{"id":449,"date":"2025-10-06T13:59:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T17:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/?p=449"},"modified":"2025-10-06T13:59:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T17:59:02","slug":"hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands by Torrey Maldonado"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Hercules-Beal-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-451\" style=\"width:386px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Hercules-Beal-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Hercules-Beal-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Hercules-Beal-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Copy-of-Hercules-Beal.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Trev\u2019s life is defined by his hands\u2014what they can create and what they can destroy. He\u2019s a talented artist who dreams of building a better future, but when his abusive stepfather threatens to return, Trev turns to boxing as a way to protect his mom and sisters. Although his friends and mentors see his artistic gift as the path forward, Trev can\u2019t shake the feeling that learning to fight might be the only way to keep his family safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/61021920-hands\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hands\">Hands<\/a><\/em>, Torrey Maldonado crafts a powerful, fast-paced story about fear, masculinity, community, and choice. Through Trev\u2019s struggle, Maldonado asks readers a vital question: <em>How will you use your hands?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Worked<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A short book with real impact<\/strong> \u2013 Maldonado tells a complete, layered story in a small number of pages. Short chapters make it approachable for reluctant readers while maintaining emotional depth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>An authentic voice<\/strong> \u2013 Trev\u2019s narration feels genuine and grounded in reality. His voice captures the confusion, anger, and protectiveness of a middle schooler caught in adult problems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community and mentorship<\/strong> \u2013 The neighborhood \u201cuncles\u201d who guide Trev are one of the book\u2019s strongest elements, showing how real men model strength through compassion rather than violence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A meaningful message<\/strong> \u2013 The recurring theme, whether to use one\u2019s hands to build or to fight, packs a lasting punch. The story ends honestly, not neatly, which gives readers plenty to discuss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Didn&#8217;t Work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Missed opportunities<\/strong> \u2013 References to real-life boxers like Mike Tyson could have been explored more deeply, especially given the story\u2019s theme of violence and control.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open-ended resolution<\/strong> \u2013 Although the conclusion feels authentic, a few scenes could have been more clearly resolved to show Trev\u2019s growth. That said, it mirrors the truth that life doesn\u2019t always provide closure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As a former middle school teacher, I can confidently say this is the middle school version of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hands-Hitting-Board-Book-Behavior\/dp\/157542200X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Hands Are Not for Hitting.\">Hands Are Not for Hitting.<\/a><\/em> Maldonado takes that early childhood message and elevates it, helping older readers think critically about when strength becomes harmful and how to choose courage over violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Hands<\/em> is short, accessible, and full of heart. It\u2019s perfect for classroom discussion, especially for students exploring identity, masculinity, and the role of anger. Torrey Maldonado doesn\u2019t hand readers an easy solution; he invites them to think deeply about what it means to protect, to build, and to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>My Rating: 4\/5 stars.<\/strong><br>Powerful, real, and ultimately hopeful, this is a book I\u2019d hand to every middle schooler navigating what it means to have &#8220;promise&#8221; and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trev\u2019s life is defined by his hands\u2014what they can create and what they can destroy. He\u2019s a talented artist who dreams of building a better future, but when his abusive stepfather threatens to return, Trev turns to boxing as a way to protect his mom and sisters. Although his friends [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,104,24,105,19],"class_list":["post-449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-for-middle-school","tag-books-for-middle-school","tag-hands","tag-middle-grade","tag-torrey-maldonado","tag-young-hoosiers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":452,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions\/452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ronniwrites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}