Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Amistad
Media Format: Book
Genre: Urban, Ethnic Experience
Selection Source: National Book Award Finalist
Reading Audience: Jr. High+
Reading Recommendation: 3***
Curriculum Connection: Black History Month
Summary
Jesse has always looked up to his older friend and blood brother, Rise. They were raised together, and have spent a lot of time talking about life, and the problems of the city. They are a part of a club called The Counts, and when one of their members gets in trouble with the law, the fissure of their diverging world views becomes apparent. Rise begins to see little value in living the straight life, and views people who live it to be either suckers or weak. He adopts a fatalistic attitude towards drug use in the neighborhood to justify his desire to start peddling. The shift really shakes Jesse up, and he realizes that he needs to decide what he believes in and what is important, so he can walk his own path clearly.
Evaluation
This book tackles an important issue for inner city youth, the notion of selling out via success. This is the idea that by doing well and school and trying to get to college are examples of acting white; not keeping it real. Myers does a great job of creating a protagonist that cares about his street reputation, but also cares about living a successful life. He illustrates the tension within youth that have to walk that tight rope. He shows that he is sympathetic to the allure of the more rebellious position, but also shows that when viewing the big picture the choice is an easy one to make. Youth who enjoy reading this might want to move on to the more complex television drama The Wire (ages 16+) which addresses many of these issues in a terrifyingly realistic representation of the inescapability of urban life.
