''The Battle of Jericho'' by

Sharon M. Draper Sharon Mills Draper (born August 21, 1948) is an American children's writer, professional educator, and the 1997 National Teacher of the Year. She is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for books about the young and adolescent Afric ...

is a

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

. It's the first book in the Jericho Trilogy. The book is set in high school and deals with the issues of peer pressure, acceptance, discrimination, sexual tension, and social interaction.

Plot summary

The story takes place at Frederick Douglass High School. Junior Jericho Prescott and his cousin Josh, along with their friends Dana Wolfe and Kofi Freeman, decide to pledge for one of the most popular and prestigious organizations at school, the Warriors of Distinction. While the "Warriors" seem to be an upstanding organization that does a lot for the community, their governing is far more corrupt and plagued. Eddie Mahoney, the pledge master, sends the group through unnecessarily cruel tricks and task to humiliate and degrade them as they pledge for membership. From eating worms to being paddled, Dana receives the most harassment which crosses the line of sexual harassment. While they have the opportunity to quit, Josh and Jericho choose popularity and peer acceptance and it ends in a hazing accident gone wrong which cost Josh's life.

Characters

* Jericho Prescott: Main character * Josh Prescott: Jericho's cousin * Kofi Freeman: Jericho's friend and Dana's boyfriend * Arielle Gresham: Jericho's girlfriend * Dana Wolfe: Kofi's girlfriend and Arielle and November's friend * November Nelson: Josh's girlfriend and Arielle and Dana's friend * Eddie Mahoney: Pledge master and main antagonist * Eric Bell: Jericho's classmate * Mr. Zucker: Jericho's dad / cop * Mr. Tambori: Jericho's music teacher * Brock Prescott: Josh's father * Cedric Prescott: Jericho's father * Geneva: Jericho's stepmother * Mr. Boston: Jericho's teacher * Mr. Culligan: leader for the Warriors of Distinction

Awards

This book has been critically acclaimed for tackling the issues of hazing, peer-pressure, sexual tension, and other social teen issues. * 2004 Coretta Scott King Honor Book *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

's Book for the Teen Age * 2005 Young Adult Choice Books—

International Reading Association The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Jericho, the 2003 American novels American young adult novels African-American young adult novels Novels set in high schools and secondary schools Atheneum Books books Novels by Sharon Draper