Megan Williams
10/30/2008
Independent Reading Project


For my Independent Reading Project I did the book “Tyrell”, Coe Booth. This book takes places in the South Bronx, New York. Tyrell is an urban teenager and his family is falling apart. Recently his father went to jail, leaving him, his mother, and little brother to manage. As time went on Tyrell mother couldn’t make it. They were force out of their current apartment in to shelters. For the last couple of months Tyrell and his family had been go More...

In sharp contrast to Walter Dean Myers's novels, Booth's novel is laced with the language, actions, and reactions of inner-city life of the South Bronx. The novel is loaded with street slang and profanity, drugs and alcohol, blowjobs and prostitutes, as well as families wrecked by selfish parents. Through it all, Tyrell's trying — as Pony Boy did in The Outsiders forty year ago — to stay gold. The book starts with Tyrell, his little brother, and his ineffectual mother shipped off to a roach-infe More...

omg!now i am finally finished reading this book.It was so good.I loved reading this books mostly out of all of the books I read.I would definetly recommend this book.

An amazing debut by Coe Booth. She has created what seems to me a protagonist (Tyrell) with street cred, sensitivity, and major cools. He's also a terrific big brother, a budding entrepreneur, and in a committed relationship with his girlfriend, Novisha. All of which diesn't take into account the fact that he's homeless and forced, at age 16, to assume the head of household duties while his father is in jail and his mother has issues with responsibility, welfare fraud, and holding down a job. Sh More...

So I'm a white middle class liberal. I'm supposed to like Tyrell, right? You know, because it gives me perspective and awarness of what it's like to be black and poor. And I'm now supposed to say things like, "I know how hard they have it. I need to do something to help them." But saying "they" and "them" would make me racist. And to be honest, isn't the whole book about Tyrell working his ass off to help himself to pull himself out of the situation he's in? He may be poor, but he's working real More...

Tyrell is an awesome read. Something about seeing profanity in the first sentence made me realize that this book would be an awesome read. Tyrell tells an honest story of a 15 year old African American, surviving in poverty and homelessness. It deals with morality, family, relationships, gender issues and a variety of other issues individuals. It's amazing how much can happen in just one week. High School aged young adults can learn a great deal from this book regardless of social status.

This book may look really intresting but it even looks it. This book changed my perspective on life. Also it may just have the back of a boy's head but look's can be deceving. This book is just like real life in the Projects. Tyrell is a boy trying to take care of his mom and brother Trey. Trey is in special edd and he needs help and his mom does not take good care of him. Tyrell also has a girlfriend and he is trying to keep her and not loose her, but theris this other girl that likes him and i More...

this book is really gud datsz all i can say like u hve 2 read this book u will like it 2 trust me...

I would recommend Tyrell to anyone who thinks they have a rough life. Tyrell is without a doubt one of the only characters in a book I have sympathy for. To anyone who thinks life is unfair. This is a great example of how bad things can get for people and anyone who believes there life is unbearable. I want say that Regg is my favorite because I can relate to him the most. I understand what its like to be a big guy and I’m great with numbers to. My least favorite is Tyrell’s mom. She is so irrit More...

If i would rank this book from one to five i would choose five.This is a really unperdictable book.I really dont like to read but,when i started to read this i didnt but it down.It has you woundeing whats going to happen next,because there is so much stuff that is going on.I understood every thing in the book,as if i was there.

The best part of this book is when tyrell throw a party.Tyrell needs money,so he decided to gets dads equiptment and thows a party so he can make some cash.I think this More...

I rated this book a five cause it has good detail and ti talkes about a teenager who is straging in life so tyrell has to come up with a plan to get some money. the best part of the book is when tyrell is throwing a party and a bunch of people come to dance and drink but to get in there is a charge.
tyrell charges five dollars to get in and contiues o with the party and keeps making money. his friend cal helped with the party but was not there cause he is going to be a father so cal left tyrell More...

What keep me reading Tyrell was in every, chapter there was something interesting happening good or bad to Tyrell and the suspense to find out what was going to happen next to him was unbearable. One of my favorite characters in the book was the main character Tyrell. Through all of his struggles he did everything he could to protect his brother and mother, and to make sure they had something to eat when the day was over. While I was reading I was not able to predict what was going to happen nex More...

This was an easy read and it will be easy to recommend to a teen, and most definitely a teen - not younger.

At just 15, Tyrell is head of his household. His dad is in jail and his mom (who does have her moments) is less a parent and more a bitchy, spoiled brat. Tyrell is hustlin' and working all kinds of angles to get his family out of the roach-infested motel they're in and into an apartment. He's trying to be the man his father was - minus the going to jail part.

But, he is a child. And, like a More...

This book was amazaming i was about to get real into the book because it was just a good storyline. I like how the author gives each character a certain story, and i also like how each characters life story can connect to each other. Like how Tyrell and Jasmine are both homeless and have to live in shelters together.

I like how the story goes throughout the book and i also like how the author Coe Booth uses the bad language in the book it gives me a better understanding on whats going on or how More...

The story to me had the perfect outline between, the life of this kid which his name if Tyrell Green. What is really is showing how hard it can, be to be a African American whose dad went to jail, three times and mother who will not get a job to, take care of herself and her two sons. Also just a girlfriend who cant find the good in Tyrell but mostly, focused on how her friends feel and how he's struggling and and hows he, not in school even all he really wants is just to take care of her and lo More...

I read Tyrell's books out of order, and I'm sad about that. This book really does give us a young man struggling to balance so many threads of his life. It adds to my understanding of the Tyrell I first met in BRONXWOOD. The two books take place within a year...this one in the winter, and the next one the following summer. That one young boy with Tyrell's promise has had to survive this year shows his strength.

Tyrell's father is in jail...again. Every time he gets out of jail, he goes right back More...

I read this book Tyrell for my English best seller’s class. This book hit what I would call a middle ground for myself I understood the plot and the story behind it, but I think there was a bit too much dramatization. It seemed as though the author was just doing that for the excitement of it and this caused confusion in the plot. The other thing is that it was hard for me to read fast enough because the book was written in slang; my reading did improve as I went on, but it gave the book a very More...

Imagine being a 15 year old taking care of your little brother, your mom, and yourself. In the novel Tyrell, by Coe Booth, Tyrell is forced to take the responsibilities of an adult. Since his father was sent to prison, his mother is lazy and unemployed, and they have no source of money. His mom, brother, and him get evicted from their apartment, due to the fact that his dad was sent to prison. Tyrell has all these things on his back. Through all this he also has a girlfriend named Novisha, and a More...

Kimberly Rodriguez
April 2012
Tyrell
Coe Booth


April Book Review :



The main character is Tyrell he is a man even tho he is 16 who has a hard life. His dad is in jail again and it's hard on his family. He is living in a filthy shelter filled with bugs with his little brother Troy and mom. He has a girlfriend Named Novisha and she is a smart girl that is beautiful but then he meets this other girl names jasmine and he likes her he finds out novisha wants to go to college far away and he dropped out of More...

Tyrell is written by Coe Booth and it is set in the projects. The mind state of Tyrell is of a grown man even though he's only 16.He has to be the father of his brother while his father is in jail. He is trying to do the right thing by his brother, but his mother is always blaming him for stuff she did. If she was to learn how to be responsible for her own actions, then they would not have to be at Bennett. Where their living with a lot of roaches all over the place. They have to live by jumping More...

Tyrell is heavy on plot but not much else. Coe Booth sets up several potential themes but lets each one fizzle. There is no redemption for the characters, no catharsis for the readers. A lot of good has been said about this novel--that it is highly engaging, especially for reluctant readers, and that it is highly authentic--but I'm surprised it hasn't received more criticism for its presentation of young manhood (similar to the criticism the Twilight series gets for its presentation of young wom More...

This book had many emotions such as: excitement, feeling sorry, loneness, sad, happy, and the no’s it had many feelings. It was a very good book. My favorite line from Tyrell was when he told the people from the party that,” I don’t have one scratch on me!” and there’s another one where he goes, “now tell me you aren’t going to take any of my stuff anymore less you ask me first.” I like that line because it reminds me when I use to tell my little brother the same thing. The part of the book that More...

Lyrics that relate to this book are these lyrics I am about to post. I'm not afraid to take a stand
Everybody come take my hand
We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just let you know that, you're not alone
Holla if you feel that you've been down the same road

(Intro)

Yeah, It's been a ride...
I guess I had to go to that place to get to this one
Now some of you might still be in that place
If you're trying to get out, just follow me
I'll get you there

(Verse 1)

You More...

Nora's Review: Tyrell is fifteen, and he is homeless. His dad is in prison and his mom acts like a teenager. His little brother Troy is a neglected victim of adults acting stupid, and Tyrell seems to be the only one who cares. Tyrell is put into a position where he is expected to be the man of the family by selling drugs in order to get out of the roach motel provided by city services.

Tyrell decides to throw a big illegal party to raise money instead, rationalizing that throwing a party (which i More...

Sixteen year old Tyrell is struggling to keep his family aloat and intact. His father is in jail, his mother does not work, and his seven-year-old brother Troy is in Special Education for the monthly SSI check. With Tyrell’s father in jail, the family is homeless and depending on the New York City Emergency Assistance Unit to find them space in the shelter system. A major snowstorm traps the family in the dirtiest, most roach infested motels in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. School is the la More...

Tyrell is the story of a 15 year old boy living in the Bronx. His father is imprisoned for the third time and Tyrell finds himself struggling to take care of his family which includes his mother and 7 year old brother Troy. Tyrell is also coming to terms with living in Bennett which is a motel for people on public assistance and with no other place to live. Tyrell is struggling to be a grown up before his time and deal with the pressures placed on him by his family and himself. All the people ar More...

Coe Booth gives a realistic voice to the 15 year old Tyrell that I think other teens would appreciate when reading this book. The narrative keeps a good pace, written in the character's dialect, that would keep readers invested in the story. The hardships that Tyrell, Troy and Jasmine have to deal with are intense, but not unique, and are written about in a genuine voice; nothing is contrived which could cause a reader to find it disingenuous. This is probably due to Booth's work experiences wit More...

This books is about a boy name Tyrell that goes through hard times with his family in the Bronx. Tyrell's father is in jail so it is just him his mother and his little brother. Since tyrell's mother wasn't working when his father wasn't in jail, she was not supporting the family, the father was. So when he went to jail she could not support the family because she did not have a job and she could not find a job because she was a crackhead. The family could not pay for their 3 month rent so their More...

I would recommend this book to one of my guy friends, because him and Tyrell have similar problems. Because he has done the same thing Tyrell and jasmine did he felt so bad that he couldn’t even look at his girlfriend.
My least character was Tyrell’s mom because she’s always in a bad mood and she really don’t care about anything or anybody else. And she really just take care of herself.
When I first started reading this book I felt good about it put as I kept reading the book got kind of sad. and More...

Tyrell
My favorite line of the book is: “He got his arms around her waist, and one of his hands are on her ass, I swear. Damn. They got him in special ed, but Troy know what he doing.” That’s one of my favorite lines of the book because it is really funny. My favorite character is Tyrell, he’s my favorite because he just speaks his mind and he is real caring for others .My least favorite character is Tyrell’s mom and that’s because she is mean and she thinks she knows it all when she really doesn More...