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joyfulfoodie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
fast-paced
4.25
This is a pretty fast read, in graphic novel form. That doesn’t make it easy. A very sad story about gang violence in Chicago’s southside in the early 1990’s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment
the_lyon_reads_tonight's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Solid nonfiction graphic novel. This story is as heartbreaking as it was when it happened. The author does a beautiful job bringing this story to life. It’s hard to read, hard to take in but worth it.
heykellyjensen's review
4.0
This one teeters on fiction/non-fiction. It's a true story but the details are filled in.
I really liked this one, and honestly, I remember this story a bit since I was a kid in the Chicago area when it all went down. A story about an 11-year-old mixed up in gang violence. Cannot wait to talk this one up to my kids.
I really liked this one, and honestly, I remember this story a bit since I was a kid in the Chicago area when it all went down. A story about an 11-year-old mixed up in gang violence. Cannot wait to talk this one up to my kids.
asealey925's review
4.0
One of the first Graphic Novels I've really felt a huge amount of emotion from. More to come on the blog.
trishabee2000's review
4.0
I'm trying to read more graphic novels so this is one of the ones I have picked up recently. It puts a human face on the infamous Yummy. Several of my students have read this and have said it's a really good book . Since most juniors this year don't like anything that has to do with reading that's not required or posted on social media, I'd say that's a glowing recommendation.
bookswithcori_'s review
4.0
What a gut-wrenching graphic novel; from the haunting black and white illustrations to the horrific subject matter to the fact that Yummy was only a fifth-grader when all of this occurred made this out to be a melancholic yet gripping story from beginning to end. It saddens me deeply to remember that this story does not exist in a vacuum, but that it’s a true story that left an entire community grieving. I think that the black and white art style worked perfectly for this story, not only due to the historical lens it places onto the setting but because it harshly outlines the pure anger, fear, and sadness of all the characters. My only issue with this book is how the author chose to tie the themes of the story together. At the end of the book, the fictitious main character Roger says that although the answers as to what lead Yummy’s life down the path it went are complicated, as long as the community tries to stick together then things might be okay. I acknowledge that this is a middle grade novel and these topics can be tricky to discuss with children, but to completely disregard the effect redlining and systemic racism has on Black communities and the children living in them is not the best way to tackle this subject matter. If the power of family and community is supposedly the driving force away from these systems of corruption, how are children like Yummy who have no support system at home supposed to progress through society? Other than that, this was an incredibly visceral depiction of a historic American tragedy.