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I read Tyrell's books out of order, and I'm sad about that. This book really does give us a young man struggling to balance so many threads of his life. It adds to my understanding of the Tyrell I first met in BRONXWOOD. The two books take place within a year...this one in the winter, and the next one the following summer. That one young boy with Tyrell's promise has had to survive this year shows his strength.
Tyrell's father is in jail...again. Every time he gets out of jail, he goes right back to the same illegal behavior, the chasing of the quick buck, the easy way. But this time, he's left his family, Tyrell, his little brother Troy, and his wife without any resources.
We see all kinds of relationships in this book -- Ty's parents have been married for 17 years, Novisha, Ty's girlfriend, lives with her divorced mother who still sets a place for her 'husband'. Cal, Tyrell's friend, becomes a father...at the age of 15...Jasmine, a girl Tyrell meets at the roach-infested shelter, regularly trades her body for favors. THere isn't a healthy relationship in the book...even tho Tyrell THINKS his relationship with Novisha is. She's holding a secret close to her heart that bursts his.
Tyrell's mother is a useless human being. She makes no attempt to take care of her boys, she blames her 15-year-old for not providing for her. She has absolutely no confidence in herself, willing to stay with an abusive husband, or sell herself to a friend who will provide her with money to go to the beauty parlor. She's been raised to be completely helpless and powerless. I get that. But when she abandons her sons to go with her new boyfriend, I can't muster much sympathy.
Coe's portrayal of the down-and-out in NYC is fierce and angry, without becoming maudlin. She shows us, as good writers do, the filth, the bugs, the piss-puddles in the lobby. She lets her characters speak in their own voices, and struggle with their challenges.
Her bio says she's worked with families at the NYC Housing Department. I know she's met Tyrells and Troys and Jasmines. She knows these kids and she has given them a voice here.
I love Tyrell's romanticism, his decency. I love his loyalty to his brother, and his belief in true love. I hope he finds what he's looking for.
Tyrell's father is in jail...again. Every time he gets out of jail, he goes right back to the same illegal behavior, the chasing of the quick buck, the easy way. But this time, he's left his family, Tyrell, his little brother Troy, and his wife without any resources.
We see all kinds of relationships in this book -- Ty's parents have been married for 17 years, Novisha, Ty's girlfriend, lives with her divorced mother who still sets a place for her 'husband'. Cal, Tyrell's friend, becomes a father...at the age of 15...Jasmine, a girl Tyrell meets at the roach-infested shelter, regularly trades her body for favors. THere isn't a healthy relationship in the book...even tho Tyrell THINKS his relationship with Novisha is. She's holding a secret close to her heart that bursts his.
Tyrell's mother is a useless human being. She makes no attempt to take care of her boys, she blames her 15-year-old for not providing for her. She has absolutely no confidence in herself, willing to stay with an abusive husband, or sell herself to a friend who will provide her with money to go to the beauty parlor. She's been raised to be completely helpless and powerless. I get that. But when she abandons her sons to go with her new boyfriend, I can't muster much sympathy.
Coe's portrayal of the down-and-out in NYC is fierce and angry, without becoming maudlin. She shows us, as good writers do, the filth, the bugs, the piss-puddles in the lobby. She lets her characters speak in their own voices, and struggle with their challenges.
Her bio says she's worked with families at the NYC Housing Department. I know she's met Tyrells and Troys and Jasmines. She knows these kids and she has given them a voice here.
I love Tyrell's romanticism, his decency. I love his loyalty to his brother, and his belief in true love. I hope he finds what he's looking for.
This was a surprisingly well done YA novel. It had almost every cliché the genre has to offer, but spun them in such a nuanced way with real, empathetic characters that it felt fresh. It's really a survival story, but instead of taking place in some desolate jungle or dessert or ocean, the setting is a very real landscape of poverty in New York. It really raises the stakes of the titular Tyrell's adolescent struggles, making each choice have far graver consequences than most other YA ever attempts. It's a brave and heartfelt work that deserves more attention.
I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I keep thinking about it, because the characters were compelling. However, I don't think I could recommend it to my students because of all the sexual encounters. Dang sex!
Wow, what a fantastic read! I picked this up at work to give it a go and I was immediately sucked in. You really get the sense of desperation and struggle that Tyrell faces in his narration and how much he’s willing to do to stay out of the “system.” I was hooked from the first few pages and did not want to put it down. I loved the tension and how Tyrell finds another way to support his family financially without resorting to drugs or prostitution. I was expecting the ending to be more tragic, but it fit and gave me a sense of hope for all of the characters. Excellent modern YA!
Tyrell is the story of a 15 year old boy living in the Bronx. His father is imprisoned for the third time and Tyrell finds himself struggling to take care of his family which includes his mother and 7 year old brother Troy. Tyrell is also coming to terms with living in Bennett which is a motel for people on public assistance and with no other place to live. Tyrell is struggling to be a grown up before his time and deal with the pressures placed on him by his family and himself. All the people are around him have grown up in similar circumstances and he only understands the world based on those around him. This book is filled with the real problems that a lot of young people face in similar surroundings. I doesn't sugarcoat things and allows the reader to understand that this how life can be.
I thought that the writing was well done and I did not have a problem with it being written in dialect because I feel like it helped take us into Tyrell's world. I feel that this story would be a great read for students in 8th grade and early high school especially in an urban setting. I felt that the characters were portrayed very well and you could understand their thought processes even if you didn't agree with them. Tyrell's mother was probably the most frustrating characters but she is also a product of the environment she was has been living in. Tyrell also has a skewed opinion of the world based on how he has grown up. He has a lot of double standards and often does the wrong thing though he is trying very hard to do the right thing even when those around him are pushing him to do the wrong thing.
I thought that the writing was well done and I did not have a problem with it being written in dialect because I feel like it helped take us into Tyrell's world. I feel that this story would be a great read for students in 8th grade and early high school especially in an urban setting. I felt that the characters were portrayed very well and you could understand their thought processes even if you didn't agree with them. Tyrell's mother was probably the most frustrating characters but she is also a product of the environment she was has been living in. Tyrell also has a skewed opinion of the world based on how he has grown up. He has a lot of double standards and often does the wrong thing though he is trying very hard to do the right thing even when those around him are pushing him to do the wrong thing.
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book is a must read for anyone that thinks their own life is bad. It's a Young Adult book, but definitely is a wake up call. It was so good, my husband, who does not read anything except books about coaching, read it and he loved it.
Kids looking for intense, gritty realistic fiction will enjoy this book.
Tyrell is struggling. He has a younger brother to take care of, a girlfriend with high expectations, a dad who's in jail, and a mom who doesn't do much of anything except drink and party. When his mom tells Tyrell that she expects him to support the family until his dad gets out of jail, he doesn't know what to do. He's only 15 after all. So he comes up with a plan that could make a lot of money or could get him in a lot of trouble.
Tyrell is struggling. He has a younger brother to take care of, a girlfriend with high expectations, a dad who's in jail, and a mom who doesn't do much of anything except drink and party. When his mom tells Tyrell that she expects him to support the family until his dad gets out of jail, he doesn't know what to do. He's only 15 after all. So he comes up with a plan that could make a lot of money or could get him in a lot of trouble.
Tyrell and his family have been down on their luck and are living in a shelter after eviction because their Dad is in jail and they can't make the rent. Trying to get out of their not-great situation, Tyrell comes up with an idea - he'll throw a big party and DJ like his dad did, and that'll make him enough money to get his family an apartment again...and then he can save up to take care of his girl, Novisha, while she goes to college.
Booth's writing is phenomenal, believable, raw, and empathetic. Even though I haven't been in the exact situations Tyrell is in, I identified with his worry "am I going to mess this all up?" and his need to assert his independence as a teen moving into adulthood. Booth's character development and slow reveal of the full picture of Tyrell's situation is fantastic, and it's a pivotal reason the book works so well.
I also loved the contrast between his relationship with Novisha and his friendship with Jasmine. Novisha was perfect in his mind, and they did have similarities on some level with her Dad being out of the picture...but Jasmine understood where he was coming from in a completely different way because she was there, and she was homeless too.
I think this book might've been banned, and I can definitely voice that I wish I had access to a book like this in high school. There are some graphic scenes, but I think one of the safest places teens can be introduced to these realities is in books, and Booth has given a realistic, accessible-but-not-too-graphic depiction of real situations. I'm thankful that Booth wrote this book.
Booth's writing is phenomenal, believable, raw, and empathetic. Even though I haven't been in the exact situations Tyrell is in, I identified with his worry "am I going to mess this all up?" and his need to assert his independence as a teen moving into adulthood. Booth's character development and slow reveal of the full picture of Tyrell's situation is fantastic, and it's a pivotal reason the book works so well.
I also loved the contrast between his relationship with Novisha and his friendship with Jasmine. Novisha was perfect in his mind, and they did have similarities on some level with her Dad being out of the picture...but Jasmine understood where he was coming from in a completely different way because she was there, and she was homeless too.
I think this book might've been banned, and I can definitely voice that I wish I had access to a book like this in high school. There are some graphic scenes, but I think one of the safest places teens can be introduced to these realities is in books, and Booth has given a realistic, accessible-but-not-too-graphic depiction of real situations. I'm thankful that Booth wrote this book.
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes