Flyy Girl
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Named by Essense as One of the 50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years
From NAACP Award–winning author Omar Tyree—the iconic New York Times bestselling coming-of-age novel that follows the original Flyy Girl, Tracy Ellison, from childhood through her teenage years as she navigates friendship, love, and self-discovery in 1980s Philadelphia.
A head-turning young woman with hazel eyes, big hair, and a bold attitude, Tracy Ellison is spoiled, sassy, and eager to grow up. With an appetite for luxury and attention, Tracy spends her days enticing and rejecting the young men in her neighborhood who will do anything for her affection. But with each passing year, the stakes in the game get higher and Tracy realizes how she has put her heart and her life at risk. As she gets older, Tracy reassesses her life, her ambitions, and her identity as she figures out if she has what it takes to transform from a Flyy Girl into a woman of substance.
With a fresh look for a new generation, this timeless tale is filled with unforgettable characters that perfectly capture the excitement and uncertainty of young adulthood. The first in a captivating trilogy that is as fun and relevant to read now as it was back in the day, Flyy Girl is poised to cement its status as an urban classic.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This unremarkable African American coming-of-age story, originally published by a small press in 1993 (as was Tyree's first novel, Capital City), tracks Tracy Ellison from her sixth birthday party in 1977 to her 17th birthday. Tracy grows up in the middle-class Philadelphia suburb of Germantown. The daughter of a pharmacist and a dietitian, she is pretty and intelligent, armed with solid self-esteem and a sassy mouth. Like most of her friends, she's also boy crazy, and readers watch as her physical maturation leads to increasing sexual activity. While experiencing the indulgent, hip-hop 1980s and the insidious effects of the cocaine economy that flourishes in black communities, Tracy must also come to terms with her parents' separation. Tyree captures black language as it is spoken among peers; like Terry Macmillan he uses scatological references without restraint. The conversation of youngsters caught in a highly pressured sexual atmosphere, test-driving their sexuality long before they're old enough for a license, is profane and vivid. The narrative flow is often disrupted by too many italics and slang-defining asides, and by a rocky imbalance between neutral narration and vernacular. The real problem here is a crucial lack of depth; even when Tracy's teenage chatter gives way to some soul-searching questions, the queries themselves and the answers to them are trite and superficial. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
One of my favorites
Period
Great
Read this book in high school and I still love it. My 1st urban novel and I've been hooked ever since! Great read
Great read
I’ve read this book a few times, the first time I was in junior high school and , it’s just been a favorite that I revisit every few years. Well written I’m always captivated .