In Bed Stuy, New York, a small misunderstanding can escalate into having
a price on your head even if you're totally clean. This gritty,
triumphant debut that
Publishers Weekly calls a funny and rewarding read captures the heart and the hardship of life for an urban teen.
A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don t
really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing.
Nah, not his thing. Ali's got enough going on, between school and
boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now
there's a dude looking for trouble and, somehow, it's always Ali around
to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy's gotta look out for his boys,
right? Besides, it's all small potatoes; it's not like anyone s getting
hurt.
And then there s Needles. Needles is Noodles's brother. He's got a
syndrome, and gets these ticks and blurts out the wildest, craziest
things. It's cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn't
mean anything by it.
Yeah, it's cool until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves
somewhere they never expected to be somewhere they never should've been
where the people aren't so friendly, and even less forgiving."
