If I grow up

Strasser, T. (2009). If I grow up. New York: NY. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Interest Level: Grade 7-10

Reading Level: 4+

DeShawn lives in the Frederick Douglass housing project in New York. This is a place where drugs, gang violence and teen pregnancy are commonplace and twelve year old DeShawn doesn't want any part of that. DeShawn is a good boy, a smart boy who wants to do the right thing. DeShawn's best friend Terrell sees it differently. He's looking forward to being accepted by a gang so he can start making some money to get all the things he can't afford. Unfortunately, no matter how hard DeShawn tries to resist, circumstances change and becomes involved with the Disciples. By fifteen life is about becoming daddy's, drugs and guns. And by the time the book ends DeShawn is no longer recognizable as the young boy determined to live a clean life.

This is an eye opening book for anyone not raised in the projects. The drugs, violence, teen pregnancy and poverty are overwhelming to an outsider, even in this book that seems to tone things down so that it's acceptable for the audience intended. You can't help but feel for all the players in this game, where gunshots and death are the norm and where the chance of escaping the drug and gang lifestyle are low. At times the novel sounds preachy, but in the end this book accomplishes what it intends to- opening the eyes of outsiders on to the gritty reality of the urban life. This book is especially appropriate for urban kids who sometime idealize "ghetto" life due to their exposure to rap music.