Bang

Bang is another book, similar to Tyrell, about life in the " 'hood." Mann lives in a neighborhood where gunfire and drug traffic is normal, and two years before the story opened his little brother Jason is accidentally killed by passersby who are shooting at each other. After that, Mann refuses to go on his front porch again and tells his mother that the blood is still there , even though it has been cleaned up. Mann obviously is depressed and feeling guilty about Jason's death and needs professional help.

Instead, Mann's father tells him to be a "man" and not a "little boy." Mann says that "boys ain't men yet." Mann's friend Kee-lee is more support for Mann than his mom and dad are, but even Kee-lee is not the best example, buying into the drug, alcohol, and gun culture of the hood that Mann first tries to stay away from.

Even though Bang is a short book and did not take me long to read, a lot happened in the book. Also, although Bang had a somewhat happier ending than Tyrell, I really have a lot of misgivings about putting it on the shelves. Yes, it is realistic, but also quite gruesome and horrifying in its detail. Coach H., an African-American teacher who cares a lot about showing kids in poverty that there is a better way out than violence and drugs and also has the same concern that I do that there is a need for good YA novels for the African-American audience, is reading it for me over the break. I will take his opinion into consideration before putting the book out for the masses.