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With his father back in prison and his mother refusing to work, 15-year-old Tyrell struggles to keep the family afloat (and out of child protective services) as, evicted from their apartment, they take temporary shelter in a roach-infested Bronx hotel. Tyrell tries to do right, but he doesn't always know just what that is, and his idea of right definitely doesn't always align with popular society’s. Language, plot and tone are realistic. While Tyrell is in a horrible(though not uncommon) situation, this is not a book where absolutely everything that can go wrong, does. Tyrell’s problems will not neatly disappear by the book’s conclusion, but readers may find some hope.

Reviewed by Beck B., Cornelius Branch

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