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A review by kdorfman
Tyrell by Coe Booth
4.0
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.