of basketball season when they are having one of their “Stick-Ups” but Eddie’s grandfather who past away left his gun behind and Eddie had access to it and when he brought it to the stick up in the parking lot by the store and was holding it at the man’s head his finger slipped and hit the trigger. They then stole all of his belongings that had value including his car keys and took off running. This pretty much ruined Black and White’s reputation. Eddie and Marcus also known as Black and White at their school and in their community in Long Island City were best friends even though they weren’t blood related they were brothers to each other. They both attended the same local high school and were both stars on the football and basketball team they were leaders and both had the skills and potential to get a scholarship to college. They’ve known each other since they were very young and have been through a lot together but nothing ever as major as this incident of shooting somebody and possibly taking their life. Even though they were “brothers” they did have some different opinions, beliefs, and background information. Eddie and Marcus got their nicknames Black and White because of their race; Marcus was black and Eddie was white but that didn’t stop them from being brothers, and hanging out pretty much twenty-four seven. Eddie had both a mother and a father, but Marcus only had his mother his father left when he was very young so he had to be the “man” of the house and he helped his mom take care of his younger sister. Eddie was the starting point guard for their team and Marcus was the starting post or known as the center for their team. What was really separating them was the fact that the police were after them but the wrong gunman. Eddie and Marcus got caught because the man they accidentally shot in the head happened to be their bus driver and remembered Marcus and before he got shot he saw a glimpse of him and knew exactly who he was he turned him once they were done with him at the hospital and investigating and questioning him to try and find the gunman. He told them Marcus Brown from Long Island City High School and everyone around town knows that Marcus doesn’t go anywhere without Eddie so they assume both of them had something to do with it, which is right. Since Marcus is black they went after him and arrested him instead of arresting the real gunman, Eddie. After that they really didn’t ever talk to each other again. This was hard for both of them and their families because they were both mad at each other. Marcus’s mother was mad at Eddie and his family for letting him have access to his grandfather’s gun even though they didn’t know he had taken it out of the box from the attic. The boys were mad at each other for letting each other get into this big mess and Eddie was mad at Marcus for not turning him in so he could keep his scholarship to St. Johns. When the book ended they never say whether Marcus or Eddie pleaded guilty and who the cops arrested after they let Marcus go.