If I Grow Up

"WHEN YOU GREW UP IN THE PROJECTS, THERE WERE NO CHOICES. NO GOOD ONES, AT LEAST."

In the Frederick Douglass Project where DeShawn lives, daily life is ruled by drugs and gang violence. Many teenagers drop out of school and join gangs, and every kid knows someone who died. Gunshots ring out on a regular basis.

DeShawn is smart enough to know he should stay in school and keep away from the gangs. But while his friends have drug money to buy fancy sneakers and big-screen TVs, DeShawn's family can barely afford food for the month. How can he stick to his principles when his family is hungry?

In this gritty novel about growing up in the inner city, award-winning author Todd Strasser opens a window into the life of a teenager struggling with right and wrong under the ever-present shadow of gangs.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 02/24/2009
ISBN: 9781416925231
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.80w x 1.10d
Award: Heartland Award - Honor Book
Award: Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice - Nominee

Review Citations: Voice of Youth Advocates 12/01/2008 - Recommended - Hard To Beat
Booklist 01/01/2009 pg. 70
Publishers Weekly 01/19/2009 pg. 61
Kirkus Review - Children 01/15/2009
School Library Journal 02/01/2009 pg. 112
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 03/01/2009
Multicultural Review 10/01/2009 pg. 83
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2009 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 129462 / If I Grow Up
Reading Level: 4.2 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 6