True Notebooks

A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall

By: Mark Salzman

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

When Mark Salzman is invited to visit a writing class at Central Juvenile Hall, a lockup for Los Angeles’s most violent teenage offenders, he scrambles for a polite reason to decline. He goes - expecting the worst - and is so astonished by what he finds that he becomes a teacher there himself. True Notebooks is an account of Salzman’s first years teaching at Central. Through it, we come to know his students as he did: in their own words.

At times impossible and at times irresistible, they write with devastating clarity about their pasts, their fears, their confusions, their regrets, and their hopes. They write about what led them to crime and to gangs, about love for their mothers and anger toward their (mostly absent) fathers, about guilt for the pain they have caused, and about what it is like to be facing life in prison at the age of seventeen. Most of all, they write about trying to find some reason to believe in themselves - and others - in spite of all that has gone wrong.

Surprising, charming, upsetting, enlightening, and ultimately hopeful - driven by the insight and humor of Salzman’s voice and by the intelligence, candor, and strength of his students, whose writing appears throughout the book - True Notebooks is itself a reward of the self-expression Mark Salzman teaches: a revelatory meditation on the process, power, and meaning of writing.

©2003 Mark Salzman (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

Alex Award Winner, 2004

“True Notebooks succeeds in adding something fresh, galvanizing and articulate to the overcrowded realm of classroom stories. A candid, involving teacher’s diary...Eloquent...Cogent, thoughtful and honest.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times, September 15, 2003)

“Wonderful...Even the manipulative kids Salzman introduces are stunningly human...Examines a broken system with grace, wit, and gripping storytelling.” (John Green, Booklist, starred and boxed review, August 2003)

“[Salzman’s] account’s power comes from keeping its focus squarely on these boys, their writing and their coming-to-terms with the mess their lives had become.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review, June 16, 2003)

Amazing book & perfect for listening to

This is just a remarkable book, which will open your mind and leave you caring and wondering about people you probably never wanted to think about before. Salzmann knows how to put himself in the story just enough so that you relate to his struggles, and he does this with a lot of self-deprecating humor and honesty, but he also knows how to then get out of the way and let the stories and the voices of the incarcerated boys he worked with come through, in their own words -- which are sometimes just shiveringly eloquent. Because so much of the story revolves around language and writing and questions of 'voice,' and because the actor who reads the book does such a good job with these aspects of it, it is especially appropriate to *listen* to rather than read.

Eye-opening

Salman's book will lay to rest the stereotypes you had of the young people in Juvenile Hall. Their stories, their lives are heart-breaking, yet Salzman is even-handed in his view, recognizing the reality of crimes they've commited. Narrator does a great job in creating the voices of the boys. A very worthwhile book. Kudos to Salzman for his work.

Unforgettable Journey

This is truly a remarkable audiobook. Written with a powerful style that truly makes you feel the author?s apprehensions and triumphs, frustrations and empathy. Throughout the book I was amazed that the author could bring forth all of these vivid experiences from memory. The author takes us into a world that few of us will ever experience in person. The reader, also, has a wonderful style that brings the characters to life without being overly dramatic. I enjoyed every minute of this book.

Wonderful book

Salzman explores the complexities of young men, albeit murderers, trying to find themselves through writing, though they are locked up with the key thrown away. The novel is often humorous and always sincere. The dialogue is not forced - it is natural, sometimes crude, sometimes disarmingly beautiful.

A wonderful journey through the lives of teens and the perils of a society that has given up on them.

Help can take many forms

Would you listen to True Notebooks again? Why?

May be. I liked the book which I listened to many years ago.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

I still recall one incident from the book where a juvenile criminal says the best thing that happened to him was going to McDonald's or Wendy's with his dad for ice cream once.

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

good voice

Any additional comments?

It helps you to become a better person.

Starts slow, ends too soon

Initially, I was unimpressed with the reader of the book. At one point I almost decided to skip listening and move on to another title. I am VERY glad I stuck with it and got past the first hour. I became totally engrossed and actually got somewhat emotional at times. Feeling both good and sad at the events that take place it made me see that I need to appreciate my place in life a bit more.

Picked as one of the Top 40

This book, picked as one of the Top 40 of the year by book reviewers and columnists from Knight Ridder Tribune, provides an intriguing insight into the lives of youth caught in the crimnal justice system.

Best Book Read This Year

Mark Salzman needs to be congratulated for volunteering to teach a creative writing class to juveniles in jail for severe crimes (most have committed murder) and being able to share his experiences in this fabulous book. His class becomes an avenue of release for these inmates to vent their frustrations at the system, their horrible family lives and life in general. Of course, he does not ignore responsibility of these kids for choosing to commit these crimes and that they should shoulder the consequences. However, through their own words we get a snapshot into what drove them to their crimes, and how the legal and penal system fails to stop them from becoming career criminals with its emphasis jail time over everything else. It is a must read for anyone.

Inspiring to another volunteer

I envy Mark his expertise. I find myself teaching myself art projects as I teach my students. I have volunteered for about a year now at the school of a nearby juvenile detention center. True Notebooks has captured the voices of the participants in the writing class, in the staffing of the prison, and in Mark himself. Not only are many of the creations of the students quoted verbatim (and the narration does great justice to the originality and and individuality of the authors) but also the descriptions of students, staff, chaplains, and other volunteers convey so much of the experience. I listened repetitively, often with tears in my eyes.

An education in reality

Salzman regularly entered an alternate universe where teen murderers marked time as their cases wound through the courts. He paints a picture in your head of what life behind prison walls is like, though this prison is nothing like the penitentiary most of his students are headed for.

Salzman treats the kids with dignity but is neither an apologist nor a judge for any of them.

Beware. You'll be invested in these kids before you know it.