When I Was the Greatest

By: and

Synopsis
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 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.

Copyright:
2014

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9781442459496
Related ISBNs:
9781442459489
Publisher:
ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Jason Reynolds, Michael Frost
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Children's Books, Health, Mind and Body, Literature and Fiction
Grade Levels:
Seventh grade
Reading Age:
12 and up
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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