Tyrell ****

Booth, Coe. Tyrell. 2006.

This was a great book but it's not necessarily appopriate for all high school library collections due to some coarse language. While it would be fine in many schools, it may not be ok for some schools that are more conservative.

This novel takes place in NYC. Tyrell is 16 and he is more or less the man of the family. His father is in prison and his mother is unable, or unwilling, to take care of the family. She never wants to find a job and spends her time complaining about how Ty needs to make money to support them. She is irresponsible and often leaves Tyrell's younger brother alone or doesn't supervise him properly. The family has been living in the Projects, but now they can't even live there and are homeless, being shuttled around from shelter to shelter.

Ty is dating Novisha, who goes to Catholic School and is strict about not having sex. Ty meets Jasmine who has had a troubled life and uses sex to get attention. She likes Ty but Ty is committed to Novisha. However, the free sex Jasmine is offering is tempting, especially since Novisha is waiting until she gets married to have sex.

Ty decides to make money by using his father's audio equipment to throw a big party, with him as a DJ. He has to get help from his father's friends and other criminals from the neighborhood, but he doesn't know of any other way to make enough money to get his family into an apartment. The entire time the reader hopes Ty can pull himself together and not get arrested.

Love, Meg ****

Purtill, C. Leigh. Love, Meg. 2007.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book. I enjoyed it a lot. It's about a girl named Meg. She is obsessed with the TV show Friends and Jennifer Aniston. She believes that her and Jen are friends. She writes letters and she writes back. Even though Jen hasn't written back in a few years, Meg keeps writing to her.

Meg lives with her sister in California. Her sister is a mess and they move all over the place, all the time. When Meg discovers that her sister is really her mother, she leaves to go stay with her Grandmother and Uncle, who she didn't know existed. She learns who her father is and tries to find him. Her Grandmother is manipulative and mean. Her Uncle is sick and tired of taking care of his mother and wants to get on with his life. Meg makes a good friend who comes from a nice family, one that shows her what a real loving family is like. This makes her want to find her father even more, so she can be a part of a happy family.

Readers will like Meg. She is a great character and really likable. Highly recommended.