ARC (Advance Reading Copy). Published April 23, 2013. Amistad (Harper Collins). 201 pp.
Darius and Twig are best friends. Life in Harlem is tough for young black high schoolers like themselves, but they feel their lives should be different from what they witness everyday in the streets of their neighborhood. They don’t want to be gangbangers, and are tired of the street violence which results in unnecessary deaths and a revolving door into and out of prison.
Darius wants to be a writer, and dreams of getting a college scholarship from his writing which will enable him to soar high above everyone like the falcon featured in his imaginative stories of himself. Twig is an amazingly fast runner, hoping his feet can be his ticket to a scholarship out of town yet constantly afraid of leaving his family behind if he makes it to college.
Despite bullies and the twists life throws at them, Darius and Twig keep their eyes on the prize seeking to find lights at the ends of their respective tunnels. Readers, especially boys aged 12 and older, will feel a shot of adrenaline and hope for themselves through reading about these young men and their mature-for-their-age decisions.
You Decide: Should I Read it or Not? 