Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Pavan | Marlboro High School, Grade 11

Rating: ****

Angela’s Ashes is a memoir unlike any you’ve read before. Taking us through the viewpoint of a young boy on his journey to adulthood, Angela’s Ashes is dictated by Frank McCourt, an Irish-American who moves to Ireland from New York with his two parents and younger siblings. He takes the reader on a moving tale about the struggles he faced throughout his childhood. As he struggles with poverty and sickness, the young McCourt must endure simply to survive. Eventually, Frank realizes that he must make it back to America if he wants to find success, and he overcomes endless difficulties in an effort to make his dream a reality.

Frank’s hardships and difficulties made me question the seriousness of my own challenges, and admire Frank’s bravery in the face of adversity. Frank also writes the book in a very interesting manner, leaving out quotation marks and merging in Irish-English terms with American English. Reading Angela’s Ashes is sure to send anyone on an emotional roller coaster. While it may shake the reader at certain points, this is one book that you will never forget, and will, for sure, leave you with a sense of gratefulness, persistence, and hope!

Naomi | Howell High School, Grade 11

Rating: ****

Angela's Ashes is a memoir written by Frank McCourt, who tells the stories of his childhood, exposing readers to the realities of life as an immigrant. Frank and his family originally move to the United States in search for a better life, but after a series of troubles, along with his father's drinking problems, the McCourts decide to immigrate back to their homeland, Ireland. Here, Frank describes life in a poor family, having to constantly move homes caused by failure to pay rent. Frank and his family are met with starvation, unsanitary housing, and illness in their journey to find a place to finally settle down. As any children would, Frank and his siblings try to make the best of the times, cracking jokes and making friends with other kids along the lane. Their drunken father provides some sort of relief with his fantasized stories of the heroes of Ireland. The story continues as the boys begin to grow older, becoming more and more exposed to things once unknown to them. School and church occupy much of the time until Frank's father leaves for England in hopes for work. When he fails to send money, Frank steps up as the man of the house, and this is where we truly see his innocence dwindle. A spark of romance ignites with Frank's new job as a newsboy, further developing him as a character. In the end, Frank decides to begin a new chapter of his life, hoping to make the lives of his family all the better.

All in all, I thought that Angela’s Ashes was one of the best coming of age stories I have ever sat down to read. It truly shows how even though life may seem like it’s moving in all the wrong directions, there are still small moments that can bring us joy. Frank's family making the best out of what they had taught me to appreciate whatever may come my way; because small things really do make a difference, and this story proved exactly that.

Dylan | Freehold High School, Grade 12

Rating: *****

Frank McCourt’s memoir “Angela’s Ashes” is a melancholy book about McCourt’s miserable Irish Catholic childhood. McCourt talks about growing up in a poverty-ridden family. His father was an alcoholic; he wasted his wages in the local pub instead of providing for his wife and children. McCourt realizes that the only way to escape this poverty is to go to America. The memoir is about his experience growing up and escaping Ireland.

Despite its bleakness, I enjoyed the book. McCourt does an excellent job showing how poverty emotionally destroys people, and his persistence in the face of struggles and hardships are so much more inspirational given this context. In addition, I really liked McCourt’s writing style. In the beginning of the book, when McCourt tells the reader his earliest memories, he uses a very simplistic writing style, to imitate the thoughts of a four or five year old. As he begins talking about memories from older ages, his writing style becomes more sophisticated. This style does a great job in immersing the reader in the book.

Laci | Howell High School, Grade 11

Rating: ****

Angela’s Ashes is a nonfiction book about Frank McCourt, the author’s, life. Frank, his little brother Malachy, and his parents lived in America. America became too hard to live in due to the prices of housing and food, so they moved to Ireland. Frank watched his mother have more children, watched them suffer, watched his mom become depressed, and watched his father get drunk. Frank’s father spent his nights drinking away and would come home and make Frank and Malachy promise to die for Ireland. Frank lives his life poor, trying to survive and make a living, and gets heartbroken time and time again. Frank goes through so many difficulties and it is amazing to read him grow as a person.

Frank’s life is a rollercoaster and you are interested in reading, buckle down. I really enjoyed this book and I usually don’t like nonfiction books. This book was so interesting and heartbreaking to see how many people live and used to live. It brings awareness to things and people around you. It really shows that you have no idea what goes on in other people’s homes. It makes you see the best in people and not judge them for what they have. This book also makes you realize that family is one of the most important things you have. I recommend this book if you are above the age of 13 because some events got a little graphic.

Nicholas | Howell High School, Grade 11

Rating: ****

Angela's Ashes is about the narrator and author, Frank, who has a pretty big family in Limerick Ireland. Frank has 5 siblings, but he is closest to his brother Malachy. Malachy is about a year younger than Frank, so there isn't that much of an age gap. Frank also has a mother named Angela and a father named Malachy. This family in Limerick Ireland, like many other families, struggle with money and are usually faced with extreme starvation. It is especially hard for the family to survive due to Frank’s dad being a drunk. This means that whatever money the family had, Frank's father would spend it on drinks and at the bar. Frank's mother usually is taking care of his siblings so she doesn't earn any money to help provide for her family. This makes a lot of the responsibilities fall on Frank and Malachy to fend for the family to help them all survive.

Angela's Ashes is a very interesting story, especially since it takes place in the 1900’s and in a different country, in Limerick, Ireland. This book can definitely be a tear jerker and an emotional rollercoaster to anyone who reads this. This book will leave you wanting to not put down the book with its suspenseful events and the suspense of whether frank and his family will reach their goal and survive or not. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, especially those who are into memoirs because this is by far the best memoir I have ever read. If you don't read this book you are definitely missing out.