• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Gritty, powerful tale of growing up -- teens only.

Why We Rated This for Ages 14 and Up

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  The book gives a picture of life in the underbelly of the city.
• Messages:

  Though the book is filled with drugs, they are not at all appealing, and the main character does not use them, though is offered many chances to do so.
• Role models:

  While the main character wants to do good, he has no idea how to begin, and there are no role models here. Iggy's view of Mo's relationship with his mother might make some teens have more appreciation of their own parents.

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  A boy kills a man and is in turn shot by police. A dealer breaks the fingers of a man who hasn't paid and breaks another's skull. A teen has violent fantasies.
• Sex:

  A reference to getting laid, another to looking down a girl's shirt, and one to balls. A scene of making out, a married father has an affair.
• Language:

  Some swearing: "s--t," "f--k," "ass," "goddamn."
• Consumerism:

  Food, tissue, fast food, sneaker, car, toy brands mentioned.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  This is a story about a boy with junkie parents and a druggie friend. There are many drug references, to pot, meth, heroin, drug dealers, alcohol, shooting up. Teens and adults are drunk and drugged into a stupor. A baby is born addicted.

What Parents Need to Know

About Saint Iggy

Families Can Talk About