Noble Warrior by Alan Sitomer

In this sequel to Caged Warrior, underground teen MMA fighter McCutcheon Daniels is now working undercover for the FBI. He opts to take down the leader of the High Priests, the gang he thought he’d left behind in Detroit, by willingly entering the city’s most notorious prison while disguised as an inmate.  Well-plotted and full of street language and extreme violence, Noble Warrior will be immediately popular with fans of Caged Warrior and readers looking for “jail books.”  Weak editing, especially at the start of the story, will lessen the appeal of this book to many ELA teachers.  Strongly recommended independent reading for older teens looking for something to sink their teeth into. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Sitomer, Alan. Noble Warrior. New York: Hyperion, 2015.

Caged Warrior by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

“The first thing I think about when the cage closes is, I hope God forgives me for what I’m about to do.” --Anonymous

And so begins Sitomer’s latest YA novel aimed at the same readers who ate up Homeboyz.  Fortunately, Homeboyz has a great many fans hankering for more.  Unfortunately, readers are in for a bashing read which leaves nothing to the reader’s imagination.  McCutcheon Daniels, the novel’s protagonist, is a brutal underground MMA fighter and an excellent student when he shows up to his sophomore classes.  Functioning as a single parent to his five year old sister, Gemma, and enabler to his abusive father, MD realizes within the first 100 pages that his father is exploiting him.  Readers who don’t shrink from gory descriptions may enjoy the fight scenes and some will undoubtedly appreciate MD’s role as family provider and surrogate parent to his sister.  This reader wishes the book had the editing it deserves; the last few chapters are the tightest and the strongest. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Sitomer, Alan Lawrence.  Caged Warrior.  New York: Hyperion, 2014.