Tyrell

I read Tyrell, one of the books that I had received in a books for teen readers assortment that I got from BMI. I liked the book, but I have a lot of misgivings about having it in my library. Tyrell is a fifteen-year-old whose father is in prison, and he and his mother and little brother have just been put into the homeless system in New York City. His mother is sorry, not even trying to work, and it is up to Tyrell to try to scrounge money and food for them. He also takes care of Troy, the ten-year-old, most of the time. Tyrell has a girlfriend, Novisha, but meets another girl, Jasmine, at the "roach motel" where the homeless people are "temporarily" housed. I think that Tyrell is very realistic and I liked the book.

However, I'm not sure if I will put it on my shelves for several reasons. First of all, the language is pretty raw. It is written in the first person, so it is how Tyrell talks. Profanity is on every page, and I know that is realistic. Also, his grammar is horrible; I know that is realistic also, but because the book is in the first person, there is no good grammar anywhere in the book.

Second, as you can imagine, is the sex. It is not explicit at all, but it is there. Tyrell does not have sex with either Novisha or Jasmine in the course of the story, but the references are prolific and the making out that they do is pretty advanced, to put it mildly.

The third misgiving I have is the drugs. Tyrell smokes "weed," but only when he is given it. Remember, he has no money. He also drinks beer; again only when someone gives it to him.

Tyrell does have some redeeming qualities, however. He tries to provide for Troy and be a parent figure to him. He talks to Troy's teacher and finds out that Troy does not have to be in special education (his mother wants him there just to get a check). He knows that he can sell drugs to make some money and get himself and his family out of the situation that they are in, but he does not do it. He pressures Novisha to sleep with him, but does not dump her when she refuses. Also, he does not sleep with Jasmine when she presents herself to him and remains faithful to Novisha.

I asked one of the English teachers to read Tyrell and tell me what she thinks. I'm just not sure if I want it on the shelves. I will post what I decide later.