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abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
Sharon Flake, you blow my mind. This is a collection of poems and short chapters of young black boys growing up in various different lifestyles, helping to bring understanding to those who only see a stereotype when they look at them. Beautiful, short but so totally powerful in the writing, Flake has a way of taking a few words and showing an entire life story.
readwithpassion's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic collection of stories and poems about several diverse African-American males who tell the reader, "You don't even know me." The boys are dealing with tough issues, such as marriage as a teen, unplanned pregnancy, HIV, suicide, obesity, and violence. Each story is unique from the other and all of them captured my interest. The boys don't always make the best choices, but the reader sees the consequences in making bad decisions. Flake did a fantastic job with this novel. It will be a great collection to my library.
justcrystalxo's review against another edition
5.0
very interesting read. gives a look into urban teen boys through short stories and poems. kept me interested.
pandacat42's review against another edition
2.0
Between the genre and the subject matter, I really didn't care for this book. The short stories were paced slow and the subject matter was about being obsessed with girls in a few of the stories. While I admire honesty and openness, I don't really care for the level of disrespect for women I see in this book. The reason I read this book was for my young adult services class for my library science degree. I have to read books of a variety of genres. This happens to be one of my last genre choices for the semester.
totally85's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
afreema3's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a good book and I think it would be important for people to read. I really enjoyed some of the stories; like the one about HIV, suicide, and the obese father. The poems were not as interesting to me, but I felt they were important to the book overall. I think I won't reread the whole book, but I do believe I would reread some of the stories. Overall it was a good book and I would recommend it to others because it could be more meaningful to others.
destinic123's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laurahorn's review against another edition
2.0
Parts of this book I really liked, and parts I had a very hard time getting into. The good thing is that it's a collection, so you wouldn't have to read everything.