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A review by becca_osborn
Tyrell by Coe Booth
4.0
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.