Product Description

"When a poet like Ms. Holman writes prose, the effects are still lyric, and she has made full use of her talents in creating this novel of a troubled boy . . . skillfully told, forceful, and heartening."--Publishers Weekly. ALA Notable Children's Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults; The Horn Book Fanfare Honor List.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #89173 in Books
• Published on: 1986-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 126 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689710667
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"--utterly convincing in its detail and moving in its concern and admiration for the stubborn, human will to survive."  -New York Times Book Review -- Review

Review
"--utterly convincing in its detail and moving in its concern and admiration for the stubborn, human will to survive."  -New York Times Book Review

From the Inside Flap
Read by Neil Patrick Harris
2 hours 23 minutes, 2 cassettes

An ALA Best Books for Young Adults
An ALA Notable Children's Book
An ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
The Horn Book Fanfare List

Desperate, driven, harassed to the breaking point, Slake decides to go underground?into the sheltering depths of the New York City Subway where he ends up staying for one hundred and twenty-one days. This is the story about survival, and about a 13-year-old misfit's attempts to find footing in a hostile and threatening world.

Customer Reviews

Aremis and the Bird
I use this book with my eighth grade students, some of whom will be doing their own review. There is a little of Aremis Slake in most young teenagers- feelings of uncertainty, mistrust, fear. This novel provides an interesting look at what its like to try to survive in an urban setting, a situation totally unfamiliar to most of my students. They did, however, seem to enjoy his trials and tribulations of spending 121 days in the subway. Many students asked about, and I think would enjoy, a sequel.

Dr. I's Project
I read the book Slake's Limbo as an assignment for my Children's Literature class at Northern Michigan University, which is located in Marquette, Michigan. At first, I was not sure what to think of the book. I read the opening description at the front of the text, and I thought that it was going to be some type of fantasy book about a boy that lives in his own little world and goes into a cave or a hole in the ground. Little did I know, this was a book about a young man that had some severe "real life" problems. This boy was horribly abused by some of his peers. He was teased and harassed so much that he had to run away from the boys to the underground subway systems of New York City. Here, Aremis Slake lived for 121 days. He overcame his troubles, though, and found a way to survive for all this time by finding a way to make money and get food. He got his money from selling papers, and took the extra papers to his "home" and used them for his bed. This is truly an inspirational book about a young man that battles fear, hunger, and the dangers of the New York subways to survive. This book is, indeed, a book of survival and is inspirational to those of us that want to give up every now and then. This book also gives adults a realization that we need to listen to children about their problems, and do what we can to help kids that may be experiencing difficulties like this. Many people can learn a great deal from a book like this.

A gripping story of urban survival
"Slake's Limbo," by Felice Holman, was one of the "young adult" books that made the biggest impression on me when I fell into that age group. Re-reading it recently, I realized that the book has lost none of its impact. Holman tells the story of Aremis Slake, an undersized, persecuted 13-year old New York City boy. Overwhelmed by the stress of his life, Slake flees to the underground world of the subway system -- "a city under the city" where he finds a "home" and a new life. But a 13-year old can't live underground indefinitely; Slake is headed for a moment of truth.

This is a haunting, powerful story. Slake is a remarkable character. In many ways he's like a mythic hero; he literally journeys into the "underworld" and re-creates himself. Holman fills the book with fascinating details about the boy's survival strategies.

"Slake's Limbo" is rich in symbolic details, but the story can also be enjoyed at face value. This book is, in my opinion, one of the very best of young adult novels.