2024 the best high schools in brooklyn review

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A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this “vivid, satisfying, and ultimately upbeat tale of grief, redemption, and grace” (Kirkus Reviews) from the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award–winning author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. Crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy stuff than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

From the Publisher

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books; Reprint edition (August 16, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1442459514
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1442459519
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL760L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.25 inches
Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Coming of age
Review: I have had this book on my kindle app for years and wow what can I say I am so glad that I have finally found time to read this beautiful gem of a book, It was written so beautiful and I love that with this book it had so much depth and that you were able to relate to all of the characters that were in the book. Now when it comes to Matthew, I felt sorry for him because he had to deal with so much going on an early age, he had to grow up really fast he wasn't able to grief like a normal child are nobody in his situation was supposed to. Because thanks to his father he left him in a situation that he didn't need to be in they both need to grief together but thanks to Matthew father selfish ways he didn't know how to grief on his own either, so he turned to drinking. Which led to Mr. Ray stepping in and becoming a father figure while Matthew father is getting the help that he needs. But while Matthew was going on his own journey allow, I think that by him working at the Funeral home with Mr. Ray was his own therapy in a way because he got to see that he was not alone when it comes to loosing somebody that they love very close. He says that people handle death very death from others so to him this was his therapy because it allows him to coop with his problems of what was going on his is life.But I am glad that he did have his friend Chris in his life because between Mr. Ray and Chris, they kept him going. I like the fact that Matthew told Chris to treat him like he normal don't treat him any different and I think with that with that message it helps Matthew and Chris, Because Now Chris relationship with Matthew got to be a beautiful friendship that Matthew needed because he became short of alive again. Now when it comes to Mr. Ray he was a great positive role model that Matthew needed in his life because to me he was somebody that Matthew didn't know he needed in his life but Mr. Ray had taught him a lot of life lesson in his life. Now on to Renee a.k.a Lovely she was made Matthew feel alive and what so crazy is that what they both didn't know was that they needed each other because they have been through a whole lot in their lives and they got to share it with somebody that understand where they was coming from

Reviewer: S
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good read
Review: I am a Reynolds fan, so I love all his works. I like TBBS, but as a teacher it is more of a book club book or an independent reading book. For me, it doesn't work well as a whole class novel where I am teaching Lit strategies/skills. Reynolds said in a podcast once that authors write to write, they write for the reader not for the teachers to extract this and that (not his exact words). I completely understand that. If your kid is looking for a book that examines how teens deal with grief and finding themselves within it, this is a quick and easy read for that!

Reviewer: Teresa Butt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A great read
Review: The author made the subject of death real, but not in an overwhelming way. It is a great book about life, living it to the fullest and about relationships.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: We all liked how Matt and the others dealt with their losses ...
Review: This was our YA book club selection for May. We actually gave it a 4 1/2 star rating. We all liked how Matt and the others dealt with their losses in their own way and how the people around them let them do that, especially Mr. Ray with Matt. It also showed how not to deal with a loss (Matt's dad) but then he had to after he hurt himself. The characters were wonderful, good and bad, Matt's life in New York was described so we could see it ourselves (the neighborhood and the local bodega), and his relationship with Lovey unfolded in a nice way. We did feel there should have been recipes though 🙂

Reviewer: L-Booknerd
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I Don't Care What Color You Are, Read This Book!!!
Review: I guess that I really connected with this book because of my grief. No one knows what it’s like to lose a parent, or in my case both, until it happens to them. It’s been 2 years and I still cry when I’m alone because I don’t like to do so in front of others. Until you feel that pain, you can’t possibly say that you understand it.Matt is a character that I truly love and respect. Despite his grief, he manages to take care of himself and his dad. He still has moments when he can’t shake the pain of his mother’s death but he deals the best way that he can. Meeting Lovey was the best thing that could happen to him. When you find that person who has been through worse hell than you have, and they seem to be doing just fine, you want to get to that point. Though, making yourself tough to hide the pain is just like a walking straight through the doors of depression. It’s a process, you can’t bottle that up and keep it inside. Lovey shows Matt that it’s all smoke and mirrors when dealing with hard stuff in life. You can grieve, but just don’t let it take over your life. She was so good for him and I found their connection beautiful.This is a wonderfully written book. I think that young adults everywhere should read this book, and just grasp the realness flowing through the pages. It shows you that, no matter what you go through in life, you can rise up and be a great person. Don’t take that dark path into nothingness when there’s more to life than you can possibly imagine. I highly recommend this book!

Reviewer: H. Shaw
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Grief connects us
Review: A really engaging & heartfelt story about the impact of grief on a seventeen year old black young man, his family & friends & his journey to healing. I enjoyed sharing in the character’s narratives. They were very relatable & relevant to concerns of youth today.

Reviewer: Kelly Erskin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: My favorite book so far!
Review: I absolutely love this book! I am a middle school reading teacher and used this book as a read aloud towards the end of the year. It not only captured me, it made such an impact on my reluctant readers. I have not found a book by Jason Reynolds that doesn’t do this to students in the middle grades. Excellent book!

Reviewer: Gracie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: a MUST read!!!
Review: What an incredible, and an incredibly written story---I don't know that I've ever had the courage to deal w/grief the way young Matt Miller has dealt with it. I don't know that its children's literature, as the main character certainly was far more mature than his 17 years, but the lessons he taught are profound, especially with regard to his honesty about looking for some semblance of normal by comparing himself to how others manage loss

Reviewer: L. Unrau
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Jason Reynolds has unbelievable skill. I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started this book but I knew within the first page or two how powerful this would be. If you’re in the headspace where you can read a book about grief and learning to find moments of joy again, I’d highly recommend this to you.

Reviewer: José Pedrosa
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Perfeito como todo livro do autor. É meu segundo livro dele e agora preciso ler todos os livros do mesmo.

Reviewer: MRS C A BENTLEY
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Good book for grandson

Reviewer: Listwriter
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I'm trying to decide what I liked best about this novel. There are three contenders. First, the great, realistic voice. Second, the characters and descriptions. I liked not only the main character Matt, but also Mr Ray, Chris and Lovey, and the realness of the neighborhood Matt lives in. Matt's mom came wonderfully alive in Matt's memory and in the things she wrote down. Finally, like the main character, I've lost my mother too, and this book really touched me. It's a quiet book, and it managed to be about realistically coping with grief and loneliness, but still not be gut wrenchingly sad, but rather uplifting.

Reviewer: Prairie Reader
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Matthew's mother dies. His father copes by drinking himself into oblivion and gets hit by a car resulting in an extended hospital and rehab stay. Matt's neighbour, Mr. Ray, takes him under his wing giving him a job at his funeral home.Matthew fins comfort in attending the funerals watching how the person closest to the deceased reacts at the funeral. Matthew meets Love at her grandmother's funeral and they discover they have many things in common as they explore a new relationship.The story is well-developed as we see how Matthew copes with his grief. Young people will relate to his feelings. Sometimes he feels way older because of what he has experienced and sometimes he feels like such a kid because he doesn't know what to do and doesn't have someone to ask for advice.Jason Reynolds does an excellent job of describing the relationships in this book. From Matt's relationship with his parents, and with Mr. Ray we are able to see the struggle Matt faces growing up. Matt's interactions with his buddy Chris reveal a pretty typical teenager and his relationship with Love, his girlfriend, shows a really great guy! The relationships are not cliché, as Reynolds interweaves events from several characters.Jason Reynolds is going to be around for a long time!