Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, Lee and Low Books, 2010, 96 pp, ISBN: 1584302674
Yummy has been convicted of dozens of felonies.
Yummy is a member of the Black Disciples.
Yummy is a murderer.
Yummy is only 11-years-old.
This is his true story.
Review:
This book just might break your heart. G. Neri has taken the very true story of Yummy, a pre-teen killer whose mugshot graced the cover of Time magazine, and made is accessible for adolescent readers.
His story is horrifying and just really, really sad. For all intents and purposes, Yummy was parentless. Although he was supposed to live with his grandmother, she had nearly 20 other kids in and out of the house, so Yummy could disappear for days at a time without anyone noticing. He started out small - stealing kids' lunch money and breaking into cars, but as his crimes escalated, he garnered the attention of the Black Disciples - a well known gang. The gang used young kids like Yummy to do their dirty work, because sentencing was always more lenient for minors. Yummy was so eager to prove himself and belong somewhere, he would have done anything. And he did. He killed a 14-year-old girl he had grown up with.
Neri's text and duBurke's illustrations highlight the fact that no one can know for sure why Yummy did what he did, although many have certainly speculated. This book also shines a light on what is perhaps the most disheartening aspect of this story: Yummy was only a child. And in his last days, he was most likely not the swaggering criminal that he had tried so hard to become. He was a scare
4 Comments on Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, last added: 2/20/2012
Display Comments
Add a Comment
.jpeg?picon=3604)
By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/10/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: fantasy, ghost story, MG, Hurricane Katrina, PoC, Coretta Scott King Honor, family, Add a tag
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2010, 224 pp, ISBN: 0316043079
With Hurricane Katrina on its way, twelve-year-old Lanesha is all alone with Mama Ya Ya. Well, all alone unless you count the ghost of her Momma and a dog named Spot for company. Goodness knows her uptown family - her blood relatives - sure aren't going to do anything to help her.
And Mama Ya Ya was right when she foresaw that the storm wouldn't be the worst of their troubles. Lanesha's real work would be surviving what came after.
Review:
Ninth Ward may be told through the voice of a child, but there is absolutely nothing childish about this story. Giving a warm, love-filled glimpse into what life was like in the Ninth Ward, prior to Hurricane Katrina, Jewell Parker Rhodes eases her readers into Lanesha's tale.
In the person of Lanesha, Rhodes crafted a character that I hope students will look up to - socially on the fringe because of her ability to see ghosts, Lanesha wastes no time pitying herself because she isn't popular. Instead, she works her tail off in school, befriends the friendless, and lavishes love on those who do love her. Mama Ya Ya, the woman who raised her, taught her to love herself and that's exactly what she does.
It bears mentioning that Ninth Ward is also a ghost story. Lanesha can see spirits and Mama Ya Ya has an uncanny ability to interpret dreams and foretell future events - an ability that saves more than one life in this story.
Ninth Ward may be told through the voice of a child, but there is absolutely nothing childish about this story. Giving a warm, love-filled glimpse into what life was like in the Ninth Ward, prior to Hurricane Katrina, Jewell Parker Rhodes eases her readers into Lanesha's tale.
In the person of Lanesha, Rhodes crafted a character that I hope students will look up to - socially on the fringe because of her ability to see ghosts, Lanesha wastes no time pitying herself because she isn't popular. Instead, she works her tail off in school, befriends the friendless, and lavishes love on those who do love her. Mama Ya Ya, the woman who raised her, taught her to love herself and that's exactly what she does.
"At lunch, I eat my tuna sandwich and apple juice at my table. I call it "my table," 'cause no one else will sit with me. But, unlike TaShon, I don't try to be invisible. I sit right in the middle of the cafeteria. I'm not ashamed of me."Much of Ninth Ward gives an inside look into what life was like for residents of New Orleans' Ninth Ward in the days leading up to, and after, one of our country's most notorious hurricanes. Many people there, like Mama Ya Ya, were too poor to own a car or too old to leave on their own two feet, so they were forced to stay in their homes for the duration. The flooding that followed was perhaps more terrifying than the storm itself - a disaster that Lanesha simply and powerfully illustrates.
It bears mentioning that Ninth Ward is also a ghost story. Lanesha can see spirits and Mama Ya Ya has an uncanny ability to interpret dreams and foretell future events - an ability that saves more than one life in this story.
Recommendation:
A gem of a middle grade novel, and one that will surely resonate with older readers as well, Ninth Ward deserves a spot on you
A gem of a middle grade novel, and one that will surely resonate with older readers as well, Ninth Ward deserves a spot on you
4 Comments on Ninth Ward, last added: 2/11/2012
Display Comments
Add a Comment
By: Katie DeKoster,
on 2/2/2012
Blog: Book Love (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: family, historical fiction, world war II, women's history, PoC, fearless female, Coretta Scott King Honor, Add a tag
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009, 352 pp, ISBN: 0375857141
Octavia and Tali may not realize it yet, but Mare didn't used to be anybody's grandmother.
Spending the summer on a cross-country road trip in Mare's little red sports car should have made for the most boring summer of their lives. But both girls are in for a few surprises. Before this trip is over, Octavia and Tali are going to get a whole new perspective on their grandma, their own family, and their country.
Review:
Holy smokes, I could not have chosen a better book to kick off my BHM reading challenge!
I've always wanted to read Mare's War because I L.O.V.E. that cover. The original cover (below) is just fine, and reflects a little bit more of the story, but the paperback cover... wow. That is one gorgeous, powerful image! For more information on the cover, check out this post and this post from thatcovergirl.
Author Tanita S. Davis used one of my favorite techniques to tell the story of Mare's War: duel narrators. Octavia, the younger granddaughter, narrates the chapters titled "Now," giving us the scoop as their road trip progresses, and reacting to Mare's narrative, titled "Then." Octavia and her older sister Tali's commentary certainly wasn't the real meat of the story, but their present-day relationship created an interesting parallel alongside Mare's remembrances of her own relationship with her little sister Feen. The presence of the two girls also helped to flesh out the image of Mare as a grandmother:
"Mare mutters something under her breath and turns toward Tali. Tilting down her enormous sunglasses, she stares down at my sister.'Talitha, you're not going to be a pain in my behind this whole trip, are you?'"Display Comments Add a Comment
I would love this book and was totally ready to go check it out until I heard the words "graphic novel." I just don't enjoy that format. Maybe someday they will write just a regular old print book about Yummy
I'm jealous! I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, but it's not in our library system or local bookstore. (Yes, I've heard of amazon, but I am a poor grad student!)
Your review has reinforced my desire to read "Yummy".
Man, that Time magazine cover is powerfil.
Maybe so! The graphic novel aspect didn't really move me one way or the other, but I think it'll add a lot of appeal for teenage readers.
I never buy books either :) That's why libraries were invented! Does your library system let you request books for order? I just figured out that mine did about a week ago. I requested The Knife and the Butterfly and they ordered it the very next day! Pretty awesome.