Ghetto Cowboy

I'd never heard of Greg Neri until I moved to Tampa Bay.
Truthfully, maybe a lot of people hadn't heard about his books then. He was just beginning to be published. But Greg became a big advocate for the Tampa Bay writing community. Workshops, support, encouragement--he did it all. And he did it while writing, learning, and working hard to publish his first book.

Before I really knew who "G. Neri" was, this book really touched me. I reviewed GHETTO COWBOY for the Christian Science Monitor. 
You can read my review HERE.

Now one of my absolute favorite actors has joined the team to make GHETTO COWBOY into a movie. IDRIS ELBA! (Yes, that would be Luther of TV fame, among a lot of other fabulous roles.)

Here's the link about the movie: https://variety.com/2018/film/news/idris-elba-ghetto-cowboy-1202900133/ 

And the cover of the book, in case you somehow don't know it. It's a quick read and a perfect discussion about so many things.

(All my Philadelphia friends and family are going to love this one!)

My First Graphic Novel Review

For those of you who might not know what a graphic novel is, think comic book with a real story. It's a fairly new, extremely popular genre right now. Most libraries and bookstores devote at least a few shelves to the books.

But when I was sent G. Neri's new graphic novel YUMMY: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by the publicist, I was conflicted. I don't like to review books without understanding them completely. All I could think was how can I ever find anything to say about this book? What do I know about graphic novels? The last time I picked up a comic book I was 12...I don't understand the whole form.

Then I opened Yummy.
Wow.

First of all, there's the story. It really will break your heart. Based on a Chicago street kid who accidentally killed a young girl in the neighborhood, the event made the cover of Time magazine.The black and white illustrations move the action along, yet give readers space to breathe. The introduction of a conflicted, 11-year-old boy narrator who wonders how this could happen to a sweet kid like Yummy (He sleeps with his teddy bear, loves cookies and candy bars- thus the nickname) was a stroke of Neri genius (he's had a bunch of those genius moves- I totally loved Chess Rumble, an earlier book).

Yummy will be a perfect discussion starter, in homes, in schools- anywhere kids or adults gather to wonder what's going on with all the violence in our society. The book is a great jumping-off place for talking about all the headlines, the TV news, the awful things that make us shake our heads and wonder How Did This Happen?

Just an amazing book. I can't get it out of my head.

Here's the book trailer:

Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty from Greg Neri on Vimeo.

Writing Quote of the Day

"A story knows what it wants to be...
Your job is to step back and let the characters become real."

G. Neri, St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading
October, 2009


Related posts: Boys Love Books
Quote for the Day

Surf Mules

Powerful new YA novel from local writer, G. Neri. Check out my review coming up in Sunday's St. Petersburg Times.


Neri's a writer who's on a mission to get boys interested in books. Read my former posting to see how he's doing that.