When I Was the Greatest
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4.7 • 38 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, a “funny and rewarding” (Publishers Weekly) coming-of-age novel about friendship and loyalty across neighborhood lines and the hardship of life for an urban teen.
A lot of the stuff that gives my neighborhood a bad name, I don’t really mess with. The guns and drugs and all that, not really my thing.
Nah, not his thing. Ali’s got enough going on, between school and boxing and helping out at home. His best friend Noodles, though. Now there’s a dude looking for trouble—and, somehow, it’s always Ali around to pick up the pieces. But, hey, a guy’s gotta look out for his boys, right? Besides, it’s all small potatoes; it’s not like anyone’s getting hurt.
And then there’s Needles. Needles is Noodles’s brother. He’s got a syndrome, and gets these tics and blurts out the wildest, craziest things. It’s cool, though: everyone on their street knows he doesn’t mean anything by it.
Yeah, it’s cool…until Ali and Noodles and Needles find themselves somewhere they never expected to be…somewhere they never should've been—where the people aren’t so friendly, and even less forgiving.
Customer Reviews
Proud of this young author!
I read this book initially to support a friend however after I read this first chapter I realized I was reading because I was interested. I wanted to see what would happen next, where the story was going, if it's good. And it was better than good it was intriguing and made me reminisce about my own teenage years. I actually want my fifteen year old to read this and I know he will enjoy it! Excellent book!
Meaningful and Relatable
The stories and the characters are not overly intricate, but the force and power with which this is written is compelling. There is a lot of life narrative packed in this book. Friendship, loyalty, forgiveness, and sacrifice are the layers given in this book.