Books for Young Readers

Growing up in the big city can be full of happiness and heartache, good times and rough times, and the characters in these amazing books all work to make it through with their friends and families by their side.

Autobiography of My Dead Brother
By Walter Dean Myers
HarperCollins/Amistad, 2005
Ages 14 and up
Jesse and Rise are childhood friends and blood brothers who are trying to make their mark on the world, or at least survive their tough Harlem neighborhood. One turns to his art, sketching and writing, while the other turns to the streets.

Bang!
By Sharon Flake
Hyperion, 2005
Ages 14 and up
Since witnessing his little brother’s murder, 13-year-old Mann can’t escape the bang of the gunshots in his mind. Inspired by an African coming-of-age ritual, Mann’s grief-stricken father takes drastic measures to ensure he will not lose another son—measures that push Mann to the brink of self-destruction as he struggles to live up to his own name.

The Battle of Jericho
By Sharon M. Draper
Atheneum, 2003
Ages 13 and up
Jericho’s and his cousin Josh’s decision to pledge The Warriors of Distinction high school club creates a tragic need for Jericho to decide what he values and how much of an influence he wants others to have over him, no matter how popular they are.

The Beast
By Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic, 2003
Ages 14 and up
Spoon’s holiday break from prep school brings him face-to-face with the reality that his Harlem girlfriend, Gabi, has become addicted to drugs.

Begging for Change
By Sharon G. Flake
Hyperion, 2003
Ages 12 and up
With her mother in the hospital and her drug-addicted father on the scene, Raspberry Hill still manages to find answers to many coming-of-age questions and, ultimately, to find herself.

Bucking the Sarge
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Random House/Wendy Lamb, 2004
Ages 15 and up
Working against all odds and particularly his mother, the Sarge, pseudo-philosopher Luther T. Farrell finds a way and the means to live a good life.

Handbook for Boys: A Novel
By Walter Dean Myers
HarperCollins/Amistad, 2002
Ages 13 and up
Duke’s Place, a Harlem barbershop, is the place where the young men of the neighborhood turn for wise advice about love, success, school and family—in other words: growing up.

Hush
By Jacqueline Woodson
Putnam, 2002
Ages 11-15
When her police officer father testifies about a serious crime involving his coworkers, Evie/Toswiah and her family lose their own identity in the Witness Protection Program.

Street Love
By Walter Dean Myers
HarperCollins/Amistad, 2006
Ages 14 and up
Damien and Junice are two Harlem teens from very different backgrounds who give up everything to be together in this urban love story told in free verse.

Twists and Turns
By Janet McDonald
Frances Foster, 2003
Ages 12 and up
Sisters Keeba and Teesha decide to turn their talents at braiding hair into professions, which they begin just after high school by opening their own beauty salon in the housing projects where they grew up, which results in some unexpected challenges.