Common Sense Media Review
Graphic portrayal of homelessness; best for older teens.
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Why Age 15+?
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Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
Based on 28 kid reviews
Kids say this book effectively captures the struggles faced by teenagers, particularly those from inner-city environments, while offering important life lessons despite its mature themes. Many readers, especially teens, appreciate its relatable narrative and strong messages, although some parents express concerns about the content and character development.
- mature themes
- relatable story
- life lessons
- parental concerns
- character development
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
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. It addresses 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.
Talk to Your Kids 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?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Contemporary Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic Inc.
- Publication date : October 1, 2006
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 15 - 15
- Number of pages : 310
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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