Climbing the Ropes

Climbing the Ropes is a beautiful and heartwarming book about a boy who struggles to recover after tragedy hits his family. Jonathon and his family suffer a great loss. The book starts with the introduction of the death of Jonathan’s dad, and things appear to slide downhill. Richard Read captures all the confusion that young Jonathan faces as he tries to make sense of the world. This book is very unique because it talks about crimes that kids have committed and how the response to those are. In the book, Jonathon is wrongly blamed for a crime and is sent to a house full of boys who have also committed crimes. Instead of suffering from the experience, he learns many great lessons and meets many great people. Mr. Read portrayed beautifully how a kid grows and learns from their mistakes and the people around them. It’s truly heartwarming and incredibly inspiring. I would recommend this book to readers who like a story that talks about growth and to early teens because Jonathan is an early teen and the story really embraces the idea of growth as a person. I am amazed at the fact that even though most kids can’t relate to Jonathan’s story, I still personally felt connected to him as a character. This book communicates his story and other stories with symbolism. Many objects are symbolic in this book, and it makes the story that much more unique and amazing. This book made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. At one end, many hilarious jokes occur in this book. On the other hand, Jonathon is going through many hard experiences that many adults have not gone through. While following Jonathan’s journey, I learned a lot about juvenile delinquents and how there really are always two sides to a story. Many kids in this story have gone through traumatic experiences that made them commit a crime. It also shows their growth as well as Jonathan. Overall, I would give this book five out of five stars because it shows how people change and the struggles that come with that. It also makes you reflect on yourself and your own self growth, and very few books have the ability to do that.