Sleepers Paperback – January 1, 1996

One out of four ain’t bad. Wait! Yes it is! It is very bad!I really don’t know how to put into words the things I am thinking right now. So I will try to make a list.1. I taught junior high school for 32 years. I rarely met a “bad” boy or girl, and I never met a stupid child. But I did meet some pretty bad and stupid adults.2. The life of a child is a terrible thing to waste.3. There is no adequate punishment for a person who destroys the life of a child for his own pleasure.4. Who gave these freaks they called guards the power to do whatever they felt like to these children?5. Where were the people with authority over these guards? Who was holding them to account? Where was the breakdown? Did they just assume things were fine? Did they never once think to check on the cries of pain and anguish coming from the cells? Or could they just not be bothered? After all, these were “bad boys” who got what was coming to them, right?That is a pretty inadequate list, but the magnitude of the crimes against these children cannot even be measured.This book took my breath away. My heart will forever ache for the things these boys had to endure at the hands of so-called adults. I know similar things take place today, and not only in institutions, but in many other places, even within families. How do we stop the abuse?One of the four boys of this story made it through in reasonable fashion to be able to tell the story. And although I am grateful he did, 1:4 is not very good odds.

This was a rather classical-style first person story of 4 "best friends" growing up in an impoverished and tight-knit community in Manhattan in the 1960's. A prank goes sour, and an innocent bystander is horribly injured. The boys are sent off to a horrific, abusive juvenile "facility", which irrevocably alters the course of their lives. It is well done, with a wonderful and convincing "voice". The characters are well developed, and draw the reader deeply into the story. I recommend it highly.

This is a very sad story of abuse and revenge. When we are young, even when we are older, we often do stupid things without considering the consequences. Four young boys actions lead to some nasty consequences, but then they become victims of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse at the hands of those who were suppose to watch out for them. Years later, they get the chance for revenge. This novel was a little different that I suspected. It spends A LOT of time discussing the environment that the boys are raised in before we find out what they have done to get sent to the a Juvenile Home. That could have been trimmed down some.

Second to None...a Horrific but mesmerizing story from one who experienced the horrors. Psychopaths love abusing the innocent and undefiled and destroying them...This is what Psychopaths do. Period.

I couldn't put this book down! There are parts that are hard to read due to the author's well-developed descriptive style of writing. But the outstanding descriptive style is what makes this book so readable. I rarely ever read a book of fiction, so the fact that this book purports to be factual was a plus for me. After reading it, however, I read that it was not a true story. I don't know if it is an account of actual events, as the author states at the beginning of the book, but it is a very spellbinding read in either case.

I rarely review books though I read many. This book is an exceptional. I first read it more than 20 years ago. At the time the Catholic Church was trying to block production of the movie. I was proud of the Church’s actions and I’m glad the movie was made. It’s a good movie and a great book.

This has always been a favorite of mine. Everyone has read and seen it. It's a great read. Brutal. Makes me wonder if there are still guards like this in charge of our misguided youth.

This is a story of 4 boys who grew up together in Hells Kitchen and were sent to a juvenile facility for 1 year. The book reveals the conditions and the abuse they suffered in the facility. The book is powerfully written by one of these boys and describes how that one year took a toll on their lives.

I was truly blown away by this true-life account. It's a deeply upsetting read and not for the faint of heart. I think Carcaterra took a lot of courage to write this book and spread out his life so raw like that. It follows four young boys who get sent to a juvenile prison and the horrors they had to endure whilst they were there. The setting of Hell's Kitchen is a colourful one at that with equally colourful characters, with the real hell being Wilkinson's prison where the setting is cold and horrific.I think the author built up the characters in such a way that you became protective of them, you really cared for each of the boys and even the street characters. I loved King Benny and Father Bobby, I'd actually love to read more about them to be honest.I watched the movie years ago and forgot about it but the book came up as a recommendation recently and I'm glad got a chance to read it.x

'Sleepers' by Lorenzo Carcaterra is a true-life account of the 1960s New York City's Hell's Kitchen and events that took place at the the Wilkinson prison for boys. Through all of this though are four boys who come to realise that the only one thing they have at the end of the day is their friendship and this is the only thing that keeps them getting through it.

This book was recommended, I can honestly say I wish I hadn't bought it. The back cover reads so good - four friends share everything. Eleven years later, one had become a journalist, one a lawyer and two killers for the mob., from which a trial brings them together. I found it so boring, which was a shame.

We'll never really discover if this is a fictionalized piece of work or not. Either way it takes nothing away from the storytelling talents of this author.Having already watched the film on numerous occasions I didn't give much thought to reading the book. I think the film is an excellent adaptation of the novel, though now after finally reading the book, it blows the film out of the water. An emotional journey exploring the boys' friendship, growing up in Hell's Kitchen, the torture in the home for boys they were sent to and finally the revenge they sought.Please ignore the sole one-star review (this book is far from boring) - it will have you gripped after the first few pages. Normally my reviews are two lines long, so apologies, it's just that this book is phenomenal. Enjoy this work of genius!

Interesting read but there are a errors in the story. First were told Shakes roundabout his dad was a murderer at the age of 12 and then later on he says he found out at the age of 14. The boys ages also don't match up throughout the book.Worth a read though