Way Past Cool

by Jess Mowry

Book Overview

A gang of young African American boys struggle to hold a few blocks of bleak turf in Oakland when a 16-year-old drug dealer instigates a fight with them. But the dealer's unwilling bodyguard emerges as the key player in a drama that illuminates America's urban reality in a totally fresh way. "Should be read by all of mainstream America".--Terry McMillan, author of Waiting to Exhale.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374286698
• ISBN13: 9780374286699
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

This book is on point!

I read this book when I was 12. I could have been 'Gordon' in this story and this book really spoke to me. I wish I could have been 'Lyon'. I grew up in San Perdo where you hear gunshots all night long. My best friend was killed when he was 13. A 'big' gang was always trying to get us to join them. Drug dealers were always trying to get us to ho for them. The cops treated us like s---. They are the biggest 'gang' of all. This book changed my life. It showed me the whole picture of what all this stupid violence is about. Maybe nobody can write a book that everybody likes and it is supposed to be a 'free' country but I think that the 'Kirkus Review' of this book is stupid and the 'Reader from planet earth' must really live on the moon. He or she should look up words like 'pretentious' and 'over written' in a dictionary before trying to use them. And Kirkus should know better then to try and compare a book to a movie if they are supposed to be so professional. This is just the opinion of one kid from tha hood but this book is on point and I am very thankful that Jess Mowry wrote it. It has helped me in my life and I think it has probably helped a lot of other kids in all colors too. It's always good to know that somebody understands what coming up is like for kids like us. Thank you.

A great book, a good read, and a much appreciated gift.

After thirty-something years of teaching African-American Literature (and having survived my "mid-life crisis" many years ago) I'm afraid I must disagree with the reader from "Planet Earth". It is not so much that I like this book, but rather that my kids all seem to like it that impresses me most. This shouldn't be surprising as, to the best of my knowledge and research, Jess Mowry wrote this book for the same children it is about. It should be remembered that the book was written in the early 1990's, and what was "hip" then as far as language and expressions is now history. But I suppose this is one of the risks any author must take when writing for kids. The positive message is there, the story is there, the excitement, the color, the life is there, and they are timeless. Common sense would dictate that the more widely read a book is, the more likely it is to have critics. However, it has been my experience that people are generally more apt to write negative letters (or book reviews) than positive ones. Many people are much quicker to critisise than to praise. I find much more "praise" for this book than critisism, and I feel that speaks for itself. I like this book, I teach from this book each year, and even though I give my students a choice of books, most of them read Way Past Cool, and most of them seem to like it. Of course no author can please every reader, nor should any author try to.

Way Past Cool

This book is about one gang, the friends, and their lives trying not to get in trouble (or shot), and dealing with the bad public image black kids have. There is a lot of language, and some violence, but it seems pretty realistic. It kind of gets your attention. This deals with gang activity and peer pressure. Recommended for 8th through the 11th grades and perhaps for the teachers, as well.

This is a beautiful book

This is a poetic, moving and extremely suspenseful story! I was amazed at how even violence and decay were rendered so beautifully in his words. Don't listen to that Kirkus review - this book rocks!

A page-turner

Way Past Cool is a good story...even if it is sad in places, it is predominantly moving and hopeful. It reminds me that no matter how they may look on the outside a child is a child.