Jacob's Ghetto

Written like a script for a movie this short novel gives insight in the life in the Ghetto from the point of view of a ten-year-old boy. It's a sad story full of hope.

Jacob’s Ghetto
You’re not the product of your environment

by Travis Peagler

Script Novel Publishing LLC

Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members’ Titles

Christian , Teens & YA

Pub Date 17 Aug 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Jacob’s Ghetto through Script Novel Publishing LLC/Independent Book Publishers Association and Netgalley:

Jacob is a ten year old African American boy with an amazing writing ability, and a promising academic career, but his life is crushed by the poverty he lives in on the south side of Chicago, life at home is difficult he lives in the drug infested ghetto and dreams of using his gift of writing to get his family out of the Ghetto.

Now he is at the age where gangs start to notice him and he and his best friend Kenny have a brief run-in with Ja’heve. Ja’heve is a a brazen individual and second in command to a vicious gang known as “The Circle.” During the encounter, Ja’heve feels disrespected by Jacob’s refusal to join; he becomes furious and jealous of him and his intellect. He knows Jacob has the smarts to make it out of their hell hole of a neighborhood and vows not to let that happen.

While taking the train one morning Kenny finds a folded form and hands it over Jacob to read being somewhat illiterate. It ends up being an entry form for a writing contest with a handsome cash prize and book deal. Suddenly a light of hope pierces through Jacob like never before. No longer feeling abject, and with encouragement from Kenny, he believes that he can win the contest and move he and his mother out of the ghetto and start a new life.

Ja’heve continuously pursued and harassed Jacob to the point that Jacob’s survival becomes deadly game of cat and mouse. He fears it’s just a matter of time before his picture ends up on the nightly news like so many other slain black kids before him. Jacob knows his time is short, but a chance is all he needs, and his will to survive is all he has.

I was impressed with the plot line, though I found the chosen formatting to be distracting, but the storyline itself makes it worthy of five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!