Tyrell - by Coe Booth (Paperback)

About the Book

The protagonist of this astonishing debut is a young, African-American teen who can't get a break. Tyrell is living (for now) with his spaced-out mother and little brother in a homeless shelter. He feels he needs to score some money to make things better. Will he end up following in his fathers footsteps?

Book Synopsis

An astonishing new voice in teen literature, writing what is sure to be one of the most talked-about debuts of the year.

Tyrell is a young African-American teen who can't get a break. He's living (for now) with his spaced-out mother and little brother in a homeless shelter. His father's in jail. His girlfriend supports him, but he doesn't feel good enough for her -- and seems to be always on the verge of doing the wrong thing around her. There's another girl at the homeless shelter who is also after him, although the desires there are complicated. Tyrell feels he needs to score some money to make things better. Will he end up following in his father's footsteps?

Review Quotes

rkusAfter his DJ father is incarcerated for drug dealing, 15-year-old Tyrell, his brother and his motherare rendered homeless and move to a slummy city shelter in the Bronx. His mom's ineffectual attemptsat keeping the family afloat financially and emotionally soon fall flat, and Tyrell is forced to take thefamily's situation into his own hands. Inspired by his father, he decides to throw a secret dance partyin an abandoned bus garage with a steep admission charge guaranteed to boost his family's income.Booth, a writing consultant for the NYC Housing Authority, clearly understands how teens living onthe edge-in shelters, in projects, on the street-live, talk and survive. It's the slick street language ofthese tough but lovable characters and her gritty landscapes that will capture the interests of urbanfiction fans. While the complex party-planning plotline doesn't exactly cut a straight path, itsconvoluted-ness undoubtedly illustrates the kinds of obstacles these teens must overcome and theconnections they need to make in order to survive-inside or outside the law. (Fiction. YA). . .*STAR*Booklist"You don't hardly get to have no kinda childhood in the hood." At 15, Tyrell, is trying to keep his little brother in school and safe in their roach-infested shelter in the Bronx. He's dropped out of school, and Moms wants want him to sell weed to make money. But Tyrell is too smart. He doesn't want to end up in prison like his dad, so he tries to organize a neighborhood party to raise money. His girlfriend, Novisha, isn't happy that Tyrell has dropped out. She loves him, and they make out, but he respects her wish to remain a virgin. Booth, who was born and raised in the Bronx, is now a social worker there, and her first novel is heartbreakingly realistic. There are some plot contrivances--including Tyrell's stumbling upon Novisha's diary--but the immediate first-person narrative is pitch-perfect: fast, funny, and anguished (There's also lots of use of the n-word, though the term is employed in the colloquial sense, not as an insult). Unlike many books reflecting the contemporary street scene, this one is more than just a pat situation with a glib resolution; it's filled with surprising twists and turns that continue to the end. --Hazel Rochman

About the Author

Coe Booth is a graduate of The New School's Writing for Children MFA program, and a winner of the LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction. She is the author of Tyrell and Kendra, and was born and still lives in the Bronx.