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sarahfett's review
1.0
I read this for the class Resources for Young Adults while working on my Masters of Library and Information Science.
bibliophile_and_the_beast's review
4.0
I had to read this school for a college course about writing YA fiction, and it wasn't a terrible read. As a white 22-year-old woman in the working/middle class I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend some of the nuances here, but I think the plot was decent, the emotional points hit, and the characters were hit or miss. That's not to say they were bad characters, just that some of them did things that made no realistic sense (keeping 3 different diaries to manipulate people to do what you want? Really?), were incredibly stubborn, or just straight up made me mad. But maybe that was the point.
brandinh's review against another edition
4.0
Rounded up to four stars because of the incredibly authentic voice.
stevie_b's review against another edition
3.0
Tyrell's father is in prison...again. Tyrell is doing his best to be the man of the family. At home he's working to keep his mother from completely falling apart, he has dropped out of school and is finding small ways to make a little money to keep them fed. All the while he is dreaming of the day when his girlfriend, Novisha, has finished high school and they can get married and move away together. When Tyrell and his family get placed in an especially rough hotel for a weekend Tyrell is forced to step up to make sure his family stays together. To do this, Tyrell has to come to terms with what risks he is willing to take.
Mature themes and language fill this realistic, and somewhat bleak, story. The writing style is casual and it was written in dialect. I really appreciate this book for being representative of poverty and the African American experience. I think it is important to illuminate to a younger audience how fighting to keep your family fed and in a house can get you entrenched in debt and in trouble with the law. This can either help to make an audience more empathetic to the struggles of their fellow man or allows less fortunate readers to see a comrade in Tyrell. Tyrell's character development was really well flushed out. His struggles with the difficulties of his relationship with both Novisha and Jasmine does help to illuminate him; but, in some ways, Novisha and Jasmine seem a little two dimensional.
Mature themes and language fill this realistic, and somewhat bleak, story. The writing style is casual and it was written in dialect. I really appreciate this book for being representative of poverty and the African American experience. I think it is important to illuminate to a younger audience how fighting to keep your family fed and in a house can get you entrenched in debt and in trouble with the law. This can either help to make an audience more empathetic to the struggles of their fellow man or allows less fortunate readers to see a comrade in Tyrell. Tyrell's character development was really well flushed out. His struggles with the difficulties of his relationship with both Novisha and Jasmine does help to illuminate him; but, in some ways, Novisha and Jasmine seem a little two dimensional.
showlola's review
4.0
Why didn't I hear more about this book last year? Was I just not paying attention? Great voice, perspective, empathy, everything. A pleasant surprise that is one of my favorites from 2006.
leftik's review
2.0
I thought the writing style was unique and that it was an honest situation with honest characters. But the portrayal of females in the book really got to me and by the end I could barely handle it. I think I might have rated it higher, but I liked it in the beginning and had such issues at the end that it made it seem like I liked it even less.
renatasnacks's review
4.0
This book is one of the most popular at the juvenile detention center, which is why I picked it up. It's an engaging, fast-paced read. It's... grim, but then, so is urban poverty. Tyrell's a sympathetic narrator, and I really felt for all of his tough dilemmas.
selinamarcille's review
2.0
This was well written, but this was not for me.
The plot that drove the story forward- Tyrell trying to get his family an apartment- takes a back burner with all of the pseudo romance going on. It was frustrating to see Tyrell cheating, and though it was consistent with his character, I still couldn't buy his motivations.
Overall, well written but meh.
The plot that drove the story forward- Tyrell trying to get his family an apartment- takes a back burner with all of the pseudo romance going on. It was frustrating to see Tyrell cheating, and though it was consistent with his character, I still couldn't buy his motivations.
Overall, well written but meh.
kingadrienne's review
4.0
This is one of the most popular books in my school library. I can't keep it on the shelves and I have multiple copies. I finally had one in long enough to be able to read it myself, and I get why. This is realistic and gritty and difficult.
I have had students tell me they love it because it's so real and they relate. One student told me it felt real but it was a little boring because "nothing really happened", before pausing and telling me, "but that's how life is, I guess. It's just every day life." There is an event this builds up to, the party Ty is trying to plan. (That's not a spoiler.) But that's not what this book is really about. The beauty of this is in the details. It's maddening and heartbreaking and stressful, with some smiles in there. It's about Tyrell's mom, about his brother Troy, how he thinks, the relationships, what he is and is not willing to do to provide for his family, the difficulty of being a 15 year old with too much to carry, the difficulty of being young and having no one to count on...This is a book about the day to day and it's so well done. I look forward to reading the sequel.
I have had students tell me they love it because it's so real and they relate. One student told me it felt real but it was a little boring because "nothing really happened", before pausing and telling me, "but that's how life is, I guess. It's just every day life." There is an event this builds up to, the party Ty is trying to plan. (That's not a spoiler.) But that's not what this book is really about. The beauty of this is in the details. It's maddening and heartbreaking and stressful, with some smiles in there. It's about Tyrell's mom, about his brother Troy, how he thinks, the relationships, what he is and is not willing to do to provide for his family, the difficulty of being a 15 year old with too much to carry, the difficulty of being young and having no one to count on...This is a book about the day to day and it's so well done. I look forward to reading the sequel.
rebeccaaaaaa's review
Tyrell doesn’t need relationship worries on top of everything else going on in his life right now. He’s trying to keep his seven-year-old brother out of the foster system, his mother is floundering without her husband, who is in prison, and they’ve recently been evicted. Novisha, his girlfriend, has been the best thing in Tyrell’s life. But he’s worried she’s growing apart from him, and she doesn’t understand why he hasn’t been going to school lately. And, he’s met a new girl needs him more and understands what he’s going through. At least he’s figured out how he’s going to make enough money to get a new apartment.
Tyrell’s voice is compelling, strong, and with depth. This deeply character-driven story has strong urgency. The writing is excellent, and in the story writing has a lot of power, which is effective. This book would be a great starting point for discussions of gender. Grades 8-12.
Tyrell’s voice is compelling, strong, and with depth. This deeply character-driven story has strong urgency. The writing is excellent, and in the story writing has a lot of power, which is effective. This book would be a great starting point for discussions of gender. Grades 8-12.