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Green
"This isn't some Jedi bull****; the force I'm talking about is real, and its energies are everywhere, working on everyone."
Boston, 1992. David Greenfeld is one of the few white kids at the Martin Luther King Middle School. Everybody clowns him, girls ignore him, and his hippie parents won't even buy him a pair of Nikes, let alone transfer him to a private school. Unless he tests into the city's best public high school--which, if practice tests are any indication, isn't likely--he'll be friendless for the foreseeable future.
Nobody's more surprised than Dave when Marlon Wellings sticks up for him in the school cafeteria. Mar's a loner from the public housing project on the corner of Dave's own gentrifying block, and he confounds Dave's assumptions about black culture: He's nerdy and neurotic, a Celtics obsessive whose favorite player is the gawky, white Larry Bird. Together, the two boys are able to resist the contradictory personas forced on them by the outside world, and before long, Mar's coming over to Dave's house every afternoon to watch vintage basketball tapes and plot their hustle to Harvard. But as Dave welcomes his new best friend into his world, he realizes how little he knows about Mar's. Cracks gradually form in their relationship, and Dave starts to become aware of the breaks he's been given--and that Mar has not.
Boston, 1992. David Greenfeld is one of the few white kids at the Martin Luther King Middle School. Everybody clowns him, girls ignore him, and his hippie parents won't even buy him a pair of Nikes, let alone transfer him to a private school. Unless he tests into the city's best public high school--which, if practice tests are any indication, isn't likely--he'll be friendless for the foreseeable future.
Nobody's more surprised than Dave when Marlon Wellings sticks up for him in the school cafeteria. Mar's a loner from the public housing project on the corner of Dave's own gentrifying block, and he confounds Dave's assumptions about black culture: He's nerdy and neurotic, a Celtics obsessive whose favorite player is the gawky, white Larry Bird. Together, the two boys are able to resist the contradictory personas forced on them by the outside world, and before long, Mar's coming over to Dave's house every afternoon to watch vintage basketball tapes and plot their hustle to Harvard. But as Dave welcomes his new best friend into his world, he realizes how little he knows about Mar's. Cracks gradually form in their relationship, and Dave starts to become aware of the breaks he's been given--and that Mar has not.
301 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 2018
About the author
Sam Graham-Felsen
1 book44 followersWriter based in Brooklyn. Author of the novel, GREEN (Random House, Jan 2018). Former chief blogger for Barack Obama.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
February 12, 2020
See my EXCLUSIVE interview with the author, Sam Graham-Felsen here!
I will be surrounded by dudes like this for the rest of my life. White boys and white girls who grew up behind whitewashed fences, who grew up with no idea, for the rest of my life. The force preordained it: Not only will I be surrounded by them, I will become one of them, the thing I hate and can’t escape. Not a white boy or a whitey or a white b*tch, but a white person.
If you’re looking for a way to start your new year out right, Green is absolutely the way to go. Prepare yourself to be transported by a distinctive voice and a story line that screams with authenticity. More than authentic—it was one that mirrored what middle school was like for me in the 90s: the same cliques, the same typecasts, the same social rules. This novel transported me back to those days, back to those vibrations in the air, to that slang on our tongues, to those priorities in our pre-teen minds and to those questions that plagued our thoughts night and day about the world around us and our place in it.
Picture it (in my Estelle Getty voice): Boston, 1992.
David Greenfeld is one of the only white sixth graders at Martin Luther King Middle School—the “ghetto” school—with no friends, no cool points, and no chance at getting a girl. His Harvard-educated, politically correct, granola parents don’t understand his pleas to be removed from the school, and there seems to be no end to the social torture in sight. Until. He meets Marlon Wellings, an ultra-smart, Boston Celtics-obsessed, black kid from the projects across the street whose street smarts start to rub off on Dave and who’s life in the hood and drive to get out of it spark questions in Dave’s mind he’s never contemplated before.
In Green, Sam Graham-Felsen gives us a fresh look at the merging of two cultures, literally painting it is a physical intersection of neighborhoods as well as of cultural mores and rules. I couldn’t help but remember another book I’ve reviewed recently that was also a coming-of-age story with a jumping off point from the ’92 L.A. riots—and all the while, I marveled at how much better this story was told, at how much more the voice and experiences rang true. Graham-Felsen brought these characters to life on the page. He gave them hopes and made them my hopes. He made them fall, and I felt the blow myself. And he made them fail, as we all do in life sometimes. It is in those moments that this novel’s heart is most evident and that its impact slammed into me the hardest.
Through Dave and Marlon, Graham-Felsen explores the color line through the eyes of adolescents still finding themselves amidst the chaos of race relations. What really set this novel apart for me is that he gave us the perspective of the white side of the fence, while still being true to both stories, to both cultures.
In school the next day, Ms. Ansley shows us another installment of this long, made-for-TV movie we’ve been watching called Roots. When she introduced it, she said we needed to know our history, especially after what happened in L.A…I hear people shifting in their chairs. The violence is one thing: We all know the wounds are just makeup, the whip’s just a prop, the loud crack’s only a sound effect. But the n-word is different. Even if it’s just acting, it’s still the real n-word. I’ve heard it ten thousand times…but always with the soft ending. Hearing it with the hard er …makes my face muscles clench up even thinking about it. All that evil, all that power, packed into two tiny syllables.
Then, we have ‘the force.’
As their school year progresses and confrontations are had, as Dave’s belief in religion is explored and his cross into cultures and upbringings other than his own changes his outlook on his surroundings, he begins to ponder the idea of ‘the force,’ his interpretation of race relations around him. He sees it everywhere. It peppers his every interaction with the world around him, and jolts him out of adolescence and into a more adult mindset:
It seemed like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston, like they were looking for their own Reginald Denny, because as far as I could tell they stepped for no other reason than the fact that I was white. But as I ran away…I began to wonder if maybe I was looking at them the wrong way, the same way I must have stared at the TV screen when those dudes bundled Denny—a shook and boggled look that said, You are predators—and maybe that made them want to treat me like prey. All summer, I tried to deny the force, but I felt it every time I got checked on my way past the Shaw Homes...And I felt ashamed of that…and yeah, I’ve been feeling ashamed that the force has been with me, pretty much nonstop…
Green was an entertaining read and one that provoked thought. There were moments when I laughed out loud and, yes, even a moment when I cried. There’s something for everyone within these pages, because we all know at least one of these characters, from the granola do-gooders to that kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Here’s your chance now to get glimpse into their world. I wouldn’t be saying enough to say that I highly recommend this book for readers of all sizes, colors and creeds who are ready to open their minds and their outlooks. I even recommend it for all ages, because the cultural boundaries explored within Green are real and not to be ignored. The tragedies of everyday life surrounding us are real and not to be downplayed. And the line between the haves and the have nots, the clueless and the culturally aware, the predators and the prey is real and should never, ever be doubted. 4.5 stars. *****
*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Random House, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
FOLLOW ME HERE:
Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Get a Copy of My Book | Book Editing, Author Coaching, Submit Your Book to Me
Exclusive SAM GRAHAM-FELSEN INTERVIEW: A Voice for America: Sam Graham-Felsen Speaks Candidly On Reflecting the Turbulence of American Culture Through the Eyes of Middle Schoolers
I will be surrounded by dudes like this for the rest of my life. White boys and white girls who grew up behind whitewashed fences, who grew up with no idea, for the rest of my life. The force preordained it: Not only will I be surrounded by them, I will become one of them, the thing I hate and can’t escape. Not a white boy or a whitey or a white b*tch, but a white person.
If you’re looking for a way to start your new year out right, Green is absolutely the way to go. Prepare yourself to be transported by a distinctive voice and a story line that screams with authenticity. More than authentic—it was one that mirrored what middle school was like for me in the 90s: the same cliques, the same typecasts, the same social rules. This novel transported me back to those days, back to those vibrations in the air, to that slang on our tongues, to those priorities in our pre-teen minds and to those questions that plagued our thoughts night and day about the world around us and our place in it.
Picture it (in my Estelle Getty voice): Boston, 1992.
David Greenfeld is one of the only white sixth graders at Martin Luther King Middle School—the “ghetto” school—with no friends, no cool points, and no chance at getting a girl. His Harvard-educated, politically correct, granola parents don’t understand his pleas to be removed from the school, and there seems to be no end to the social torture in sight. Until. He meets Marlon Wellings, an ultra-smart, Boston Celtics-obsessed, black kid from the projects across the street whose street smarts start to rub off on Dave and who’s life in the hood and drive to get out of it spark questions in Dave’s mind he’s never contemplated before.
In Green, Sam Graham-Felsen gives us a fresh look at the merging of two cultures, literally painting it is a physical intersection of neighborhoods as well as of cultural mores and rules. I couldn’t help but remember another book I’ve reviewed recently that was also a coming-of-age story with a jumping off point from the ’92 L.A. riots—and all the while, I marveled at how much better this story was told, at how much more the voice and experiences rang true. Graham-Felsen brought these characters to life on the page. He gave them hopes and made them my hopes. He made them fall, and I felt the blow myself. And he made them fail, as we all do in life sometimes. It is in those moments that this novel’s heart is most evident and that its impact slammed into me the hardest.
Through Dave and Marlon, Graham-Felsen explores the color line through the eyes of adolescents still finding themselves amidst the chaos of race relations. What really set this novel apart for me is that he gave us the perspective of the white side of the fence, while still being true to both stories, to both cultures.
In school the next day, Ms. Ansley shows us another installment of this long, made-for-TV movie we’ve been watching called Roots. When she introduced it, she said we needed to know our history, especially after what happened in L.A…I hear people shifting in their chairs. The violence is one thing: We all know the wounds are just makeup, the whip’s just a prop, the loud crack’s only a sound effect. But the n-word is different. Even if it’s just acting, it’s still the real n-word. I’ve heard it ten thousand times…but always with the soft ending. Hearing it with the hard er …makes my face muscles clench up even thinking about it. All that evil, all that power, packed into two tiny syllables.
Then, we have ‘the force.’
As their school year progresses and confrontations are had, as Dave’s belief in religion is explored and his cross into cultures and upbringings other than his own changes his outlook on his surroundings, he begins to ponder the idea of ‘the force,’ his interpretation of race relations around him. He sees it everywhere. It peppers his every interaction with the world around him, and jolts him out of adolescence and into a more adult mindset:
It seemed like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston, like they were looking for their own Reginald Denny, because as far as I could tell they stepped for no other reason than the fact that I was white. But as I ran away…I began to wonder if maybe I was looking at them the wrong way, the same way I must have stared at the TV screen when those dudes bundled Denny—a shook and boggled look that said, You are predators—and maybe that made them want to treat me like prey. All summer, I tried to deny the force, but I felt it every time I got checked on my way past the Shaw Homes...And I felt ashamed of that…and yeah, I’ve been feeling ashamed that the force has been with me, pretty much nonstop…
Green was an entertaining read and one that provoked thought. There were moments when I laughed out loud and, yes, even a moment when I cried. There’s something for everyone within these pages, because we all know at least one of these characters, from the granola do-gooders to that kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Here’s your chance now to get glimpse into their world. I wouldn’t be saying enough to say that I highly recommend this book for readers of all sizes, colors and creeds who are ready to open their minds and their outlooks. I even recommend it for all ages, because the cultural boundaries explored within Green are real and not to be ignored. The tragedies of everyday life surrounding us are real and not to be downplayed. And the line between the haves and the have nots, the clueless and the culturally aware, the predators and the prey is real and should never, ever be doubted. 4.5 stars. *****
*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher, Random House, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
FOLLOW ME HERE:
Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Get a Copy of My Book | Book Editing, Author Coaching, Submit Your Book to Me
Exclusive SAM GRAHAM-FELSEN INTERVIEW: A Voice for America: Sam Graham-Felsen Speaks Candidly On Reflecting the Turbulence of American Culture Through the Eyes of Middle Schoolers
November 29, 2017
I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars.
"I am the white boy at the Martin Luther King Middle. Well, one of two. Kev, my oldest friend and the biggest dick I know, is the other. But if you had to pick just one, it'd be me. There are a few other white kids in the system (unless you count Boston Latin as a public school, which you shouldn't), and I pretty much know all of them."
Dave Greenfeld (aka "Green") is starting the sixth grade in Boston in 1992. His "hippie parents" have no interest in the latest fashion trends or really any of the status symbols that would ease his transition into middle school—they'd rather buy his clothes at thrift shops, and don't see the need to spend money on fancy sneakers, even if no one else would be caught dead in year-old Filas. He wishes his parents would just send him to private school, like they do his troubled younger brother, Benno.
Middle school starts pretty much the same way elementary school ended for Dave—the girls pretty much ignore him, and he gets bullied by kids of all races. Even Kev, his oldest friend, would rather avoid him and hang out with the cooler kids. Avoiding bullies and being friendless seems to be Dave's destiny, unless he aces the placement test that will guarantee him a spot at Boston Latin, the best public high school in the city. If you get into Latin, you're going to college, guaranteed.
One day, Dave is surprised when one of his fellow classmates, Marlon Wellings, stands up for him. Marlon lives with his grandmother in the public housing projects down the street from Dave's house. But Marlon is far from the stereotypical "projects kid": he is driven by his ambition to get into Latin, he steers clear of those who want to draw him into their gangs or their trouble, and he's obsessed with the Boston Celtics, especially his favorite player, Larry Bird.
Mar and Dave become fast friends, and they spend their time hanging out at Dave's house, watching vintage Celtics games (Mar has them all on videotape), playing "nasketball," a game Dave made up involving a trampoline, and listening to Mar's obsession with doing well on the Latin placement test. Dave envies Mar's devotion to his church (Dave was raised a "secular Jew," although his family doesn't observe any religion, which is a frustration to his paternal grandfather, whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust), his fascination with going to Harvard some day, and the way he doesn't seem to let anything bother him, yet Dave knows he has issues of his own.
But when Mar is not around, Dave is still being bullied, and confronting the violence that breeds in the urban community in which he lives, as well as among his own classmates. He becomes more and more desperate for his parents to put him in private school because he doesn't think he'll be able to do well enough on the Latin placement test to escape his school, but his parents would rather just report Dave's problems to the principal, making him even more a target. He's afraid to stand up for himself, let alone his friends, like Mar.
As Mar begins experiencing problems of his own, problems he doesn't want to discuss with Dave, Dave realizes that there are differences between the two of them that they keep running into. He never really thought he was actually luckier than his friend, and doesn't quite understand the struggles that Mar faces, snap judgments from people that don't even know him. But little by little, those differences strain their relationship, causing both of them to act in ways they never imagined they would.
Green is an insightful, thought-provoking coming-of-age novel which deals with some significant issues without being overly heavy-handed. Sam Graham-Felsen, in his debut novel, provides interesting, and at times poignant, commentary about racial and cultural differences, and how they can strain a friendship. He has also created a fascinating, flawed narrator in Dave, who at times seems much older than his age, and at times reminds you that you're listening to life filtered through the eyes of a sixth-grader.
I enjoyed this book but thought the pacing was a little slow, and the same things seemed to happen a few times before the plot advanced. There were a few plot threads that never really got resolved, particularly why Benno refused to speak for more than a year, and there were veiled references to tragedies within Dave's father's family that never were addressed. Why allude to things that you're not willing to wrap them up?
One warning: there's a good amount of attention given to Dave's burgeoning hormones and his increasing obsession with masturbation, so this could make you uncomfortable.
Much like the main character himself, Green is imperfect but tremendously engaging. Sam Graham-Felsen has created a refreshing new narrator with a fascinating and moving perspective on growing up in the midst of racial and cultural tensions. It's a surprisingly timely book, even though it takes place in 1992.
NetGalley and Random House provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
"I am the white boy at the Martin Luther King Middle. Well, one of two. Kev, my oldest friend and the biggest dick I know, is the other. But if you had to pick just one, it'd be me. There are a few other white kids in the system (unless you count Boston Latin as a public school, which you shouldn't), and I pretty much know all of them."
Dave Greenfeld (aka "Green") is starting the sixth grade in Boston in 1992. His "hippie parents" have no interest in the latest fashion trends or really any of the status symbols that would ease his transition into middle school—they'd rather buy his clothes at thrift shops, and don't see the need to spend money on fancy sneakers, even if no one else would be caught dead in year-old Filas. He wishes his parents would just send him to private school, like they do his troubled younger brother, Benno.
Middle school starts pretty much the same way elementary school ended for Dave—the girls pretty much ignore him, and he gets bullied by kids of all races. Even Kev, his oldest friend, would rather avoid him and hang out with the cooler kids. Avoiding bullies and being friendless seems to be Dave's destiny, unless he aces the placement test that will guarantee him a spot at Boston Latin, the best public high school in the city. If you get into Latin, you're going to college, guaranteed.
One day, Dave is surprised when one of his fellow classmates, Marlon Wellings, stands up for him. Marlon lives with his grandmother in the public housing projects down the street from Dave's house. But Marlon is far from the stereotypical "projects kid": he is driven by his ambition to get into Latin, he steers clear of those who want to draw him into their gangs or their trouble, and he's obsessed with the Boston Celtics, especially his favorite player, Larry Bird.
Mar and Dave become fast friends, and they spend their time hanging out at Dave's house, watching vintage Celtics games (Mar has them all on videotape), playing "nasketball," a game Dave made up involving a trampoline, and listening to Mar's obsession with doing well on the Latin placement test. Dave envies Mar's devotion to his church (Dave was raised a "secular Jew," although his family doesn't observe any religion, which is a frustration to his paternal grandfather, whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust), his fascination with going to Harvard some day, and the way he doesn't seem to let anything bother him, yet Dave knows he has issues of his own.
But when Mar is not around, Dave is still being bullied, and confronting the violence that breeds in the urban community in which he lives, as well as among his own classmates. He becomes more and more desperate for his parents to put him in private school because he doesn't think he'll be able to do well enough on the Latin placement test to escape his school, but his parents would rather just report Dave's problems to the principal, making him even more a target. He's afraid to stand up for himself, let alone his friends, like Mar.
As Mar begins experiencing problems of his own, problems he doesn't want to discuss with Dave, Dave realizes that there are differences between the two of them that they keep running into. He never really thought he was actually luckier than his friend, and doesn't quite understand the struggles that Mar faces, snap judgments from people that don't even know him. But little by little, those differences strain their relationship, causing both of them to act in ways they never imagined they would.
Green is an insightful, thought-provoking coming-of-age novel which deals with some significant issues without being overly heavy-handed. Sam Graham-Felsen, in his debut novel, provides interesting, and at times poignant, commentary about racial and cultural differences, and how they can strain a friendship. He has also created a fascinating, flawed narrator in Dave, who at times seems much older than his age, and at times reminds you that you're listening to life filtered through the eyes of a sixth-grader.
I enjoyed this book but thought the pacing was a little slow, and the same things seemed to happen a few times before the plot advanced. There were a few plot threads that never really got resolved, particularly why Benno refused to speak for more than a year, and there were veiled references to tragedies within Dave's father's family that never were addressed. Why allude to things that you're not willing to wrap them up?
One warning: there's a good amount of attention given to Dave's burgeoning hormones and his increasing obsession with masturbation, so this could make you uncomfortable.
Much like the main character himself, Green is imperfect but tremendously engaging. Sam Graham-Felsen has created a refreshing new narrator with a fascinating and moving perspective on growing up in the midst of racial and cultural tensions. It's a surprisingly timely book, even though it takes place in 1992.
NetGalley and Random House provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
November 13, 2017
Green is definitely going to elicit a broad range of reactions. It takes on a fraught topic, and does so without providing easy answers. But despite a few reservations, I found myself fully emotionally engaged -- even teary at times. David is 12 years old, describes his parents as old school hippies, and is one of the only white kids in his middle school in Boston in the early 1990s. He has a hard time finding his place, keeps begging his parents to send him to private school, and ends up becoming friends with Marlon, who is black, very religious and being brought up by his grandmother in a housing project. What had me fully emotionally engaged was David's relationship with his family, and his friendship with Marlon. Although at times mature beyond their years, both boys clearly have one foot in childhood and another foot in the turmoil of adolescence. It's hard not to think that Graham-Felton's first novel is at least somewhat autobiographical because it felt like he had a good grasp of the multilayered complexities of the racial, religious and economic differences of the world he depicts. Despite David's discomfort and some of the bullying he experiences, there is no question that Marlon and the other low income African American kids hold the short end of the stick in terms of life's long term advantages. The one thing that irked me a bit is that I wasn't sure that the language used by David and others was authentic -- when he refers to his "crib" and "fam", it felt a bit over the top. But I may be wrong -- it just didn't ring true. But, again, these are superficial issues. Reading Green was a powerful experience. I'll be interested to see how it's received when it comes out in January. And I'd be happy to read this author's next book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
December 11, 2017
3.5 stars, rounded up
David Greenfeld is one of two white kids at MLK Middle School in 1992 Boston. Poor soul with his blond hair and blue eyes sticks out like a sore thumb. At least the other white kid is good at basketball. The beginning of the book threw me, with this white kid talking black kid lingo. It took me awhile to adjust to the language. He wants to fit in and that is just not going to happen. And his chances of getting into Boston Latin aren’t very high either.
1992 was the year of the Rodney King riots and race relations have changed. “It was like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston…”
Turns out this novel is based on the author’s own youth. I was glad to have learned that as it answered one of the questions I had as to how realistic the story was and more particularly, the vocabulary. It tackles all the issues -race, class, religion and adolescence. Bullying is a given in this milieu. Nothing gets whitewashed, no pun intended.
I can’t say I really enjoyed this book, but I appreciated its honesty and the issues it raised. The best parts dealt with the friendship between Marlon and Green. This is not an easy friendship to maintain. It’s a very sad book on many levels.
This would make a great selection for a book club. There’s lots of meat here to discuss.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this novel.
David Greenfeld is one of two white kids at MLK Middle School in 1992 Boston. Poor soul with his blond hair and blue eyes sticks out like a sore thumb. At least the other white kid is good at basketball. The beginning of the book threw me, with this white kid talking black kid lingo. It took me awhile to adjust to the language. He wants to fit in and that is just not going to happen. And his chances of getting into Boston Latin aren’t very high either.
1992 was the year of the Rodney King riots and race relations have changed. “It was like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston…”
Turns out this novel is based on the author’s own youth. I was glad to have learned that as it answered one of the questions I had as to how realistic the story was and more particularly, the vocabulary. It tackles all the issues -race, class, religion and adolescence. Bullying is a given in this milieu. Nothing gets whitewashed, no pun intended.
I can’t say I really enjoyed this book, but I appreciated its honesty and the issues it raised. The best parts dealt with the friendship between Marlon and Green. This is not an easy friendship to maintain. It’s a very sad book on many levels.
This would make a great selection for a book club. There’s lots of meat here to discuss.
My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this novel.
January 30, 2020
It seems like other people quite enjoyed this book but for some reason it did not work for me. I think usually if you don't have a strong plot line, if the writing really appeals to me then that can make up for it but I didn't really find the writing that great. That said I think it is written with a younger audience in mind so it might be somewhat unfair to expect the writing to be a little bit more complex. I just don't think the themes in the book or the plot line was really strong or clearly thought out and executed. It was kind of jumbled with themes of racism/antisemitism but also poverty and education and the value of pursuing prestige. I also just felt weird reading it and having slurs constantly used and like having a white child using aave was bizarre even though yeah its the 90's and I mean plenty of white children do speak that way. Some of the slang also felt like it was maybe a little more contemporary and wasn't being used in the 90s so. I think all of this just coalesced with the fact that I personally am not that interested in reading about something like this from the perspective of a a white student really that just made me not like the book. I think if the plot/themes/writing were better or more in line with what I usually enjoy that would've made up for my lack of interest of reading about white perspectives on race. I mean I may have enjoyed this book a lot more if it had been told through Mar's POV if I'm being honest. That feels like a perspective I have less exposure to where as I think I've had more than enough experience reading about white people's perspective on race, from multiple different angles. Anyway this one just wasn't for me.
January 11, 2018
One reason this debut novel succeeds so very well are the layers. It can be enjoyed by teens but just as well by adults. Race, religion, ethnicity, family dynamics, growing up, sexual awakenings, being harassed, winning admiration, feeling out of place, making friends and losing them…all these things are eloquently addressed in the hip hop slang of a white boy trying to fit in a primarily minority school in Boston. He is twelve and on the cusp.
Graham-Felsen gets the awkwardness and uncertainty of twelve just right. The time is 1990s Boston before the explosion of high-speed internet and we are treated to the excruciatingly slow process of downloading color jpegs, presumably from dial-up modems. The segregation in Boston schools does not feel so distant, however. The white-black friendship between David and Marlon, our narrator and a boy in his class, always feels a bit tentative and unsure, just like the boys themselves.
On an ordinary day, most of us might not be rapt listening to the thoughts of a twelve-year-old for nearly three hundred pages, but David’s jive language adds a layer of complexity to the picture that completely works. We understand that he uses this language with his friends and peers and not with his parents, two Harvard-educated hippies now living with their two sons in Jamaica Plain. The Arnold Arboretum, one of the largest collection of plant species from around the world, is part of David’s walk to his ‘ghetto’ school so that he can avoid the housing projects where he has been harassed.
Everything about the setting, the characters, the situations ring true. Dave’s parents believe in public schools so they won't consider a private school for David but instead encourage him to win a place at Boston Latin, the best public school in the city for grades 7-12. Dave and Marlon both have their sights set on Harvard because of the money they could make: just a look at the statistics for heads of corporations and heads of state tell them a Harvard degree is stone cold gold.
But Graham-Felsen adds the spice—that layering again—by having a teacher looking to show the boys what’s possible bring them to meet a city councilor who graduated Harvard and who has some pretty harsh things to say about the experience. The city councilor is black and knows that Harvard’s aura of success mostly works for whites but less well for people of color.
Another of Dave’s classmates, Jimmy, is Vietnamese and living in what Dave calls a real ghetto in Chinatown. One day Jimmy surreptitiously shows Dave a switchblade he’d brought to school; Dave considers getting a blade like it for his own protection, and so visits Jimmy’s ‘crib.’ This scene is painfully realistic and beautifully rendered. Jimmy knows there is practically no chance he will get into Boston Latin because of the quotas for Asian students. Reverse quotas.
All of this rich material is artfully mined by Graham-Felsen. It never feels heavy handed; the absurdity of the blond white boy speaking inner-city lingo just lightens the whole experience, even when we have reason to feel sadness, for example when considering that members of both Dave and Marlon’s families struggle with a mental illness diagnosis. Dave’s younger brother refuses to speak for a reason never revealed, and Marlon’s mother may be bipolar or schizophrenic. The families deal the best they can, both very differently, naturally.
The very best parts of the novel may be those sections that are not about being white, but are about being black: when Dave convinces Marlon to help clear snow to make some loot, most of Dave’s old customers don’t answer the door when Marlon rings the bell. Or the time the boys are invited to a party in a nice section of Jamaica Plain and are followed by a cop car as they walk. Or the times Marlon wants Dave to just figure it out why he does not want to get caught doing something even marginally illegal, or why he does not want to pick up recyclable cans at a Harvard reunion, or why he has never entered the gates at Arnold Arboretum despite the fact it is free to everyone, or why he doesn’t want to attend an exclusive arts camp in New Hampshire for the summer.
Finally I know the answer to the joke about what the whitest thing I ever did is. Everyone will have their own answers, and it is worth spending the time to figure out what your answer would be to this question. The novel is a triumph of noticing, of seeing color and speaking of it, as well as a paean to youth, to curiosity, to seeking, to becoming. I hope everyone gets a chance to weigh in on this one--it's a real conversation starter. Families can read it together. It’s a crossover novel on many levels.
Listening to this book is a terrific way to enjoy the language. Brilliantly read by Prentice Onayemi and published by Random House Audio, this book is available for Whispersync. The book is a fast read, and I moved between the two. Beaks & Geeks, a free Random House Soundcloud podcast, posted an interview with Graham-Felsen that is really worthwhile. Graham-Felsen also wrote a short piece for Lit Hub that is worth a glance.
Graham-Felsen gets the awkwardness and uncertainty of twelve just right. The time is 1990s Boston before the explosion of high-speed internet and we are treated to the excruciatingly slow process of downloading color jpegs, presumably from dial-up modems. The segregation in Boston schools does not feel so distant, however. The white-black friendship between David and Marlon, our narrator and a boy in his class, always feels a bit tentative and unsure, just like the boys themselves.
On an ordinary day, most of us might not be rapt listening to the thoughts of a twelve-year-old for nearly three hundred pages, but David’s jive language adds a layer of complexity to the picture that completely works. We understand that he uses this language with his friends and peers and not with his parents, two Harvard-educated hippies now living with their two sons in Jamaica Plain. The Arnold Arboretum, one of the largest collection of plant species from around the world, is part of David’s walk to his ‘ghetto’ school so that he can avoid the housing projects where he has been harassed.
Everything about the setting, the characters, the situations ring true. Dave’s parents believe in public schools so they won't consider a private school for David but instead encourage him to win a place at Boston Latin, the best public school in the city for grades 7-12. Dave and Marlon both have their sights set on Harvard because of the money they could make: just a look at the statistics for heads of corporations and heads of state tell them a Harvard degree is stone cold gold.
But Graham-Felsen adds the spice—that layering again—by having a teacher looking to show the boys what’s possible bring them to meet a city councilor who graduated Harvard and who has some pretty harsh things to say about the experience. The city councilor is black and knows that Harvard’s aura of success mostly works for whites but less well for people of color.
Another of Dave’s classmates, Jimmy, is Vietnamese and living in what Dave calls a real ghetto in Chinatown. One day Jimmy surreptitiously shows Dave a switchblade he’d brought to school; Dave considers getting a blade like it for his own protection, and so visits Jimmy’s ‘crib.’ This scene is painfully realistic and beautifully rendered. Jimmy knows there is practically no chance he will get into Boston Latin because of the quotas for Asian students. Reverse quotas.
All of this rich material is artfully mined by Graham-Felsen. It never feels heavy handed; the absurdity of the blond white boy speaking inner-city lingo just lightens the whole experience, even when we have reason to feel sadness, for example when considering that members of both Dave and Marlon’s families struggle with a mental illness diagnosis. Dave’s younger brother refuses to speak for a reason never revealed, and Marlon’s mother may be bipolar or schizophrenic. The families deal the best they can, both very differently, naturally.
The very best parts of the novel may be those sections that are not about being white, but are about being black: when Dave convinces Marlon to help clear snow to make some loot, most of Dave’s old customers don’t answer the door when Marlon rings the bell. Or the time the boys are invited to a party in a nice section of Jamaica Plain and are followed by a cop car as they walk. Or the times Marlon wants Dave to just figure it out why he does not want to get caught doing something even marginally illegal, or why he does not want to pick up recyclable cans at a Harvard reunion, or why he has never entered the gates at Arnold Arboretum despite the fact it is free to everyone, or why he doesn’t want to attend an exclusive arts camp in New Hampshire for the summer.
Finally I know the answer to the joke about what the whitest thing I ever did is. Everyone will have their own answers, and it is worth spending the time to figure out what your answer would be to this question. The novel is a triumph of noticing, of seeing color and speaking of it, as well as a paean to youth, to curiosity, to seeking, to becoming. I hope everyone gets a chance to weigh in on this one--it's a real conversation starter. Families can read it together. It’s a crossover novel on many levels.
Listening to this book is a terrific way to enjoy the language. Brilliantly read by Prentice Onayemi and published by Random House Audio, this book is available for Whispersync. The book is a fast read, and I moved between the two. Beaks & Geeks, a free Random House Soundcloud podcast, posted an interview with Graham-Felsen that is really worthwhile. Graham-Felsen also wrote a short piece for Lit Hub that is worth a glance.
January 31, 2018
This book did absolutely nothing for me. Actually, I lie. It annoyed me. Quite a bit. Don't expect a well thought out review, because you're not going to get one. Much like this book, with its random mish-mash of themes and no clear plot, this review will also be disjointed and will probably contain made up words and copious eye rolling.
Lets start with our main character Dave. Dave is in AP classes. I don't know what that means in this world, but in my world that indicates the kid is pretty clever. In this world, Dave DOES NOT READ. EVER. He doesn't study. He doesn't put in any effort. His grades aren't anything special. HOW IS HE EVEN IN AP CLASSES??? His character is bloody awful. Hes obnoxious, selfish, hypocritical, completely self absorbed and just downright annoying. I didn't like him at all. He was being bullied and I felt no sympathy for him. He was just as obnoxious in the end as he was in the beginning. He was one of three things throughout the entire book. Sulking, whining or playing with his dick.
Lets talk plot... except there wasn't one. I guess you could say it was about these AP kids trying to get into the feeder high school to Harvard. A coming of age novel. Except there were so many other themes thrown in none of them had any impact. I felt no emotion anywhere in the novel. Dave got mugged... I felt nothing. Dave cheated on a test... I felt nothing. Dave's best friend went all weird and ignored him... I felt nothing (hell, I would have ignored him myself). Dave had a knife pulled on him.... nope, zero on the emotional Richter scale.
There were race and social issues which never felt convincing. Religion was thrown because... I have no idea, it never amounted to anything. There were no great religious epiphanies. There were references to the holocaust, which weren't all that deep and I felt the religion and holocaust themes were only in there to account for one another - why was the holocaust in here? Because of the religion/ why was religion in here? Because of the holocaust. Same for the other themes. I honestly felt they were only in there to provide issues. None of them were deeply explored, none of them were resolved, and none of them were pertinent.
My next (huge) problem with this book is about the language, vernacular, slang.... whatever the hell it was. I was around in the 90s and I NEVER heard anyone speak like this. I had so much trouble following the first half of this book because I had. no. idea. what. they. were. talking. about. A glossary would have been nice. Saying "sapient" instead of "gay" is still using "gay" in the derogatory. And it was EVERYWHERE, and made me a little mad to be honest. It was totally unnecessary. "Retahd" (Retard) was also liberally used. Again, unnecessary. It took me a good 2/3rds of the book to work out "Steez" is "appearance" and how does "God" translate to "G dash"?? And it wasn't just peppered in for colour, it was literally in every sentence. I've never heard anything like this before and it just came across as cheesy and forced. I don't know if its supposed to be how "the cool kids" talked? If that's the case, and this is actually how people spoke to each other, please correct me... to me though, it sounded like something out of a bad TV sitcom. I spent more time decoding what everyone was saying than actually reading, which may attribute to how much I disliked this book.
2 stars
Lets start with our main character Dave. Dave is in AP classes. I don't know what that means in this world, but in my world that indicates the kid is pretty clever. In this world, Dave DOES NOT READ. EVER. He doesn't study. He doesn't put in any effort. His grades aren't anything special. HOW IS HE EVEN IN AP CLASSES??? His character is bloody awful. Hes obnoxious, selfish, hypocritical, completely self absorbed and just downright annoying. I didn't like him at all. He was being bullied and I felt no sympathy for him. He was just as obnoxious in the end as he was in the beginning. He was one of three things throughout the entire book. Sulking, whining or playing with his dick.
Lets talk plot... except there wasn't one. I guess you could say it was about these AP kids trying to get into the feeder high school to Harvard. A coming of age novel. Except there were so many other themes thrown in none of them had any impact. I felt no emotion anywhere in the novel. Dave got mugged... I felt nothing. Dave cheated on a test... I felt nothing. Dave's best friend went all weird and ignored him... I felt nothing (hell, I would have ignored him myself). Dave had a knife pulled on him.... nope, zero on the emotional Richter scale.
There were race and social issues which never felt convincing. Religion was thrown because... I have no idea, it never amounted to anything. There were no great religious epiphanies. There were references to the holocaust, which weren't all that deep and I felt the religion and holocaust themes were only in there to account for one another - why was the holocaust in here? Because of the religion/ why was religion in here? Because of the holocaust. Same for the other themes. I honestly felt they were only in there to provide issues. None of them were deeply explored, none of them were resolved, and none of them were pertinent.
My next (huge) problem with this book is about the language, vernacular, slang.... whatever the hell it was. I was around in the 90s and I NEVER heard anyone speak like this. I had so much trouble following the first half of this book because I had. no. idea. what. they. were. talking. about. A glossary would have been nice. Saying "sapient" instead of "gay" is still using "gay" in the derogatory. And it was EVERYWHERE, and made me a little mad to be honest. It was totally unnecessary. "Retahd" (Retard) was also liberally used. Again, unnecessary. It took me a good 2/3rds of the book to work out "Steez" is "appearance" and how does "God" translate to "G dash"?? And it wasn't just peppered in for colour, it was literally in every sentence. I've never heard anything like this before and it just came across as cheesy and forced. I don't know if its supposed to be how "the cool kids" talked? If that's the case, and this is actually how people spoke to each other, please correct me... to me though, it sounded like something out of a bad TV sitcom. I spent more time decoding what everyone was saying than actually reading, which may attribute to how much I disliked this book.
2 stars
October 21, 2017
I’m not usually big on reading books that take on race issues because, you know. Some of them are truly appropriation – white guys acting like they know everything about the black experience. Others are cloyingly politically correct, or saccharine in their plot development.
So it was an absolute surprise—and delight—to read Sam Graham-Felsen’s original take on race and privilege. The author actually grew up in Boston and was one of the few white kids at a mostly black inner-city school and he eventually became Obama’s top blogger. Much of this story is his own personal experience—and it shows.
First of all, I LOVE the voice. Just about every generation creates its own slang and its own language – keeping the adult world at bay – and Sam Graham-Felsen totally gets it. He has the cadence down to a tee. There’s a rhythm to it and an insider cadence that just plain works.
The story is also nuanced; there are no heroes or villains and no attempt to whitewash the thorny racial confrontations. Dave Greenfield, a 12-year-old Jewish boy, is sent to Martin Luther King Jr. school because his hippie parents believe strongly in public education. There he befriends Marlon, who lives in pubic housing and is carrying a heavy emotional load.
The two of them connect over a love of the Celtics and their friendship, while guarded, is important to each of them. And then things start to happen. Sam Graham-Felsen explores important themes without trivializing or resorting to easy answers: how does an inter-racial friendship survive in an era of systematic racism? How can a person thrive in a society that defines and boxes in people due to the darkness of their pigmentation? Can any friendship offer a safe place when there are so many forces that threaten to tear it apart?
Dave and Marlon must confront their own demons about race, religion, societal standing, and belonging right at a time when they are on the cusp of adolescence. This book feels authentic and the author never cops out in his unrelenting look at racial realities. It also captures Boston in the 1990s, and the struggles of growing up. Quite a feat! Thank you, Random House, for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So it was an absolute surprise—and delight—to read Sam Graham-Felsen’s original take on race and privilege. The author actually grew up in Boston and was one of the few white kids at a mostly black inner-city school and he eventually became Obama’s top blogger. Much of this story is his own personal experience—and it shows.
First of all, I LOVE the voice. Just about every generation creates its own slang and its own language – keeping the adult world at bay – and Sam Graham-Felsen totally gets it. He has the cadence down to a tee. There’s a rhythm to it and an insider cadence that just plain works.
The story is also nuanced; there are no heroes or villains and no attempt to whitewash the thorny racial confrontations. Dave Greenfield, a 12-year-old Jewish boy, is sent to Martin Luther King Jr. school because his hippie parents believe strongly in public education. There he befriends Marlon, who lives in pubic housing and is carrying a heavy emotional load.
The two of them connect over a love of the Celtics and their friendship, while guarded, is important to each of them. And then things start to happen. Sam Graham-Felsen explores important themes without trivializing or resorting to easy answers: how does an inter-racial friendship survive in an era of systematic racism? How can a person thrive in a society that defines and boxes in people due to the darkness of their pigmentation? Can any friendship offer a safe place when there are so many forces that threaten to tear it apart?
Dave and Marlon must confront their own demons about race, religion, societal standing, and belonging right at a time when they are on the cusp of adolescence. This book feels authentic and the author never cops out in his unrelenting look at racial realities. It also captures Boston in the 1990s, and the struggles of growing up. Quite a feat! Thank you, Random House, for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 19, 2017
You can also read my review on WP: anisabookreviews.wordpress.com/2017/0...
****4.5 stars****
This story made me laugh out loud but also broke my heart.
Growing up in Boston, the year is 1992. David Alexander Greenfeld aka "Green" feels like the only white boy at Martin Luthar King Middle. That is not entirely accurate because there is Kev, the other one. Green is navigating his way through middle school with hippie parents, second rate shoes, and his absence of color. A chance meeting at a bus stop on the first day of school will create a friendship so deep it will challenge the way the two friends will think. Especially coming close on the heels of the Rodney King police beating and Reginald Denny retaliation.
The narrative divides into eleven chapter each with its unique title, referring to some history, item or event. The first section named the Machine is so funny that I almost ran out and bought that tracksuit. The second chapter Shocked refers to the shock of the Celtics draft picks that OD'd two days later. Green tells his story in present tense and takes us on a unique coming of age story. Graham-Felsen is a master in character development particularly, the protagonist and his friend Mar. Each character juxtaposed against each other displays the division of race, wealth, and religion even though share the same dreams. Green is a 13-year-old boy who struggles with his Jewish identity, living in a hippie's world, and racial tension in a setting of relative privilege. His only friend Mar, or Marlon, a sensitive black tween lives in the projects who studies passionately with the aspirations to be a student at Harvard. They form a fastidious bond when they share certain geeky qualities, a dream of a Harvard education, and the Celtics. Their relationship is put to the test when they start to write their exams for Boston Latin High School, a guarantee to place in college, possibly Harvard. Cracks become great fissures as their differences become highlighted through the strain of the 6th grade and of the inequities of life.
Green, is a poignant story told through the eyes of a 12-year-old. I was traveled back to my youth, a complex time of negotiating friendships, insecurities, and acceptance. All the moments of middle school so cringe-worthy to think of as an adult. The smells, the cafeteria serving mystery ingredients, and lily white Filas. The King student interactions are so real you feel like a buddy among the tribe, often fighting, cheering, or jeering in the moment.The one thing I found difficult to rock was the lingo with steez. I had to google the urban and gangsta dictionary several times. That made the narrative a bit cumbersome for myself but it kept the dialogue real. After all, it's a tweens tale in the hood.
Green explores the history of a pivotal era of Clinton and Rodney; a climate of racism and brutality in the 1990s. But there is also Boston's rich history of the visit of Nelson Mandela after his release, the relentless Curse of the Bambino, and poor Billy Buckner and the 10th inning of the world series. The "Curse of the Coke. Messed up every, the Celtics, the Sox, the whole damn city."
With memorable and quirky characters, skilled writing, humor, and a pang of sadness, Green makes an impression about the diversity of and the disparities of life in Boston in the 90's. I highly recommend this novel.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
****4.5 stars****
This story made me laugh out loud but also broke my heart.
Growing up in Boston, the year is 1992. David Alexander Greenfeld aka "Green" feels like the only white boy at Martin Luthar King Middle. That is not entirely accurate because there is Kev, the other one. Green is navigating his way through middle school with hippie parents, second rate shoes, and his absence of color. A chance meeting at a bus stop on the first day of school will create a friendship so deep it will challenge the way the two friends will think. Especially coming close on the heels of the Rodney King police beating and Reginald Denny retaliation.
The narrative divides into eleven chapter each with its unique title, referring to some history, item or event. The first section named the Machine is so funny that I almost ran out and bought that tracksuit. The second chapter Shocked refers to the shock of the Celtics draft picks that OD'd two days later. Green tells his story in present tense and takes us on a unique coming of age story. Graham-Felsen is a master in character development particularly, the protagonist and his friend Mar. Each character juxtaposed against each other displays the division of race, wealth, and religion even though share the same dreams. Green is a 13-year-old boy who struggles with his Jewish identity, living in a hippie's world, and racial tension in a setting of relative privilege. His only friend Mar, or Marlon, a sensitive black tween lives in the projects who studies passionately with the aspirations to be a student at Harvard. They form a fastidious bond when they share certain geeky qualities, a dream of a Harvard education, and the Celtics. Their relationship is put to the test when they start to write their exams for Boston Latin High School, a guarantee to place in college, possibly Harvard. Cracks become great fissures as their differences become highlighted through the strain of the 6th grade and of the inequities of life.
Green, is a poignant story told through the eyes of a 12-year-old. I was traveled back to my youth, a complex time of negotiating friendships, insecurities, and acceptance. All the moments of middle school so cringe-worthy to think of as an adult. The smells, the cafeteria serving mystery ingredients, and lily white Filas. The King student interactions are so real you feel like a buddy among the tribe, often fighting, cheering, or jeering in the moment.The one thing I found difficult to rock was the lingo with steez. I had to google the urban and gangsta dictionary several times. That made the narrative a bit cumbersome for myself but it kept the dialogue real. After all, it's a tweens tale in the hood.
Green explores the history of a pivotal era of Clinton and Rodney; a climate of racism and brutality in the 1990s. But there is also Boston's rich history of the visit of Nelson Mandela after his release, the relentless Curse of the Bambino, and poor Billy Buckner and the 10th inning of the world series. The "Curse of the Coke. Messed up every, the Celtics, the Sox, the whole damn city."
With memorable and quirky characters, skilled writing, humor, and a pang of sadness, Green makes an impression about the diversity of and the disparities of life in Boston in the 90's. I highly recommend this novel.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 7, 2018
I read Green mostly because the setting was Boston in the 1990s. Didn't realize it was YA until I had it in my hands. It's another study on race (which have flourished under the Trump regime and because of it), with a white protagonist, David Greenfield (a.k.a. "Green") and his black best bud, Marlon Wellings (a.k.a. "Mar").
The conceit is that Green's parents, as former hippies and do-gooders and liberal sorts, send their son Dave to a 99% black middle school called King (as in "MLK, Jr."). It doesn't go well, but at least Dave gets friendship out of it with the hard-studying Celtics fanatic, Mar.
This book is a mixed bag if ever there was one. Where to begin. How about with the slanguage? The novel could easily have come with a glossary in the back for the lingo used by these boys. Some were recognizable (the lamentable "crib" for one's home, for instance). But most were not. "Roll" means laugh (where I come from, it meant to mug someone); "wack" means awful; "boys" means best friends; "shorties" are girls; "to rock" means to wear something cool; "fronting" means lying. And so on. The other one I knew about was "to feel someone" which has nothing to do with physical touch and everything to do with personal sympathy, only I thought that expression came way after 1992. Who's to say?
One other thing that hit like a brick was a snow-day scene where the boys are hoping Boston gets called. They listen to the radio and hear all these other towns but not Boston before Boston finally calls. Never happen. Boston and the cities are always first to call a snow day. Can't believe 26 years has changed THAT.
Final clanger: These boys are 6th grade. Say, what? All the action sounds like high school, with all the required-by-law high school YA scenes like school fights and drinking parties and even a go at clumsy sex. Sixth grade? Just read it as if they're sophomores and it will make much more sense.
All that said, there's much to be admired about the two main characters and the way they are used to point out certain racial facts of life, especially in the City of Boston, which struggles mightily with race relations. The back-and-forth in this unusual friendship held up for at least 200 of the 300 pages. In the last third, it sagged a bit. Another book longer than it needed to be, turns out. Mar gets grumpy and distant, and though the reader knows why, Green stays green on the topic longer than he has a right to and the reader gets dragged along until the end.
Another bonus? If you like the Celtics. Lots of Reggie Lewis here, and even a little Len Bias. Curse of the Celtics vs. the Bambino. Brief cameo, only, for Fenway Park and baseball. No Bruins to speak of, and Patriots? What're those?
Overall, a mostly engaging debut book, despite a few "what the's...?" I 3.5 spin it up to a forgiving 4.
The conceit is that Green's parents, as former hippies and do-gooders and liberal sorts, send their son Dave to a 99% black middle school called King (as in "MLK, Jr."). It doesn't go well, but at least Dave gets friendship out of it with the hard-studying Celtics fanatic, Mar.
This book is a mixed bag if ever there was one. Where to begin. How about with the slanguage? The novel could easily have come with a glossary in the back for the lingo used by these boys. Some were recognizable (the lamentable "crib" for one's home, for instance). But most were not. "Roll" means laugh (where I come from, it meant to mug someone); "wack" means awful; "boys" means best friends; "shorties" are girls; "to rock" means to wear something cool; "fronting" means lying. And so on. The other one I knew about was "to feel someone" which has nothing to do with physical touch and everything to do with personal sympathy, only I thought that expression came way after 1992. Who's to say?
One other thing that hit like a brick was a snow-day scene where the boys are hoping Boston gets called. They listen to the radio and hear all these other towns but not Boston before Boston finally calls. Never happen. Boston and the cities are always first to call a snow day. Can't believe 26 years has changed THAT.
Final clanger: These boys are 6th grade. Say, what? All the action sounds like high school, with all the required-by-law high school YA scenes like school fights and drinking parties and even a go at clumsy sex. Sixth grade? Just read it as if they're sophomores and it will make much more sense.
All that said, there's much to be admired about the two main characters and the way they are used to point out certain racial facts of life, especially in the City of Boston, which struggles mightily with race relations. The back-and-forth in this unusual friendship held up for at least 200 of the 300 pages. In the last third, it sagged a bit. Another book longer than it needed to be, turns out. Mar gets grumpy and distant, and though the reader knows why, Green stays green on the topic longer than he has a right to and the reader gets dragged along until the end.
Another bonus? If you like the Celtics. Lots of Reggie Lewis here, and even a little Len Bias. Curse of the Celtics vs. the Bambino. Brief cameo, only, for Fenway Park and baseball. No Bruins to speak of, and Patriots? What're those?
Overall, a mostly engaging debut book, despite a few "what the's...?" I 3.5 spin it up to a forgiving 4.
January 1, 2018
3.5/5 Stars!
Every once in a while, I choose or wish for a book on NetGalley solely due to the description and GREEN was one of those books.
12 year old David Greenfeld, aka Green, is nearly the only white boy in Martin Luther King Middle School in the early 90's. As such, he is subject to harassment, and not only because of his color. He's Jewish, even though his family doesn't practice, he doesn't have the right clothes or shoes, and he has few friends.
Marlon, a black teen that lives nearby, comes to Dave's aid when he's bullied and they become fast friends. Bonding over Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, (the curse of Coke!), and playing basketball, (or nasketball), the two are nearly inseparable.
Mar and Dave's friendship occurs during a tough time in Boston and in our country. Amidst the tumultuous race riots and the rise, (and fall) of Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis, (the importance of sports teams in Boston cannot be underestimated), these boys face racist bullies and the threat of bodily violence every day. Coming of age is never easy, no matter the era in which it takes place. Dave is trying hard to better himself, find his inner self, (Is it Christian? Is it Jewish?) and survive the day to day without the right clothes or shoes. Will his relationship with Marlon survive too? You'll have to read this to find out!
While I enjoyed GREEN, I had some problems with it. I know the language had to be of the time and setting for the tale to ring true, but I'm not quite sure that it did. To be honest, at times it seems that the author was trying too hard to make the slang real. Every single time clothes were described it was "so and so rocked this or that", every time they went somewhere they "rolled." It irritated me a little but your mileage may vary.
Another problem I had with the story is the lack of information about some of the characters and their backgrounds. Green's brother Benno, for instance, hadn't spoken to anyone in over a year and had other issues as well. I would have liked to have known more about that. Also, Green's Jewish grandfather, (Cramps instead of Gramps, because he was grouchy), had a lot of background that was only briefly glimpsed in this tale. I would have liked to have known more details about that and about the effects they had on Dave's father.
Lastly, as the mother of a young man I know that masturbation is a big part of a boy's coming of age. I just don't need to know the details. I know it happens, I know the hormones are raging, I get it. I just want to give the head's up to others that this occurs. A lot! (This was the era of Baywatch, after all.)
GREEN was a good coming of age story and I wonder how much of it was autobiographical because most of it did ring true. (As much as it could to a middle age white woman, anyway.) Bullying, religion, racism, having the right clothes and shoes-these are all things that are still problems to this day. It's how we deal with these issues that defines us. David Greenfeld was not the perfect boy and certainly not the perfect friend, but I couldn't help but root for him anyway. I think you will too.
Recommended!
*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
Every once in a while, I choose or wish for a book on NetGalley solely due to the description and GREEN was one of those books.
12 year old David Greenfeld, aka Green, is nearly the only white boy in Martin Luther King Middle School in the early 90's. As such, he is subject to harassment, and not only because of his color. He's Jewish, even though his family doesn't practice, he doesn't have the right clothes or shoes, and he has few friends.
Marlon, a black teen that lives nearby, comes to Dave's aid when he's bullied and they become fast friends. Bonding over Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, (the curse of Coke!), and playing basketball, (or nasketball), the two are nearly inseparable.
Mar and Dave's friendship occurs during a tough time in Boston and in our country. Amidst the tumultuous race riots and the rise, (and fall) of Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis, (the importance of sports teams in Boston cannot be underestimated), these boys face racist bullies and the threat of bodily violence every day. Coming of age is never easy, no matter the era in which it takes place. Dave is trying hard to better himself, find his inner self, (Is it Christian? Is it Jewish?) and survive the day to day without the right clothes or shoes. Will his relationship with Marlon survive too? You'll have to read this to find out!
While I enjoyed GREEN, I had some problems with it. I know the language had to be of the time and setting for the tale to ring true, but I'm not quite sure that it did. To be honest, at times it seems that the author was trying too hard to make the slang real. Every single time clothes were described it was "so and so rocked this or that", every time they went somewhere they "rolled." It irritated me a little but your mileage may vary.
Another problem I had with the story is the lack of information about some of the characters and their backgrounds. Green's brother Benno, for instance, hadn't spoken to anyone in over a year and had other issues as well. I would have liked to have known more about that. Also, Green's Jewish grandfather, (Cramps instead of Gramps, because he was grouchy), had a lot of background that was only briefly glimpsed in this tale. I would have liked to have known more details about that and about the effects they had on Dave's father.
Lastly, as the mother of a young man I know that masturbation is a big part of a boy's coming of age. I just don't need to know the details. I know it happens, I know the hormones are raging, I get it. I just want to give the head's up to others that this occurs. A lot! (This was the era of Baywatch, after all.)
GREEN was a good coming of age story and I wonder how much of it was autobiographical because most of it did ring true. (As much as it could to a middle age white woman, anyway.) Bullying, religion, racism, having the right clothes and shoes-these are all things that are still problems to this day. It's how we deal with these issues that defines us. David Greenfeld was not the perfect boy and certainly not the perfect friend, but I couldn't help but root for him anyway. I think you will too.
Recommended!
*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
January 9, 2018
Follow my reviews on Book Nation by Jen https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com.
It is the 1990s and Dave, son of Harvard educated hippies, is one of only a few white kids in his Boston middle school. Having a difficult time connecting with the other students, he becomes drawn to Marlon, a black kid from the projects who seems to have similar interests; video games, the Boston Celtics and getting into the better high school. They become friendly but both are ashamed of their home life and there is always a distance between them even as they become closer. They spend hours watching vintage basketball games and have conversations about lots of subjects. These boys are cerebral, observant and intellectually curious, and though they are still young, we witness their coming of age as they come to terms with who they are and what they want for the future. Their unlikely friendship is faced with many challenges stemming from prejudices based on color, race and religion, as they search to find their individual identity.
I felt compassion for both Dave, as he struggled to fit in, got pushed around on the bus, wanted cool, new sneakers, and begged his parents to put him in private school, and Marlon, son of a single mother with mental illness who lived in the projects with so many hurdles leading to a better life.
Sam Graham-Felsen addresses race and privilege, the vast differences in what is attainable, and the difficulties that are inherent based on background and various family circumstances in Green. His use of neighborhood language was both entertaining to read and at times difficult to comprehend but lent to the authenticity of the boys, their relationship, the neighborhood and the environment. I enjoyed this debut novel, based on the author’s life growing up white in a mostly black and Latino middle school, and I look forward to meeting Sam Graham-Felsen this month in an upcoming event at the Westport Library.
It is the 1990s and Dave, son of Harvard educated hippies, is one of only a few white kids in his Boston middle school. Having a difficult time connecting with the other students, he becomes drawn to Marlon, a black kid from the projects who seems to have similar interests; video games, the Boston Celtics and getting into the better high school. They become friendly but both are ashamed of their home life and there is always a distance between them even as they become closer. They spend hours watching vintage basketball games and have conversations about lots of subjects. These boys are cerebral, observant and intellectually curious, and though they are still young, we witness their coming of age as they come to terms with who they are and what they want for the future. Their unlikely friendship is faced with many challenges stemming from prejudices based on color, race and religion, as they search to find their individual identity.
I felt compassion for both Dave, as he struggled to fit in, got pushed around on the bus, wanted cool, new sneakers, and begged his parents to put him in private school, and Marlon, son of a single mother with mental illness who lived in the projects with so many hurdles leading to a better life.
Sam Graham-Felsen addresses race and privilege, the vast differences in what is attainable, and the difficulties that are inherent based on background and various family circumstances in Green. His use of neighborhood language was both entertaining to read and at times difficult to comprehend but lent to the authenticity of the boys, their relationship, the neighborhood and the environment. I enjoyed this debut novel, based on the author’s life growing up white in a mostly black and Latino middle school, and I look forward to meeting Sam Graham-Felsen this month in an upcoming event at the Westport Library.
January 4, 2018
Maybe it would have helped to have been a boy in order to appreciate this coming of age story. Set in Boston in 1992, this book is about David Greenfeld who is a 6th grader and one of only two white boys in a middle school where he is an uncool outsider with the wrong sneakers. He forms a friendship with Marlon Wellings who lives in the projects in David's neighborhood. David's parents are hippies who made professional decisions unlike those of their Harvard classmates. This is why David wound up in this particular public school.
I liked the relationship between David and Marlon. The book also gave glimpses of important issues like the impact of racial and economic differences. My favorite scene was a class visit to a city councilman's office. He went to Harvard with David's parents and gave the students a realistic and necessary lesson about systemic racism. However, I really didn't care for the somewhat whiny and masturbation-obsessed David. I might have liked Marlon's story more, but he was not the focus of the book. I wasn't interested in spending time with these boys and their activities. The constant and repetitive slang became tedious. All in all, while this book wasn't bad I can't say that I really enjoyed the experience.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I liked the relationship between David and Marlon. The book also gave glimpses of important issues like the impact of racial and economic differences. My favorite scene was a class visit to a city councilman's office. He went to Harvard with David's parents and gave the students a realistic and necessary lesson about systemic racism. However, I really didn't care for the somewhat whiny and masturbation-obsessed David. I might have liked Marlon's story more, but he was not the focus of the book. I wasn't interested in spending time with these boys and their activities. The constant and repetitive slang became tedious. All in all, while this book wasn't bad I can't say that I really enjoyed the experience.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
February 18, 2018
A reader I admire told me this is his favourite book of the year so far so therefore I must immediately read it. I love specificity in fiction and this book is so clearly and distinctly set in Boston 1992 that it’s almost a celebration of Boston in 1992. The details and voice are so perfect that I could almost understand a reader focusing on the coming-of-age aspect and missing the glorious exploration of race and friendship, transgenerational trauma and mental health. Graham-Felsen makes it feel effortless but this book is doing and saying a lot. It’s perfection. It might just be my favourite read of the year so far, too.
November 26, 2017
I received this book for free from Goodreads’ First Reads.
I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4.
This book tackled adolescence, race, and privilege in the 90’s in an interesting way. In a lot of ways this book reminded me of Fresh Off the Boat (both the book and the show based on the book) because of the 90’s rap/hip hop influence.
Overall, I don’t quite know what to make of it. It offered a viewpoint you don’t hear about all too often which I liked. I think the book was successful in terms of a coming to age book but in regards to race and privilege, it could have been better. The author hit a double, instead of a home run.
I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4.
This book tackled adolescence, race, and privilege in the 90’s in an interesting way. In a lot of ways this book reminded me of Fresh Off the Boat (both the book and the show based on the book) because of the 90’s rap/hip hop influence.
Overall, I don’t quite know what to make of it. It offered a viewpoint you don’t hear about all too often which I liked. I think the book was successful in terms of a coming to age book but in regards to race and privilege, it could have been better. The author hit a double, instead of a home run.
October 1, 2017
*i got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I’ve been reading lots of books about race and class lately but this one...man. Okay so the main character is a white male with class privilege, and he goes to a school where he is basically the only white kid. The story seems to do a lot of telling and not showing, except for how mean the POC’s are to the white kid. Maybe this changes throughout the book but I can’t sit through a book that is written by a white author writing about how hard it is to be white and have POC’s picking on them and how bad you should feel because they’re racist against white people. I just can’t. Sorry.
I’ve been reading lots of books about race and class lately but this one...man. Okay so the main character is a white male with class privilege, and he goes to a school where he is basically the only white kid. The story seems to do a lot of telling and not showing, except for how mean the POC’s are to the white kid. Maybe this changes throughout the book but I can’t sit through a book that is written by a white author writing about how hard it is to be white and have POC’s picking on them and how bad you should feel because they’re racist against white people. I just can’t. Sorry.
October 20, 2017
Sam Graham-Felsen explores fundamental racism, where each group is inflammatory to the others, in his adult book about middle-schoolers in a Boston public school. The author’s jumping off point in this coming-of age story is his own experience as one of few white boys in his school, and his imagination takes us to realist fiction in some funny, ironic, and painful ways.
It is 1992, and Dave Greenwood is extra white with his curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Like all the other kids, he is trying to fit in, even while being bullied on the bus and in school. He meets Mar, a nerdy black kid from the projects with an aim to getting into Boston Latin next year in 7th grade, and they form a friendship over their love of the Celtics and their temperaments—non-violent outsiders. Their friendship forms the center of this story.
The language and dialogue feel immediate and sharp, the two boys finding solace in their shared studying for exams and watching Celtics videos, and Mar becomes like another big brother to Dave’s younger and purposely mute kid brother, Benno, an eccentric and odd child who has adopted a removed stance from all but his family.
The sense of identity confusion is highlighted as Dave tries to find his place in religion. His father is a secular Jew and his mother an atheist non-Jew, so Dave is…nothing? he surmises. (Judaism is decided by the maternal line). Mar is a devoted Christian, and suddenly Dave wants to belong to this new tribe, one where it may also help him to stop his teenage onanism. He also lies to Mar and hides his Jewish roots.
The book is packed with adventures between the two friends, such as being a part of a city theater group that Dave introduces to Mar, and the curse of being noticed—or not—by the girl of your desire. Throughout the story, Dave refers (to the reader only) a private shame about the “force”—something he was ignorant to in elementary school when the motto was “Together in Friendship”—a white kid and black kid holding hands, or when his choir sang for Nelson Mandela when he was freed.
But then, with the Rodney King horror came the Reginald Denny violence, which made Dave sick with the force—it reared its ugly head even more when he would walk to school and hear, “ Fuck you lookin’ at, white boy?” The same force that permeated white and black with its systemic racism, and which clouded Dave with shame, guilt, and anger. His parents were peacemakers, organizers for good works, and his Jewish grandfather was a survivor from the Holocaust. Middle school was difficult enough for Dave, but with conflicting forces at work inside of him, he felt even more isolated, until Mar became his best friend.
Even so, home life was different for Dave than for Mar. Mar lived in the projects with his mentally unstable mother, tended to by his grandmother, and Dave had the luxury of two stable parents—one a Harvard grad, the other a Harvard drop-out. Even Benno was well-protected and had support for a better future.
Throughout the book, we are brought back to youth—the fear of ostracism, the struggle for identity, and the fumbling toward the future. The gritty immediacy and looming dread is contoured with a rising hope. I was gripped by the tension and storyline, keen to know how it would turn out.
My only complaint is that there are too many anachronisms of speech and style, phrases and words that didn’t come into vogue until the 21st century, some not until a few years ago, but peppered throughout in Dave’s speech (and his peers). It even distracted me, enough to periodically jettison me from 1992 and right into 2017. That shouldn’t happen in a period piece, but otherwise, I would highly recommend this for its timeliness and timelessness. As we learn with experience, social justice comes in many colors.
It is 1992, and Dave Greenwood is extra white with his curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Like all the other kids, he is trying to fit in, even while being bullied on the bus and in school. He meets Mar, a nerdy black kid from the projects with an aim to getting into Boston Latin next year in 7th grade, and they form a friendship over their love of the Celtics and their temperaments—non-violent outsiders. Their friendship forms the center of this story.
The language and dialogue feel immediate and sharp, the two boys finding solace in their shared studying for exams and watching Celtics videos, and Mar becomes like another big brother to Dave’s younger and purposely mute kid brother, Benno, an eccentric and odd child who has adopted a removed stance from all but his family.
The sense of identity confusion is highlighted as Dave tries to find his place in religion. His father is a secular Jew and his mother an atheist non-Jew, so Dave is…nothing? he surmises. (Judaism is decided by the maternal line). Mar is a devoted Christian, and suddenly Dave wants to belong to this new tribe, one where it may also help him to stop his teenage onanism. He also lies to Mar and hides his Jewish roots.
The book is packed with adventures between the two friends, such as being a part of a city theater group that Dave introduces to Mar, and the curse of being noticed—or not—by the girl of your desire. Throughout the story, Dave refers (to the reader only) a private shame about the “force”—something he was ignorant to in elementary school when the motto was “Together in Friendship”—a white kid and black kid holding hands, or when his choir sang for Nelson Mandela when he was freed.
But then, with the Rodney King horror came the Reginald Denny violence, which made Dave sick with the force—it reared its ugly head even more when he would walk to school and hear, “ Fuck you lookin’ at, white boy?” The same force that permeated white and black with its systemic racism, and which clouded Dave with shame, guilt, and anger. His parents were peacemakers, organizers for good works, and his Jewish grandfather was a survivor from the Holocaust. Middle school was difficult enough for Dave, but with conflicting forces at work inside of him, he felt even more isolated, until Mar became his best friend.
Even so, home life was different for Dave than for Mar. Mar lived in the projects with his mentally unstable mother, tended to by his grandmother, and Dave had the luxury of two stable parents—one a Harvard grad, the other a Harvard drop-out. Even Benno was well-protected and had support for a better future.
Throughout the book, we are brought back to youth—the fear of ostracism, the struggle for identity, and the fumbling toward the future. The gritty immediacy and looming dread is contoured with a rising hope. I was gripped by the tension and storyline, keen to know how it would turn out.
My only complaint is that there are too many anachronisms of speech and style, phrases and words that didn’t come into vogue until the 21st century, some not until a few years ago, but peppered throughout in Dave’s speech (and his peers). It even distracted me, enough to periodically jettison me from 1992 and right into 2017. That shouldn’t happen in a period piece, but otherwise, I would highly recommend this for its timeliness and timelessness. As we learn with experience, social justice comes in many colors.
January 19, 2021
This really is a remarkable book --funny but also very serious, touching, and (to my mind) honest. "Green" is the nickname given to David Greenfield, one of the few white kids in a primarily black Boston school. He is blond, half-Jewish (though the word doesn't signify much to him), child of parents who would today be called "crunchy," grandson of a Holocaust survivor, brother to a "special needs" sibling who has stopped talking, and painfully desperate to find his place in an environment where his status as an outsider is literally visible on his face. "Green" is also what David is, as in young, naive, and new to life. Graham-Felsen nicely captures the fraught terrain of early adolescence: the fears, misunderstandings, successes and failures, what friendship means (and requires), the discoveries (girls! masturbation!), betrayal, and more. And yes, things happen in the book that I did not see coming.
I particularly liked how the author enables us to feel disappointment and even shock at David's behavior and yet understand and still care for him. Indeed, to care for many of the people around him, even some who are not on the face of it themselves sympathetic. The book casts a bright light on the factors contribute to our identities -- where we live, the social milieu in which we live, how we speak and dress and think, who we view as the Other. "Green" focuses primarily on what young people go through in trying to discover who they are, but in raising the question so powerfully it obliges readers to ask the questions of themselves.
One very minor cavil (isn't that redundant?): I'm not sure I fully buy into the notion that the events in the book take place in the sixth grade, even if they are set in an environment in which kids grow up early. In the end, though, it doesn't matter in the least. I will be very curious to see what kind of readership "Green" gets. There is so much to think and talk about in "Green". I hope it doesn't get lost in a netherworld between YA and adult audiences, for it truly deserves to be widely read by both.
I particularly liked how the author enables us to feel disappointment and even shock at David's behavior and yet understand and still care for him. Indeed, to care for many of the people around him, even some who are not on the face of it themselves sympathetic. The book casts a bright light on the factors contribute to our identities -- where we live, the social milieu in which we live, how we speak and dress and think, who we view as the Other. "Green" focuses primarily on what young people go through in trying to discover who they are, but in raising the question so powerfully it obliges readers to ask the questions of themselves.
One very minor cavil (isn't that redundant?): I'm not sure I fully buy into the notion that the events in the book take place in the sixth grade, even if they are set in an environment in which kids grow up early. In the end, though, it doesn't matter in the least. I will be very curious to see what kind of readership "Green" gets. There is so much to think and talk about in "Green". I hope it doesn't get lost in a netherworld between YA and adult audiences, for it truly deserves to be widely read by both.
December 13, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Green is set in the early 1990's. Green himself is a white middle-school kid in Boston whose parents have decided that it's good for him to go to one of the more gritty middle schools- they have hippie ideals and want their kids to be exposed to all walks of life. In fact, Green says that he's the whitest of the two white kids in his school, a first-page sentence that made me smile and want to read further.
Green is basically a dweeb trying to survive in an environment where he's over his head. In an effort to seem cooler, he buys himself a tracksuit of the most cutting-edge sort, not realizing that he's now sporting colors from a rival gang. One of the outsider kids from the projects, Marlon, ends up standing up for Green and the two end up bonding over their shared passion for the Celtics.
This is an exploration of how race and class and money get in the way of two boys trying to be friends. Each kid wants to make it into a prep school, which has admission tests, so that they can get out of the public school grinder. Each gets pressured to betray the other's trust. I can't say that it's a feel-good book.
What got in the way for me was the language. The book is written in first person, and Green uses the same slang terms OVER AND OVER AGAIN, perhaps in an effort to place the reader in time, perhaps in an effort to sound cool or authentic. Every single time he describes what someone is wearing, they're "rocking" it, whether it looks good or not. They rock track suits, they rock sunglasses, they rock things that they can't quite pull off, and Green notes that they're not pulling it off while saying they're rocking it. I don't know if he's being ironic or what, but I don't remember that term being quite that ubiquitous back in the early nineties. I was in my early 20's, not my teens, it's true, and I wasn't in a place that was exactly urban, but I feel like it's overdone. Girls are always shorties, and it ends up feeling like a parody of a rap song. Maybe the author is trying to show that Green is trying too hard, but it ended up feeling like the author is trying too hard. And right or wrong, that's what exasperated me about the book and got me to skim it.
Green is set in the early 1990's. Green himself is a white middle-school kid in Boston whose parents have decided that it's good for him to go to one of the more gritty middle schools- they have hippie ideals and want their kids to be exposed to all walks of life. In fact, Green says that he's the whitest of the two white kids in his school, a first-page sentence that made me smile and want to read further.
Green is basically a dweeb trying to survive in an environment where he's over his head. In an effort to seem cooler, he buys himself a tracksuit of the most cutting-edge sort, not realizing that he's now sporting colors from a rival gang. One of the outsider kids from the projects, Marlon, ends up standing up for Green and the two end up bonding over their shared passion for the Celtics.
This is an exploration of how race and class and money get in the way of two boys trying to be friends. Each kid wants to make it into a prep school, which has admission tests, so that they can get out of the public school grinder. Each gets pressured to betray the other's trust. I can't say that it's a feel-good book.
What got in the way for me was the language. The book is written in first person, and Green uses the same slang terms OVER AND OVER AGAIN, perhaps in an effort to place the reader in time, perhaps in an effort to sound cool or authentic. Every single time he describes what someone is wearing, they're "rocking" it, whether it looks good or not. They rock track suits, they rock sunglasses, they rock things that they can't quite pull off, and Green notes that they're not pulling it off while saying they're rocking it. I don't know if he's being ironic or what, but I don't remember that term being quite that ubiquitous back in the early nineties. I was in my early 20's, not my teens, it's true, and I wasn't in a place that was exactly urban, but I feel like it's overdone. Girls are always shorties, and it ends up feeling like a parody of a rap song. Maybe the author is trying to show that Green is trying too hard, but it ended up feeling like the author is trying too hard. And right or wrong, that's what exasperated me about the book and got me to skim it.
December 11, 2017
3.5 Stars
Green is a lot of things in this story. It's the nickname of the main character, 12-year-old Dave Greenfeld. Green is also the color of his (and his new bestie Mar's) favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Green is the color of the trees in the park that separates the rich people houses from the housing projects; it's the color associated with inexperience and envy. All of these things play a major role in the novel.
I was engaged an entertained throughout the novel, but I wasn't blown away. There is some really heavy subject matter in the plot, but it's told through the perspective of a 12-year old kid who struggles with being the token white boy at school and spends most of his time trying too hard. Even the slang tries a little too hard. It's not Tom Sawyer, but I really was pulling for Dave to figure out how to be a better friend. The character of Marlon had much more depth, but we only know as much about him as Dave Greenfeld knows, and Green's too busy jerking it and feeling humiliated by everything in his own life to dig deeper into Mar's storyline.
It was a quick read and even when I was annoyed with the characters I was entertained. I guess I felt like important issues simmered throughout the book but never made a poignant statement.
Thank you to Penguin's First to Read program for providing me with an advance copy for review.
Green is a lot of things in this story. It's the nickname of the main character, 12-year-old Dave Greenfeld. Green is also the color of his (and his new bestie Mar's) favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Green is the color of the trees in the park that separates the rich people houses from the housing projects; it's the color associated with inexperience and envy. All of these things play a major role in the novel.
I was engaged an entertained throughout the novel, but I wasn't blown away. There is some really heavy subject matter in the plot, but it's told through the perspective of a 12-year old kid who struggles with being the token white boy at school and spends most of his time trying too hard. Even the slang tries a little too hard. It's not Tom Sawyer, but I really was pulling for Dave to figure out how to be a better friend. The character of Marlon had much more depth, but we only know as much about him as Dave Greenfeld knows, and Green's too busy jerking it and feeling humiliated by everything in his own life to dig deeper into Mar's storyline.
It was a quick read and even when I was annoyed with the characters I was entertained. I guess I felt like important issues simmered throughout the book but never made a poignant statement.
Thank you to Penguin's First to Read program for providing me with an advance copy for review.
August 4, 2018
I like this book. The author clearly remembers his teen years vividly. If Maniac Magee had been a Celtics fan, and done impulsive, dumb things instead of always getting everything preternaturally right, then he'd be Dave.
This is a boy book, chock-full of believable 90s-era teen slang, devotion to the Celtics, the Celtics curse, buddies, guilty secrets, weird little brothers, bullies, bloody noses, posers, dubious fashion choices, angst, family, and the mysteries that are girls. And a number of reassuring paragraphs about self-gratification and the siren call of porn.
The guys come across as overly sophisticated for eleven- and twelve-year-olds, but otherwise this is a nice comforting slice of male preteen/teen life. But I do still need to find a YA book where the sharpest rapper is not a white guy.
This is a boy book, chock-full of believable 90s-era teen slang, devotion to the Celtics, the Celtics curse, buddies, guilty secrets, weird little brothers, bullies, bloody noses, posers, dubious fashion choices, angst, family, and the mysteries that are girls. And a number of reassuring paragraphs about self-gratification and the siren call of porn.
The guys come across as overly sophisticated for eleven- and twelve-year-olds, but otherwise this is a nice comforting slice of male preteen/teen life. But I do still need to find a YA book where the sharpest rapper is not a white guy.
December 30, 2017
“It seemed like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston.”
Green is a unique coming of age story, told from 12 year old David Greenfield, growing up in Boston in the early 90’s. The year Green focuses on for the entirety of the novel, is the year 92-93. We start when Dave is entering 6th grade, and the novel ends right before his 7th grade year begins.
The year is significant, because this school year is a milestone year for Dave. He has the only chance to take an entrance exam to get into Latin, a school that grooms students for college. The school is also notoriously a feeder school for Harvard. And Dave feels that Harvard is the answer to all of his problems. Or at least out of the ghetto he believes he and his family lives in.
Even more significantly, Dave feels very self-conscious attending King Middle School. He is one of a very small population of white kids, and he feels after the riots and Rodney King trial, that suddenly, his being white is more noticeable to his peers than before.
His first few weeks of school are exactly as he expects: being ignored, or hassled, feeling left out and left behind. His parents won’t buy him new shoes or stylish clothes. Even his quasi best friend ditches him for cooler friends. But life begins to look up when Marlon Wellings sticks up for him to a bully and their friendship begins to grow.
“It’s starting to hit me: Mar isn’t just my best friend, he’s my first. Up until now I had no idea just how lonely I’d been.”
I am on the fence with this book, and my review may contain some mild spoilers, though I will try and avoid them as much as possible.
This novel is based on the author’s own childhood and experiences. And, in that sense, I can’t argue. I can say, however, that I didn’t really connect with Dave and the style that it’s written is very distracting. Mostly, I’m referring to the language. So. Much. Slang.
Here’s the thing with slang. I get that kids use slang words. It’s that this is a book written from Dave’s perspective, solely in the first person. And I just don’t buy that a kid would talk this much slang, all the time, as the voice in his head. It didn’t feel natural or real to me. I’ve never met anyone who talks like this kid. Maybe they exist, maybe this really is how a kid would hear himself speak. I don’t know. But for me, it didn’t feel real.
It’s hard to say if the author chose to write that way to highlight the way Dave felt out of place and was trying so hard to fit in. Because the kid does try to fit in. He is ashamed of his own personality, or so it seems, and only wants to fit in with the cool kids. So perhaps the slang is simply really driving home how hard he tries and how awkward he really is. It certainly felt awkward reading, so I can see that angle.
I also have an issue with how his brother Benno is handled. We know that Benno has chosen not to speak for over a year. That he had an accident, where he cut himself, and since then has been under therapeutic care and attends a special school. Dave often resents the treatment Benno gets. One example is how Benno gets tater tots with meals, while Dave is forced to eat homegrown vegetables and rarely gets processed food. Benno often gets to stay home from school and has little rules dictating his behavior at home.
I find it odd that parents who are so invested in one child, would be so oblivious to the anxiety of their other child. I suppose it happens, parents often can make a healthy child feel overlooked in the face of a sick one, but they rarely even try to explain what’s going on with Benno when Dave tries to talk to them about his own struggles. Even worse, we never even get to understand or learn why or what Benno is going through.
But what really bothers me about the book the most, is that Dave doesn’t seem to learn any lessons at all. He complains, often and loudly, about no one having his back. Yet, he repeatedly lets his friends get beat up and picked on. Even when Mar spells this out to him, he can’t muster the courage to even speak up, let alone jump in to help. He acknowledges his fear, but never seems to comprehend that no one will defend him unless he starts defending either himself or others.
Dave is obviously a kid so desperate for attention and approval, that he is willing to sacrifice his friends feelings and needs if someone ‘better’ is around and offering either of those things. And he doesn’t seem to understand why his relationship with Mar changes after betrayal after betrayal occurs. He is oblivious. Which I would expect of a kid, but Mar is patient and explains his reactions multiple times. Dave just doesn’t want to settle for anything he perceives as less. Unfortunately, Mar falls into that less category too frequently to maintain a semblance of a friendship. And while Mar seems to realize this, Dave never sees his role in the distance.
“His head is tilted to the universe, but he looks more lonely than awed. Everyone else is smiling and pointing, and he’s just standing there, squinting, biting his upper lip.”
A good come of age novel should have an “aha” moment. A moment where the main characters realizes where he went wrong and attempts to fix it. Dave sort of has this moment at the end, a moment where he confronts his old best friend and tries to talk to Mar one last time. But it felt like very little, and far too late. And even then, I never got the sense that Dave really understood why Mar distanced himself from Dave.
This book is supposed to be about class and privilege. And while it’s clear to the reader that Dave is sort of spoiled and immature and very privileged, Dave himself never really seems to have his “aha” moment. He realizes he has made wrong choices in regards to his friendship with Mar, but it’s completely unclear by the end of the book whether he really understands how much easier his life is simply because of the color of his skin.
He feels a lot of resentment towards the other kids in his neighborhood because of the color of his skin, but he never seems to piece together that this resentment is because of his privilege not him. Maybe that realization is difficult for a sixth grader to comprehend, but since so much of this novel hinges on that dynamic, it’s hard to sympathize with a kid who feels picked on, and can identify racist behavior without understanding at least on some level that he lives a far different life than his peers. Especially when he visually sees the drastic differences in their living conditions and lives.
I’ve read books that I’ve enjoyed without liking the main character. But, this is a tough one, because he is the story. And I just didn’t like him. Maybe I was meant to sympathize with him feeling ostracized and confused about who he is. But he just didn’t come across as likable. He needed more redeeming moments and to become aware of his privilege far earlier in the novel.
Thank you to the First To Read program for sending an early copy to read and review.
Green is a unique coming of age story, told from 12 year old David Greenfield, growing up in Boston in the early 90’s. The year Green focuses on for the entirety of the novel, is the year 92-93. We start when Dave is entering 6th grade, and the novel ends right before his 7th grade year begins.
The year is significant, because this school year is a milestone year for Dave. He has the only chance to take an entrance exam to get into Latin, a school that grooms students for college. The school is also notoriously a feeder school for Harvard. And Dave feels that Harvard is the answer to all of his problems. Or at least out of the ghetto he believes he and his family lives in.
Even more significantly, Dave feels very self-conscious attending King Middle School. He is one of a very small population of white kids, and he feels after the riots and Rodney King trial, that suddenly, his being white is more noticeable to his peers than before.
His first few weeks of school are exactly as he expects: being ignored, or hassled, feeling left out and left behind. His parents won’t buy him new shoes or stylish clothes. Even his quasi best friend ditches him for cooler friends. But life begins to look up when Marlon Wellings sticks up for him to a bully and their friendship begins to grow.
“It’s starting to hit me: Mar isn’t just my best friend, he’s my first. Up until now I had no idea just how lonely I’d been.”
I am on the fence with this book, and my review may contain some mild spoilers, though I will try and avoid them as much as possible.
This novel is based on the author’s own childhood and experiences. And, in that sense, I can’t argue. I can say, however, that I didn’t really connect with Dave and the style that it’s written is very distracting. Mostly, I’m referring to the language. So. Much. Slang.
Here’s the thing with slang. I get that kids use slang words. It’s that this is a book written from Dave’s perspective, solely in the first person. And I just don’t buy that a kid would talk this much slang, all the time, as the voice in his head. It didn’t feel natural or real to me. I’ve never met anyone who talks like this kid. Maybe they exist, maybe this really is how a kid would hear himself speak. I don’t know. But for me, it didn’t feel real.
It’s hard to say if the author chose to write that way to highlight the way Dave felt out of place and was trying so hard to fit in. Because the kid does try to fit in. He is ashamed of his own personality, or so it seems, and only wants to fit in with the cool kids. So perhaps the slang is simply really driving home how hard he tries and how awkward he really is. It certainly felt awkward reading, so I can see that angle.
I also have an issue with how his brother Benno is handled. We know that Benno has chosen not to speak for over a year. That he had an accident, where he cut himself, and since then has been under therapeutic care and attends a special school. Dave often resents the treatment Benno gets. One example is how Benno gets tater tots with meals, while Dave is forced to eat homegrown vegetables and rarely gets processed food. Benno often gets to stay home from school and has little rules dictating his behavior at home.
I find it odd that parents who are so invested in one child, would be so oblivious to the anxiety of their other child. I suppose it happens, parents often can make a healthy child feel overlooked in the face of a sick one, but they rarely even try to explain what’s going on with Benno when Dave tries to talk to them about his own struggles. Even worse, we never even get to understand or learn why or what Benno is going through.
But what really bothers me about the book the most, is that Dave doesn’t seem to learn any lessons at all. He complains, often and loudly, about no one having his back. Yet, he repeatedly lets his friends get beat up and picked on. Even when Mar spells this out to him, he can’t muster the courage to even speak up, let alone jump in to help. He acknowledges his fear, but never seems to comprehend that no one will defend him unless he starts defending either himself or others.
Dave is obviously a kid so desperate for attention and approval, that he is willing to sacrifice his friends feelings and needs if someone ‘better’ is around and offering either of those things. And he doesn’t seem to understand why his relationship with Mar changes after betrayal after betrayal occurs. He is oblivious. Which I would expect of a kid, but Mar is patient and explains his reactions multiple times. Dave just doesn’t want to settle for anything he perceives as less. Unfortunately, Mar falls into that less category too frequently to maintain a semblance of a friendship. And while Mar seems to realize this, Dave never sees his role in the distance.
“His head is tilted to the universe, but he looks more lonely than awed. Everyone else is smiling and pointing, and he’s just standing there, squinting, biting his upper lip.”
A good come of age novel should have an “aha” moment. A moment where the main characters realizes where he went wrong and attempts to fix it. Dave sort of has this moment at the end, a moment where he confronts his old best friend and tries to talk to Mar one last time. But it felt like very little, and far too late. And even then, I never got the sense that Dave really understood why Mar distanced himself from Dave.
This book is supposed to be about class and privilege. And while it’s clear to the reader that Dave is sort of spoiled and immature and very privileged, Dave himself never really seems to have his “aha” moment. He realizes he has made wrong choices in regards to his friendship with Mar, but it’s completely unclear by the end of the book whether he really understands how much easier his life is simply because of the color of his skin.
He feels a lot of resentment towards the other kids in his neighborhood because of the color of his skin, but he never seems to piece together that this resentment is because of his privilege not him. Maybe that realization is difficult for a sixth grader to comprehend, but since so much of this novel hinges on that dynamic, it’s hard to sympathize with a kid who feels picked on, and can identify racist behavior without understanding at least on some level that he lives a far different life than his peers. Especially when he visually sees the drastic differences in their living conditions and lives.
I’ve read books that I’ve enjoyed without liking the main character. But, this is a tough one, because he is the story. And I just didn’t like him. Maybe I was meant to sympathize with him feeling ostracized and confused about who he is. But he just didn’t come across as likable. He needed more redeeming moments and to become aware of his privilege far earlier in the novel.
Thank you to the First To Read program for sending an early copy to read and review.
March 23, 2018
”Though it raises serious questions about race and inequality with a poignancy that took me aback, Green is also funny and beautifully written, with not a word out of place, and somehow managing to be both true to its young narrator’s voice and bracingly intelligent in its depiction of a brutal societal impasse...”—Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
This book was refreshingly unique. I was excited about it when I saw it available on NetGalley, and was equally excited to finally get it from my library. I devoured this book. The narrative may not be for everyone, but I loved it for its uniqueness.
This book was refreshingly unique. I was excited about it when I saw it available on NetGalley, and was equally excited to finally get it from my library. I devoured this book. The narrative may not be for everyone, but I loved it for its uniqueness.
November 2, 2017
In his own voice, we meet David Greenfeld, hero of Sam Graham-Felsen’s remarkable debut novel. Middle school is hard enough to negotiate under normal circumstances, but when you’re practically the only white 12-year-old in an intercity school in Boston, it’s even worse. His parents, latter day hippies, refuse to even buy him Nikes to help pave the way — the right shoes are key to acceptance. So, with a brother on the spectrum who seemingly gets all the breaks, David works hard to find his place. His nickname, Green, carries many associations, including being the color of his beloved Celtics, which is decidedly un-cool in 1992. Things start to shift through an unexpected source — his friendship with Marlon Wellings, an African-American neighbor, and through their bonding over the Celtics, both learn about one another’s samenesses and differences.
The era is significant too -- 1992, the year of the Rodney King riots ("It seemed like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston, like they were looking for their own Reginald Denny....". I had to keep reminding myself that David is only 12, that the challenges he faces are usually portrayed by characters later in their teens, and his enforced maturity is both a blessing and a curse. Reading about the author, it is no surprise given the clarity of his prose that he goes on to succeed in his goals. His friendship with Marlon, riding a roller coaster in which it is in danger of going off the rails due to forces beyond their control, proves most precious to David. What he has learned from Marlon has lasted his entire life to the present and by extension, beyond.
Now that Sam Graham-felsen has written about his own life, I for one hope he’ll continue to turn his powers of observation on a wider world.
The era is significant too -- 1992, the year of the Rodney King riots ("It seemed like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston, like they were looking for their own Reginald Denny....". I had to keep reminding myself that David is only 12, that the challenges he faces are usually portrayed by characters later in their teens, and his enforced maturity is both a blessing and a curse. Reading about the author, it is no surprise given the clarity of his prose that he goes on to succeed in his goals. His friendship with Marlon, riding a roller coaster in which it is in danger of going off the rails due to forces beyond their control, proves most precious to David. What he has learned from Marlon has lasted his entire life to the present and by extension, beyond.
Now that Sam Graham-felsen has written about his own life, I for one hope he’ll continue to turn his powers of observation on a wider world.
December 7, 2019
3.5 stars... A solid book that explores racism and privilege. David ("Green") is one of the only white kids at his public junior high. He befriends Marlon ("Mar"), a black boy who lives in the low-rent high rise in the next neighborhood. Things are great for a while, but then the cracks start to form as the two undergo testing to enter a magnet school. There are any number of microaggressions that of course David doesn't realize, but the reader (hopefully) does. There is also a layer of anti-Semiticism. At the core, this book is about a young adolescent (tween, if you will) learning some harsh truths about the world around him. I was also in 6th grade in 1992, and I can remember this being about the time that I began to understand racism, although it wasn't until college that my eyes were truly opened.
As I read through Green, I tried to remember what I was like at 11-12 (it was a while ago), and honestly, I don't remember being as worldly as the kids in this book are. Then I can't help but think that this is a result of my own white, middle-class privilege. Let's face it, I was probably abnormally naive at 12. Still, the book felt a bit older than the supposed 6th-grade setting. Overall, I enjoyed the basic themes and social commentary.
Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
As I read through Green, I tried to remember what I was like at 11-12 (it was a while ago), and honestly, I don't remember being as worldly as the kids in this book are. Then I can't help but think that this is a result of my own white, middle-class privilege. Let's face it, I was probably abnormally naive at 12. Still, the book felt a bit older than the supposed 6th-grade setting. Overall, I enjoyed the basic themes and social commentary.
Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
March 13, 2021
Eh. Again for the people in the back: I mean, sure, but eh.
The most telling detail about this book is that while it seems to want to be A Book Of Ideas, the most clarifying expression of ideas was the author's Q&A in the back pages. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't positioned as YA: too much swearing?
The narrator is insanely annoying, and the pushback to that might be: well he's a teenage boy; he's SUPPOSED to be annoying. That, while based in fact, is very dumb. There are near-infinite books out there that didn't intentionally have fake ass Michael Rapaport white pidgin AAVE narrators. This book wants credit for being more complex than it is. And as a white guy in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston who aspires to allyship and racial self-awareness, I am so deeply in the target audience for this book about a white kid in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston aspiring to allyship and racial self-awareness. And yet: eh.
I wish this book's valleys weren't quite so low, because there's some genuinely tender and poignant stuff within. It probably should have decided whether it wanted to be YA or adult fiction. It's probably not as bad as this review makes it sound, but it's also less exciting than I wanted it to be. "Blindspotting" is a better elucidation of the same ideas.
The most telling detail about this book is that while it seems to want to be A Book Of Ideas, the most clarifying expression of ideas was the author's Q&A in the back pages. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't positioned as YA: too much swearing?
The narrator is insanely annoying, and the pushback to that might be: well he's a teenage boy; he's SUPPOSED to be annoying. That, while based in fact, is very dumb. There are near-infinite books out there that didn't intentionally have fake ass Michael Rapaport white pidgin AAVE narrators. This book wants credit for being more complex than it is. And as a white guy in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston who aspires to allyship and racial self-awareness, I am so deeply in the target audience for this book about a white kid in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston aspiring to allyship and racial self-awareness. And yet: eh.
I wish this book's valleys weren't quite so low, because there's some genuinely tender and poignant stuff within. It probably should have decided whether it wanted to be YA or adult fiction. It's probably not as bad as this review makes it sound, but it's also less exciting than I wanted it to be. "Blindspotting" is a better elucidation of the same ideas.
October 29, 2018
Green is a coming of age story set in 1992, which is the year of the Rodney King riots. Dave is one of two white kids going to a Boston area middle school. He describes the racial tensions of the riots and the time by saying,“It was like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston…”
Naturally Dave struggles to fit in and is bullied often, but he makes friends with, Marlon, a black kid from the projects who has a difficult home life. Marlon and Dave bond over their love of video games, the Boston Celtics, and their academic endeavors that they hope will get them into the more prestigious high school. As you might expect their friendship is faced with many challenges stemming from prejudices against color, race, and religion.
I thought this novel did a good job of exploring race and privilege while also delivering of characters who felt authentic to their circumstances. It was painful at times, but I really enjoyed seeing this friendship blossom while both boys they seek to find their own identities. I highly recommend you check this one out if you love a good coming of age story that has a healthy does of adversity.
Naturally Dave struggles to fit in and is bullied often, but he makes friends with, Marlon, a black kid from the projects who has a difficult home life. Marlon and Dave bond over their love of video games, the Boston Celtics, and their academic endeavors that they hope will get them into the more prestigious high school. As you might expect their friendship is faced with many challenges stemming from prejudices against color, race, and religion.
I thought this novel did a good job of exploring race and privilege while also delivering of characters who felt authentic to their circumstances. It was painful at times, but I really enjoyed seeing this friendship blossom while both boys they seek to find their own identities. I highly recommend you check this one out if you love a good coming of age story that has a healthy does of adversity.
July 26, 2023
DNF at 50%. I tried to get through this but I just lost steam about halfway through. The story was okay but the character voice and narration were so ridiculous I had a hard time taking it seriously. I was a teenager in the 90s and NO ONE talked the way the main character talked in this book, except kids in after-school specials or dorky anti-drug PSAs that adults wrote with all the cool new slang in order to try to reach the "youths." It's like when your mom starts trying to use "on fleek" and says "isn't that what all you kids say?" I just kept imagining Seth Green's character from Can't Hardly Wait, who would say things like "Yo, why you gotta always be wastin' my flava." Couldn't do it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 9, 2017
David Greenfeld is a sixth grader who’s the son of sixties radicals. His father is a non practicing Jew and his mom was raised Christian. Both his parents believe in equality and make little money so they live in an integrated neighborhood and David is one of few nonblack students at his local school. He’s heckled constantly and called whitey so he feels left out of social life and sometimes is physically afraid until he meets a new black student named Marlon who welcomes him as a friend and even defends David when other kids threaten him.
I like how Graham-Felsen uses kids to speak some truths that might be more difficult to hear from adults. The kids don’t filter themselves and don’t hesitate to confront racism head on and the author does it with humor. This is one of the reasons Graham-Felsen’s writing reminds me of Philip Roth’s style...they both hit serious issues head on such as religion, racism, and sexuality but they do it with humor that doesn’t feel inappropriate.
Thank you to the publisher for providing and e-copy.
I like how Graham-Felsen uses kids to speak some truths that might be more difficult to hear from adults. The kids don’t filter themselves and don’t hesitate to confront racism head on and the author does it with humor. This is one of the reasons Graham-Felsen’s writing reminds me of Philip Roth’s style...they both hit serious issues head on such as religion, racism, and sexuality but they do it with humor that doesn’t feel inappropriate.
Thank you to the publisher for providing and e-copy.
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February 19, 2019One of my friends recommended this book to me and at first, I was very interested. The book is about a white guy in an all-black school around the 1950s. The book was written as if the young 6th grade had written it and the author has used some stylistic choices like 'me and Kev' instead "Kev and I.'
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