The Sum of His Worth


Young Adult - Coming of Age
376 Pages
Reviewed on 08/08/2017
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite

The Sum of His Worth by Ron Argo will have you enthralled if you’re a fan of well-crafted novels with powerful themes and historical settings like me. This novel plunges the reader abruptly into a racial setting and an environment where the KKK holds sway, where violence is the order of the day, and where things can go wrong any time. It’s a coming of age story of courage and a young man’s experience of the turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement.

Sonny Poe is just about to start ninth grade when he witnesses a murder that will change his life; the lynching of a black boy. Now he knows his life is also in danger and, having lost his parents, he follows a mysterious activist for guidance. The story follows these two characters in a world where nothing is as it seems, with betrayal, pain, and stabbings-in-the-back stacked along the way. Could there be real freedom in a society almost overrun by radical movements?

Ron Argo’s writing reminded me of the writings of Richard Wright and Langston Hughes, a work that brilliantly showcases the racial atmosphere in Alabama some few decades ago. The author has a great gift for both plot and character, and the themes are masterfully woven into the intricacies of the plot. The writing is raw, highly descriptive, with powerful social commentaries that flood readers' minds with sometimes disturbing images of the setting. The characters are well-developed and their roles in the narrative come out clearly. The Sum of His Worth is laced with heartbreaking episodes that capture one of the realities of American history in the '60s, an action-packed novel that is electrifying and hugely entertaining. You won’t put it down, even if your heart bleeds at times.