 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Tyrell
- By Coe Booth
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Common Sense Media says
Graphic portrayal of homelessness; best for older teens.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this book about inner-city life is a better fit for older teens. Tyrell does his best to help his family and keep his younger brother out of foster care, but his story is full of gritty details. Indeed, Tyrell is loaded with sex, language, and drugs, all of which are engaged in by the main character, who is 15. Swearing (including the "N" word, used colloquially) is frequent, as are sexual encounters between teens and sometimes between teens and adults. Most of the characters, including the main character and his mother, use marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, and some secondary characters use and sell harder drugs; adults (including parents) give alcohol and marijuana to minors.
What's the story?
Nothing is working for Tyrell. His father has been sent to jail again, and his mother, unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the family, has lost their apartment, leaving them homeless. Unable to get homeless housing because of the mother's previous attempts to scam the system, Tyrell, his self-centered mother, and his younger brother end up being placed in a single room in a roach-infested motel with no provision for food, and seemingly no way out. Tyrell, trying the best a young teen can to provide for his family and keep his brother out of foster care, drops out of school.
Though he is not above petty crime to buy food, Tyrell resists his mother's efforts to push him into selling drugs. Instead he pins all of his hopes on planning an underground party -- with the money he can make there he hopes to get his family an apartment. But to pull it off he has to rely on others, few of whom are reliable, and most of whom are only out for themselves.
Is it any good?
This powerful and gritty first novel by Coe Booth, a former crisis-center worker from the Bronx, clearly and grippingly portrays the reality of millennial inner-city life: the hard and limited choices, the despair, the waste of human potential, but also the relentless and determined efforts of some to take even one small step on the road out. Despite its difficult content it should have a place in any high school or college class on modern social problems.
Everything rings true here -- events, characters, attitudes, even the use of dialect. Booth never makes an awkward slip, and Tyrell's voice resonates in the reader's head like that of a real person. Even the ending remains utterly true and faithful to the situation and characters. This is a very auspicious debut.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about Tyrell's life in the inner-city. What other movies or books do you know that take place in a similar environment? What are some of the things that are common in inner-city stories? How is this one different?
Do you think this book was meant for teens growing up like Tyrell -- or
for kids living in different types of environments? Who did the author
write this book for?This book won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult
Fiction. Why do you think it received that honor? Are you more
interested in a book if it has won an award or earned good reviews -- or
do you like to make your own judgments?
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- Teens & kids
AGE
I love this book. It relates with me in so many ways and it also helped me to be aware of the world we live on which one is realistic...and it has so many questions to ask but few answers to find. In my opinion, this is a very educational book, it will help teenagers to appreciate more what they have.
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AGE
You Have to Listen; But Hearing the Truth is Hard.
This book is an amazing portrayal of what it's like to be an inner city kid. Drinking, drugs, and sex almost always come with the package, and even though it can be a little crude sounding or ghetto, living in an inner city is not all rainbows and flowers. The author did a good job of showing us what it's like to be in a broken family, and Tyrell crosses the line at drugs.
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AGE
I love the book. It teaches you about other people's struggles.
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AGE
ITS .......
omg this is the best book ever i nvr read till this book
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AGE
TYRELL ROCKS
this book is the best i meet the maker of this book in a feild trip this book ROCKS THANK YOU COE BOOTH
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AGE
many people can relate
i love this book. im 13 but i relate to almost everything in this book. i would recomend this book to any age child that is in any type of situation as the characters in the book or me. to tell the truth this is my favorite and best book i have ever layed eyes on!!!!!! I LOVE THIS BOOK!i jus got done finishin readin it a week and a half ago and its like all i wanted to do was keep readin and readin and readin even in the tub.... it made me really upset win i had to stop........
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AGE
I Think 14 Years Should Read It...Only If Amture Enough..I Read This Book At 14 And Am Not Involved In Drugs Or Drinking
I Love This Book Its Great..And Its Swagga Rite
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AGE
the best book ever
tyrell was the best book ever
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AGE
To be truthful - this book bored me. There was lots of swearing, references to drug and alcohol use, and criminal activities.
The story line was - to me - kind of slow moving and the characters were realistic but, not part of my reality.
I read it as a required part of a graduate class I'm taking.
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| Author: | Coe Booth |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Contemporary Fiction |
| Publisher: | Scholastic Inc. |
| Publication date: | October 1, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 310 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 15 - 15 |
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