If I Grow Up

by Todd Strasser
Carver County Library hardcover 220 pages
genre: YA realistic, gangs

This was so sad! Strasser again mixes factual information within his fictional story. DeShawn is a good kid growing up in the projects. He sees the drug dealers, prostitutes, violence, and hopelessness. The story is told in short chapters that broke my heart. This is almost a "call to action" for its readers. Poverty and hopelessness are powerful and real. Some students helped me create an audiobook for students who struggle to read. I had to bring it home to finish reading the whole story. So incredibly sad!