Jason Reynolds is crazy.
About stories.
After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he’s afraid he’ll forget it all before he gets home. Jason Reynolds is the author of critically acclaimed When I Was the Greatest, for which he was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, and Boy in the Black Suit. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.
When I Was the Greatest
eBook
-
ISBN-13:
9781442459496
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: 01/07/2014
- Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 240
- Sales rank: 64,330
- Lexile: 740L (what's this?)
- File size: 2 MB
- Age Range: 12 - 17 Years
Available on NOOK devices and apps
Want a NOOK? Explore Now
In Bed Stuy, New York, a small misunderstanding can escalate into having a price on your head—even if you’re totally clean. This gritty, triumphant debut captures the heart and the hardship of life for an urban teen.
A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don’t really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing.
Nah, not his thing. Ali’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there’s a dude looking for trouble—and, somehow, it’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy’s gotta look out for his boys, right? Besides, it’s all small potatoes; it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt.
And then there’s Needles. Needles is Noodles’s brother. He’s got a syndrome, and gets these ticks and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn’t mean anything by it.
Yeah, it’s cool…until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves somewhere they never expected to be…somewhere they never should've been—where the people aren't so friendly, and even less forgiving.
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
-
- Black Boy White School
- by Brian F. Walker
-
- Snitch
- by Allison van Diepen
-
- Jumped
- by Rita Williams-Garcia
-
- Bronxwood
- by Coe Booth
-
- Swagger
- by Carl Deuker
-
- The Scar Boys
- by Len Vlahos
-
- Fake ID
- by Lamar Giles
-
- What Comes After
- by Steve Watkins
-
- Leverage
- by Joshua C. Cohen
-
- Pretty Girl-13
- by Liz Coley
-
- Kendra
- by Coe Booth
-
- Rucker Park Setup
- by Paul Volponi
-
- Lockdown
- by Walter Dean Myers
-
- Takedown
- by Allison van Diepen
-
- Tyrell
- by Coe Booth
Recently Viewed
Gr 7–10—Ali lives with his mother, Doris, and kid sister, Jazz, in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn and spends all of his free time with best friends Noodles and Needles, brothers who live in a run-down brownstone next door. Needles was born with Tourette's syndrome, and after a particularly bad episode of tics, Doris gave him some knitting needles to focus his attention. The three teens hang out on the stoop and streets, living life and getting in just a touch of mischief. When their friend Tasha gets them into a party-and not just any party, an exclusive, adults-only party-trouble escalates. How will the trio deal with the fallout of that eventful night? Reynolds's debut oozes with authenticity-details about bodegas, barbershops, and local streets flesh out the setting-and builds with great tempo, starting in a slow groove and picking up to a swift beat. The main and secondary characters are well developed; their sweetness, sassiness, and even stupidity are endearing and relatable. This title is an easy sell to teens living in urban areas but will appeal to anyone looking for realistic protagonists in the daily grind, learning about themselves and one another. Reynolds is an author to watch.—Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ