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Brother Hood

3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 · rating details · 18 ratings · 2 reviews

Nate Whitely's life at a prestigious prep school in upstate New York takes him far from his Harlem home but not so far as to sever the strong bond he has to his neighborhood. Like his prep school friends, Nate is doing well academically and has his sights set on college. But complications from one life intrude into the other. His childhood friend Hustle won't give up his s...more

Hardcover, 176 pages

Published September 13th 2004 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

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The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

African American Books for Teens

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Jul 18, 2007 Carrie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

In Brother Hood, Janet McDonald tells the modern-day story of Nate, torn between his boarding school friends and the family and friends still home in Harlem. In the very beginning of the book, she makes this obvious when Nate slips into a train station bathroom to change out of his school blazer and into the uniform of his Harlem friends – baggy jeans and a do-rag. His friends from home give him a hard time about attending a prep school full of rich kids, while they work the streets to make mone...more In Brother Hood, Janet McDonald tells the modern-day story of Nate, torn between his boarding school friends and the family and friends still home in Harlem. In the very beginning of the book, she makes this obvious when Nate slips into a train station bathroom to change out of his school blazer and into the uniform of his Harlem friends – baggy jeans and a do-rag. His friends from home give him a hard time about attending a prep school full of rich kids, while they work the streets to make money. His brother is especially troublesome to Nate, as he has dropped out of school, has fathered several children that he cannot support, and seems to constantly be in some sort of trouble. Nate feels guilty that his own achievements have helped to make his brother act out. He is also torn between his feelings for a rich African American girl – Willa – at school and the girl back in Harlem that he has dated for a long time – Shantay.

Nate’s eyes are opened to the double-standards in modern society. He’s treated differently depending on his clothing. Illegal activities happen both at school and home, but it is only the boys from home who get into trouble. When he meets Willa’s parents at Thanksgiving, they do not hide their snobbery and look down on African Americans will less money then they have. Nate is also surprised to learn that his closest friend at school – Spencer – is Jewish but feels the need to hide his religion for fear of discrimination. Nate fears he will lose everything he has worked for when he is arrested.

Nate is lovable, although at times a bit too perfect. Young adult readers will relate to his troubles, though. The rest of the characters are honest, with Hustle being especially endearing despite his criminal efforts. McDonald captures the slang and culture in a true manner, although the multitude of references to clothing labels will risk dating this book fairly quickly. She is able to describe the various settings in the book in a way that helps the reader to understand how opposite Nate’s two lives are, sometimes spending too much time on description that might have been better spent on the story. While the book has some problems, it would work well as a companion piece to New Boy to encourage discussion about where we were as a county 50 years ago and to ask how far have we really come.(less)

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Mar 05, 2008 Calvin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-s-issues

This book is about painful life for Gangsta.

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Jun 29, 2012 Thorn MotherIssues rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

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Shelves: realistic

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Mar 26, 2012 Chelsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-teen, urban, fiction

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Shelves: young-adult-novels

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