Alice Childress's second novel for children, and written in the same sort of Harlemese as A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, this is the story of fourteen-year-old Rainbow Jordan. Her single mother, Kathie, is a go-go dancer and flighty. Every couple of weeks she'll take off on a gig and leave Rainbow alone in their apartment. Usually when this happens Rainbow goes to say with Miss Josie, her foster mother, who cares a lot about Rainbow but is preoccupied with the breakup of her twenty-year marriage. On the street Rainbow's got a girlfriend, Beryl, who earns spending money with casual prostitution, and a boyfriend, Eljay, who keeps pressuring her to go all the way.

The story is told from three points of view: Kathie, Rainbow, and Miss Josie. Kathie does love her daughter in her own way, but as Rainbow says, "her way don't weigh much". A good example of this is when Kathie went out and bought Rainbow some new, pretty clothes. But she had to use the babysitter money to pay for them, and because of this she had to leave Rainbow, then five years old, alone in the house for several hours. Miss Josie on the other hand cares about Rainbow in a much more mature way. Rainbow thinks little of either of them.

I thought A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich was good, but I think I liked Rainbow Jordan better. The situations in the book -- irresponsible parents, boyfriends that keep nagging you to have sex with them, men that abandon their families -- are real and just as applicable today as they were back in 1982 when the book was written.

This book is very good for teens to read. This will allow them to see that maybe they are not alone in their journey also it will allow other children who are blessed to have good parents to see how it could be. I'd recommend this book to be read by everyone.

Like One of the Family by Alice Childress is an excellent book. It reminds me of the stories that my mother use to and quite often still do tell me. My mother use to be a maid some 35 years ago. Some of the stories shared in the book are similiar to the stories that my mom tells me about quite frequently. This book makes me laugh and cry. I can truly feel the characters joys and pains. It transcends me back to a time that I can only relate to by storytelling. A college professor required me to read this book. I have read it more than two times and quite often refer back to it for a connection with my ancestors. I often share some of the stories with my mom. She's often amazed at how an artist was able to put such honesty and realization in text. I salute Alice Childress!

The novel "A Hero Ain't Nothin But A Sandwich" is a great novel.I enjoyed reading it. This novel is about a young boy name Benjie who is growing up in a gang bang niegborhood. Benjie has been introduced to alot of bad things like drugs(herion). Benjie is trying to deal with school related activites and the temptations of doing drugs. Beening the age that Benjie is, he has alot of people influencing him to do things he knows that he should not do. This novel is so interesting in many differnet ways because it tells the book from different points of views, like his mom, grandma, best friend, and other people. You get to find out their thoughts on life and on Benjie. To find out if Benjie gets hooked on drugs of does the right thing ,you should read this novel.

I thought this was written in an unusual, which is a good change. Instead of one narrator, each chapter had a different one. Some spoke more than once, and some only once. This book gave the perspective of many different people, but all about one topic: heroin. A 15 year old boy, Benjie, has a heroin problem and this shows how it affected his mother, "step-father," grandmother, teachers, friends, and even the dealers. This book deals with death, addiction, and overcoming addiction. I think it is a great read for someone in early high school.

The major strength of this book is the way the author uses multiple characters' first-person narrations to paint the picture of the multi-dimensional characters and setting. The book is an excellent illustration of the saying that we are all the main characters of our own dramas, and see things from our own perspectives, justifying our own beliefs and actions.
Aside from that, the struggle of those close to Benjie to keep him out of the drug culture is a compelling story.