Guided Response Blog

I want to get more in depth on the character Tyrell. Here he is at age 15, and experiencing an unbearable living situation where his mother is depending on him to be a supporter of the family since his father is locked up. He feels the pressure to provide for them seriously weighing out the options of selling drugs. His main concentration is on his 11 year old brother who he believes have a mental problem. He thinks his mother is a screw up and all she does is want to have fun. She couldn’t afford to pay the rent on her own when Tyrell’s father got sent to jail. So they have been in and out of shelters for the past couple of months. Tyrell is fed up and desperate for money all has signs of doing whatever just to make a buck. He finally has a plan to come up on some cash by throwing a party. Tyrell has a sweet girl friend that lies to her mother about him so she can be able to date him. He really don’t like that the fact she is lying to make him sound good so he don’t feel good and is kind of embarrassed. He feels like he’s not good enough for a girl like that. His vision is to take care of Novisha while she attends college and get a degree. They will get married and now he can do all the nasty things he wants to her. Novisha loves Tyrell no matter what he thinks. She is basically honest with him in their relationship and want the best for him. She doesn’t pressure him about school understanding his struggles. She does however do certain things to try to get him back interested in school.

Free Choice Blog Week 3

The book I am reading is called Tyrell. Looking at the cover of the book you can see a young black man with braids behind a New York City background. That’s what caught my eye on first impression. Then I discovered that the author is black as well. Her name is COE Booth, she began writing novels in second grade, and did work with teens and families in crisis. I instantly became interested to read this book and find out his struggles and how he overcomes adversity. Here’s a little about Tyrell, he is 15 going on 16, his father went to jail for what he calls “providing by any means necessary.” His mother struggles to maintain a stable home, he has a 9 year old brother who is a little retarded. Novisha his grilfriend is the joy of his life. She is 14 years old and herself for marriage and Tyrell respects that. Novisha mother feels bad about Tyrell and his whole situation with his family. They both do little things for him that he appreciates at times, but still I believe he is embarassed. Reading through this book I share with Tyrell some of the same struggles he deals with. For instance we both have had parents in jail, we both had to adjust to a totally different lifestyle when the main parent is gone. He often contemplates the fact that they’re broke and homeless. He needs to do something for money to get them out of their horrible situation.