• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 13.

• Is it any good?

  2.0

• Common Sense says

  Very violent, stereotyped look at life in the 'hood.

Why We Rated This for Ages 13–15

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  If the novel's goal was to look inside inner-city life to explain why people are forced to live the way they live, it succeeded somewhat. If the goal was to give the reader some sort of lesson on life and consequences, it was a half-hearted attempt. If the goal was to play up and market inner-city stereotypes, it succeeded.

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  One could try to put a positive spin on the novel by using the main character as an example of what not to do and how things can go wrong when one makes the wrong choices. The book, however, mostly spends its time wavering between glorifying the stereotypical "gangsta lifestyle" while backhandedly condemning it.
• Role models:

  While initially the lead character has many admirable traits, the fact that he succumbs to the drug dealer lifestyle negates the positive attributes. Secondary characters are lauded as heroes or victims of their circumstances, but none are examples most parents would hold up to their children. There are some positive outcomes and positive character turnarounds; however, they are approached more as a footnote than examples the writer deliberately set out to highlight.

• Violence:

  Plenty of violence, some of it graphically described. A child is thrown from a window and killed; two tweens shoot a pregnant woman, killing her baby; multiple drive-bys; several assassinations; including one in which the body is described as having part of the victim's forehead missing from a gun shot to the back of the head.
• Sex:

  Characters have sex, and while the sexual encounters aren't described, multiple pregnancies result from the encounters. Several characters have sex with multiple partners. One teen couple talks about having sex in an abandoned building on a old mattress that is soiled.
• Language:

  Occasional name-calling.
• Consumerism:

  A few brand names are mentioned, including Starter and Nike, as well as types of cars -- Range Rover and Escalade.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Teens both sell and use drugs. Marijuana use, crack cocaine addiction and usage described, as well as the manufacturing of the drugs and paraphernalia. Many side characters are drug addicts.

What Parents Need to Know

About If I Grow Up

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