This week's pick was published in 2006 but I read it last summer. I really enjoyed it- a very quick read but pretty unique and hard to read at times.
Toby Barks: Read Street Pharm by Allison Van Diepen.
Summary: If a brother wanna get ahead, he gotta use every minute to better himself. Everything I did made me better -- tougher, stronger, richer, smarter -- or I didn't do it.Take high school. A waste of time. Nobody there taught me what I needed to survive on the streets....Ty Johnson knows survival. Since inheriting his pop's business at sixteen, Ty's developed smarts, skills, and mad discipline. The supply game's in his blood. And life is pretty sweet when you're on top.But one slip -- or one serious competitor -- and life turns ugly fast. Suddenly, Ty's got to rethink his whole strategy. And for the #1 dealer on the streets, strategy is not just about staying ahead. It's about survival.
My Thoughts:
I think the fact that Ty was more or less keeping up with the family business, both wanting to and needing to be a dealer, was what captivated me the most with this book. The writing is all in his mindset, right down to the slang. This isn't a book written to be scholarly- it's written because there are, sadly, teens out there who's life is like this. Van Diepen was inspired by her own experiences teaching in inner-city Brooklyn and that fact did show through with this one. The first book I read by this author was Raven- something of an entirely different area and the fact that she could write both a fantasy and something that can mirror real life and have both of them turn out amazingly speaks thousands for her.
This sounds like a great read. I love the pictures of your beagle. My beagle is also named Toby.\
ReplyDeleteI'm new to you blog, and really enjoying it.
Oh my gosh - so cute!! I have 3 dogs, but I don't think they would sit still like that for more than a few seconds!! LOL
ReplyDeleteJennifer... funny thing is, I think I have met two other Toby beagles as well but I will always claim mine is the best haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd crazy for books.... there was much bribery and outtakes involved in getting those photos to turn out. There was also me holding him until the last second THEN moving away so my friend could snap the pic before the dog had time to register it and move.
That book looks fascinating. I love Toby's pictures, as always! Such a cute and funny dog!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. How'd you get your dog to stay like that? If I had a book and asked my dog Goofy to "pose" with it for me, he'd go about sniffing it and pawing through the pages in a second!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that there is a blog award for at my site! I love checking out your site and Toby is too cute! My french bulldog would NEVER cooperate!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://extremereaderbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-awards.html
That sounds like a really good book, great post! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think the book is in my area of interest but I sure enjoyed seeing Toby having fun with it.
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