When We Wuz Famous

Though generally the story does not contain violence except for a scuffle on the basketball court, the book largely describes the events leading up to a murder.

Flirting and temptation is alluded to, and there's an implication that sex occurred or soon will between the monogamous high school senior couple. There's a rumor of a pregnant teen and an abortion, and a joking reference to masturbation in the prep school dorm.

Profanity is rarely used (one instance each of "bitch" and the "N" word spelled "nigga"), so it's jarring when "motherf-----r" is used once in a threatening way. "Spic" is used as a racist taunt.

Teens Francisco, Reignbow, and the rest of their group of friends are not depicted using substances of any kind. However, drugs are in and around their environment. Vincent, because of his family history and general erratic behavior, appears at risk of developing a drug problem, especially when he becomes a drug runner.

Parents need to know that When We Wuz Famous is the story of Francisco, a boy from New York's Spanish Harlem, who goes to prep school on a basketball scholarship but finds himself torn between his past and future. His best friend, Vincent, has been repeatedly abandoned by family, his mother is an intravenous drug addict and a prostitute, and he gets mixed up with loan sharks, pimps, drug dealers, and a gun. There's a police investigation into the murder of a teenager. It's implied that a monogamous high school senior couple had or will soon have sex. The ethnic slur "spic" is used, and while profanity is minimal, when used for impact, it's particularly harsh ("motherf----r," just once). A cocaine transaction is a part of the plot, but drug dealing is not the main theme here, just one of the realities in the life of a young man trying to move forward while his loyalties to Spanish Harlem conspire to hold him back.