You Don't Even Know Me: Stories and Poems About Boys - Softcover

Flake, Sharon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1423100174 ISBN 13: 9781423100171

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011

Synopsis

In 9 stories and 15 poems, Sharon G. Flake provides insight into the minds of a diverse group adolescent African American males. There's Tow-Kaye, getting married at age 16 to love of his life, who's pregnant. He knows it's the right thing to do, but he's scared to death. James writes in his diary about his twin brother's terrible secret, which threatens to pull James down, too. Tyler explains what it's like to be a player with the ladies. In a letter to his uncle, La'Ron confesses that he's infected with HIV. Eric takes us on a tour of North Philly on the Fourth of July, when the heat could make a guy go crazy. Still, he loves his hood. These and other unforgettable characters come to life in this collection of urban male voices. Sharon's G. Flake's talent for telling it like it is will leave readers thinking differently, feeling deeply, and definitely wanting more.

About this title

About the Author:

Sharon G. Flake (www.sharongflake.com) won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for her first novel The Skin I'm In and is a two-time Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book winner. Beloved by children and adults, critics and booksellers, librarians and teachers, she is the author of a middle-grade novel and five books for young adults that have sold more than half a million copies. Ms. Flake writes full-time from her home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 8 Up—Ten portraits interspersed with poetry draw readers into the lives of a variety of African-American teens. In "Getting Even," a boy copes with his grandfather's death and the desire to find who killed him. Jeffery, 16, gets thrown out of his Auntie's house with nowhere to go. Eric goes against his dad's command to stay home with his siblings and instead finds a girl, some fun, and some trouble; Justin writes in his journal about death, suicide, and sexual abuse. La'Ron is too afraid to tell his father he is HIV positive, so he writes him a letter, and his father writes back. The concluding story, "Pretty Mothers Are a Problem," is a chilling portrait of 15-year-old Jeffrey, seduced by a neighbor, and the devastation faced by her daughter. These complex and thought-provoking stories won't disappoint.—Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, Oakland, CA
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1423100174
• ISBN 13: 9781423100171
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208