I didn't feel this was one of Curtis' better works. However, I did like that this book takes a modern take on African American society, as it tells a story revealing the cycle that many students in the projects face. And, there was alot of entertaining humor in it. Also, although some of curtis' book are great for 5th graders, I found this book would be somewhat inappropriate for elementray students as it discusses condoms and implies scenes of masterbation. Better to stick with middle school and up.