When I Was the Greatest

Posted on 13 October 2017 by Jason Reynolds

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. Best Read When I Was the Greatest author Jason Reynolds For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Jason Reynolds just slays the voice in this book Slays it As I read the novel, I felt like I was sitting on the stoop right next to Ali as he told the story The plot itself is nothing complicated There are no tricks or twists But the characters are so perfectly crafted, so authentically vivid, that the story grabs hold and never lets go There s a point early in the story where Ali is introducing the reader to Malloy, his boxing trainer As he describes the man s history, his roots so deep Jason Reynolds just slays the voice in...If you are looking for an audiobook that features a diverse group of characters and awesome narrator, this is it When I Was the Greatest was a pleasant surprise for me It was real and honest and made me remember my own childhood It s always nice to be able to see yourself in literature, and since it doesn t happen that often for me, reading this book was like drinking a big cup of nostalgia I totally cracked the biggest grin when Ali mentioned that he had to have a fresh pair of kicks before If you are looking for an audiobook that features a diverse group of characters and awesome narrator, this is it When I Was the Greatest was a pleasant surprise for me It was real and honest and made me remember my own childhood It s always nice to be able to see yourself in literature, and since it doesn t happen that often for me, reading this book was like drinking a big cup of nostalgia I totally cracked the biggest grin when Ali mentioned that he h...I first want to address the cover I have read and heard teachers reviewers mention that this cover is inappropriate for schools and also that it is misleading however, once you read the book, the cover is perfection The cover isn t about violence I think it is about finding a way to be above violence which is what Ali, Noodles, and Needles are trying to do When I Was the Greatest is about Ali Ali lives in Bed Stuy, New York where violence and drugs run rampant however, Ali s focus is hi I first want to address the cover I have read and heard teachers reviewers mention that this cover is inappropriate for schools and also that it is misleading however, once you read the book, the cover is perfection The cover isn t about violence I think it is about finding a way to be above violence which is what Ali, Noodles, and Needles are trying to do Wh...Short Review I saw Jason Reynolds speak at Boston Book Festival and had never heard of him before, but I really liked what he had to say Naturally, I decided I should pick up one of his books from the library and give it a try And I m glad I did, because I really enjoyed this one Some brief thoughts The narration is great I loved Ali s voice, it was very funny and authentic I loved all the other characters, too Every one of them, even the minor characters, had distinct personalities and Short Review I saw Jason Reynolds speak at Boston Book Festival and...Authentic and heartfelt Jason Reynolds is the manClick here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.Jason Reynolds made his debut with this moving story of fifteen year old Ali Brooks, a boy on the cusp of being a man Ali s voice is as authentic as they come He s a character who radiates extreme likability 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 When you one of Doris s kids, you learn early in life that sch Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.Jason Reynolds made his debut with this moving story of fifteen year old Ali Brooks, a boy on the cusp of being a man Ali s voice is as authentic as they come He s a character who radiates extreme likability A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don t really mess ...I had the very fortunate privilege of attending the Simon Teen Blogger Preview during BEA 2013 At the event, authors were interviewed on stage, but were actually asked interesting questions We got cocktails and learned about awesome new books At that event, one author leftof an impression on me and had me immediately rushing to start his book after the event That author was Jason Reynolds He is an author who interviews quite well and from the way he answered the questions, you could k I had the very fortunate privilege of attending the Simon Teen Blogger Preview during BEA 2013 At the event, authors were interviewed on stage, but were actually asked interesting questions We got cocktails and learned about awesome new books At that event, one author leftof an impression on me and had me immediately rushing to start hi...I like this book because it is mostly about boys, their relationships, and friendships It is not a romance Ironically, even though men have such a large voice in the world they seem to have a small voice in teen books, especially when it is not a romance It is also about black American teenagers, who don t show up in teen publishing enough Finally, these black American teen boys are fully actualized, have lots of components to their personalities just like r...Amazing YA novel that takes you into the life, friendship, and commonly uncommon conflicts of being young in Brooklyn Reynolds provides just enough detail for the reader to have a clear panoramic view of the entire community His characters become friends or simply boys from the aro...This falls into the category of teen books that feels unrealistic because the characters get in big trouble something terrible happens as soon as they break the rules In reality, teens can break major rules and push boundaries a number of times before their lives fall apart What I did like about this book was the portrayal of the family Often, the good families on the rough block are churchgoing folks It s refreshing to see a hardworking single mom who doesn t focus her morality around This falls into the category of teen books that feels unrealistic because the characters get in big trouble something terrible happens as soon as they break the rules In reality, teens can break major rules and push boundaries a number of times before their lives fall apart What I did like about this book was the portrayal of the family Often, the good families on the rough block are churchgoing folks It s refreshing to see a hardworking single mom who doesn t focus he...

English
13 October 2017

Jason Reynolds