Jimmy is dead now..gunned down in front of his little sister, Mina, and his brother, Tito. And Tito is left wondering: Was Jimmy in a gang after all? Ice Breaker Joe and Lamar seem to think so. They say Jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned, Tito may have to pay...with his life.
I use YA books or more often nonfiction (HRM, etc.) books when I coach high school guys and gals who are aged 15-17 years or so and concerned about their weak reading skills as they go out into the cold, cruel world. Using my notes from a couple hundred or more YA books, we have on tap (from local libraries here) books about any dilemma of interest to the ad hoc reading group of three to six people. Thus I have experience with the genre.
Although this is too young (upper elementary) for those I work with, I am somewhat surprised at this book. The protagonist is a kid whose older bro is dealing drugs and thus he comes to grief, leaving the protagonist to find his way through the wreckage. Very few YA books for older teens feature drug dealing or murder, so this seems quite nitty gritty for a library to have on its shelf. It had considerable library sales, being issued and reissued in hardback, library binding, and even in audio format.
My copy is ex-library. I invite your thoughts on this. Thank-you.
Although this is too young (upper elementary) for those I work with, I am somewhat surprised at this book. The protagonist is a kid whose older bro is dealing drugs and thus he comes to grief, leaving the protagonist to find his way through the wreckage. Very few YA books for older teens feature drug dealing or murder, so this seems quite nitty gritty for a library to have on its shelf. It had considerable library sales, being issued and reissued in hardback, library binding, and even in audio format.
My copy is ex-library. I invite your thoughts on this. Thank-you.
