Parents' Guide to

If I Grow Up

By Terreece Clarke, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

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

Book Todd Strasser Contemporary Fiction 2009
If I Grow Up Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

YoungPositive
YoungPositive Adult
November 13, 2014
age 12+

The best

I am Also in middle school I saw this book and it cought my eye it was very interesting book and it's educational for us to learn that we really do have the choice do I want to be a dead gang member some day no we all have our choices you want choose that life go ahead this book is very good their is some violence in this book yes I know about the shooting and robbery and sexuality and drugs this boy lives in the projects again remember in the projects happen a lot of things you take your risks of life going out their to live or die

This title has:

Educational value
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What's the Story?

DeShawn lives in the projects in New York City. There are few opportunities for success; teens regularly join gangs and sell drugs, and gunshots are more frequent than bird songs. DeShawn is a smart kid who knows the gang and drug life can only end in tragedy, but how can he stand by and watch his family starve?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (5):

This is a painfully one-dimensional novel that could be used as a script for any after-school special, crime drama, or urban movie. When a book is set in an urban setting where poverty, poor choices, and lack of opportunity are prevalent, critics tend to call the book "gritty." However, many of these books only feed off of press snippets and writer imagination of what the 'hood' is really like, and so the stories lean closer to stereotypes of urban life. This novel, unfortunately, is no exception.

Stock characters -- the hard working grandma, the knocked-up older sister, the good kid struggling to stay out of trouble while enduring peer pressure and oppressive poverty -- are all in place here, as well as stock ghetto situations like eating cereal with water, multiple sex partners, pregnancies, lack of male responsibility, and blinged-out dope dealers that are anti-heroes to the residents. Add in a couple of drive-bys, double crosses, and a smidge of regret, and it really misses the mark.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about DeShawn's decision. Why did he finally make the choice he did when it came to joining the gang? Did he have other options? What were they?

  • Was Marcus a hero or an anti-hero? What things did he do right? What things did he do wrong?

  • How do you feel about the characters? Do they feel like real people, or stereotypes of real people and stories you've seen or read about?

Book Details

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