Bronxwood by Coe Booth

The long-awaited sequel to Coe Booth’s Tyrell is finally here and it does not disappoint. With his little brother in foster care and his mom unable or unwilling to get the family back together, Tyrell has been living with his drug-dealing friends, doing his best to stay out of the game and take care of his family. Now that his dad is out of jail and up to the same business that got him locked up in the first place, Tyrell knows that everyone expects him to move back home and step down as man of the family. But Tyrell can see what’s coming as everyone falls back into their old patterns of behavior. He has a lot of important decisions to make in the last few weeks of August - decisions about friendship, love, and family that will have serious consequences.

With sharp prose and excellent observation, Booth paints a gritty, gripping portrait of survival. Readers are drawn to Tyrell’s voice and his lived experience because it is so stunningly rendered. Students who enjoy the work of Walter Dean Myers, Allison Van Diepen, Ni-Ni Simone, and Sharon Draper will enjoy this fast-paced glimpse back into Tyrell’s life in Bronxwood. -- Regan Schwartz