All the Right Stuff

by Walter Dean Myers

Overview

New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers tackles the social contract from a teen’s perspective in his novel All the Right Stuff. In one of his most thought-provoking novels to date, Myers weaves together political philosophy, basketball, and making soup in Harlem, with the depth that defines his writing career.
 
After his father is shot and killed, Paul Dupree finds a summer job at a Harlem soup kitchen. Elijah, the soup man, questions Paul about tough life choices, even though Paul would rather be playing basketball. Over the summer, Paul begins to understand the importance of taking control of your life.
 
All the Right Stuff includes a Q&A between Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman, coauthor of Kick.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061960895
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	213
Sales rank:	525,407
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	HL810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Editorial Reviews

Myers has cooked up a provocative novel that simmers long after its last pages.

Chicago Sun-Times

Myers has cooked up a provocative novel that simmers long after its last pages.

Chicago Sun-Times

Printz-winner Myers (Monster) expertly turns a series of Socratic dialogues on the nature of the social contract into an engrossing and fast-paced novel that never feels preachy. Shortly after his father is killed by a stray bullet, Harlem teenager Paul DuPree takes a summer job in a soup kitchen. His elderly supervisor, Elijah, engages Paul in discussions about the social contract, introducing him to the basic concepts, as well as to the teachings of Locke, Hobbes, Hume, and Rousseau. Paul also hears from neighborhood gangster Sly, whose college studies have persuaded him that the social contract is just a tool to keep the poor in check. As Paul weighs the opposing viewpoints, he applies what he learns to his late father’s life, as well as the lives lived by the senior citizens Elijah helps, Paul’s other family members, and Keisha, a basketball player he’s mentoring by helping her with her outside game. Myers fits a large cast and many motivations into a relatively small work, and they in turn transform this extended examination of political philosophy into a must-read novel. Ages 14–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Myers has cooked up a provocative novel that simmers long after its last pages.” — Chicago Sun-Times

“[E]ngrossing and fast-paced… a must-read novel.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“[R]ewarding. A good fit for school libraries in which the social contract is taught or emphasized.” — School Library Journal

“[B]egins with a bang.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

From the Publisher

[B]egins with a bang.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Myers portrays the street life of Harlem through the voices of a trio of disparate characters. Narrator Brandon Gill transitions deftly from the troubled voice of high school senior Paul Dupree to those of Elijah, his summer employer, and the smooth-talking Sly, a neighborhood gang leader. Elijah’s cajoling, amusing instructions in the soup kitchen run the gamut from how to dice carrots to life lessons on social contracts. Paul thoughtfully digests the lessons and tries to convey them to an unwed mother he is coaching in basketball. Myers adds drama to this morality tale through the characters of Sly and the young basketball star. Gill decisively portrays them all, along with a host of minor characters—from soup-kitchen seniors to thugs and visiting relations. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2012 - AudioFile

Until he met Elijah, 16-year-old Paul never considered how one person's decisions and actions might affect the entire community. Paul DuPree has taken on two jobs: work in a soup kitchen and the required mentoring of a young basketball player. At the soup kitchen, he meets Elijah Jones, the project's driving force and resident philosopher. Elijah sees himself as doing more than filling bellies. He believes he is fulfilling the "social contract." As Elijah trains Paul, he urges him to consider his ideas. Paul is skeptical but tries to apply the concepts to questions about his recently deceased father and the teen mom he is mentoring. Paul never had much of a relationship with his father, described as "forty-two-year-old Richard DuPree, underemployed ex-felon, ex-drug addict, father of one." Keisha, high-school dropout and mother of a little girl, needs Paul's help to fulfill her dream of professional basketball. She resists Elijah's ideas. "Because the rules don't work for everybody, and so they don't go for everybody." Myers, the recently named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, has crafted a provocative exploration of social philosophy and shows how it can resonate in the lives of the young and the disadvantaged. Paul's quest for understanding seems heartfelt and real, though there are times when the story slows down as characters discuss their views. A novel that will provide teachers and others a relevant tool for introducing and discussing a complex subject. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews