Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2014
240 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
In Bed Stuy, New York, a small misunderstanding can escalate into having a price on your head - even if you're totally clean. This gritty, triumphant debut captures the heart 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 ticks 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.
"Starred Review. Snappy descriptions (the barbershop is the "black man's country club") and a hard-won ending round out a funny and rewarding read. Ages 12–up." - Publishers Weekly
"The plot, though compelling, takes back seat to [the characters], and what unfolds is a moving and thought-provoking study of the connectivity among a family and friends that plays upon and defies readers' expectations. An author worth watching." - Kirkus
This information about When I Was the Greatest was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where you can often find him walking the four blocks from the train to his apartment talking to himself. Well, not really talking to himself, but just repeating character names and plot lines he thought of on the train, over and over again, because he's afraid he'll forget it all before he gets home. When I Was the Greatest is his debut novel. You can find his ramblings at IAmJasonReynolds.com.
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