True Notebooks   by Mark Salzman
	MY QUESTIONS Mark’s writing classes in the juvenile detention facility make up the structure of the book. Describing meeting after meeting could make the book repetitious. How does Salzman keep the story from becoming monotonous? Does Salzman manipulate the reader’s feelings about the inmates? Does he make them seem more sympathetic than they deserve to be, considering the seriousness of their offenses? Is Mark a good teacher? What qualities does he have that endear him to the students? Before he agrees to teach the class, Salzman struggles with his conscience. One of his “reasons not to get involved” (p. 25) is “The cliché problem: white guy with everything going for him telling dark-skinned kids in prison that art matters.” Does art matter? Is what Mark is trying to do futile? When she is recruiting him to teach, Sister Janet tells Mark, “You can’t imagine how much a compliment means in a place like this! You may have changed one of these boys’ lives tonight.” Is Sister Janet’s attitude simplistic? Why do his students get upset when Mark talks about wanting to give up on his book? How do the inmates “play” Mark? How does Mark “play” them? What does he learn from the “buster” episode? How do guards like Sills, Jenkins, Ms Brigade, keep their humanity? How does Salzman show the faults and inconsistencies of the juvenile justice system without sounding preachy? How do you feel when Kevin is sentenced? Do you think Mark is being honest when he tells his father his goal for the class is “to enjoy it”? Does this book leave you feeling hopeless or hopeful? VICTOR ZUCKERMAN'S QUESIONS What role does society as a whole play in cases such as those described in the book? How can these boys and men be helped? Are hate and revenge the important lessons of incarceration?

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