Books with author J. P. Walker

When his 9th grade language arts teacher tells him to pay attention to the poetry assignment or take a hike, Romar opts for the hike, walks out of Roseburg Oregon High School and embarks on a journey to find his mother. He figures that shouldn't be too hard. She's in prison in Washington. Romar lived with his dad and Granny for thirteen years. When his dad died in an accident, Romar and his granny moved in with relatives who didn't really want them. Granny and basketball kept Romar going for the next two years, but now Granny is dead, the basketball season is over and his uncle plans to pawn him off on other relatives. Before she died, Romar promised Granny he'd get some of her ashes to Smelt Sands Beach on the Oregon Coast. Heading there first, before hiking north to Washington, feels like his best shot.

For five years, Jim Walker followed the stories of four groups of young men, from their last years at an inner-city high school to their early twenties. Louts and Legends is a rich portrayal of their ways of life, their responses to school and teachers, and their experience of job-seeking, employment, unemployment, further education and training. Louts and Legends presents a unique perspective on Australian culture, showing the problems, achievements, and social context of four distinct cultural styles: the macho 'Aussie' culture of the footballers; the competitive challenge of the Greeks; the 'nice guy' friendliness of the handballers; the artistic aspirations of the stigmatised three friends. The interview and participant observation data gathered over a long period contains fresh insights on youth culture as well as moving individual stories. The findings in this book pose a challenge to educational and social policy, but they also offer realistic suggestions for teachers, youth workers, parents and for other young people.