DeShawn has grown up in the projects, surrounded by drugs, gang violence, and poverty. He faces many tough decisions, including choosing the path of his friends who are selling drugs and making good money, or staying in school with the hope of some day getting out of the projects

Excellent book especially for a reluctant reader ( )

DeShawn begins the book as a pre-teen living with his 40-something year old grandmother in the projects. We see DeShawn grow and continue to be seduced by the local gang as his dislike grows for the rival gang in the projects. While early on DeShawn sees the terrible things drug use and gang activity does to his community, his lack of opportunities for education and making money ultimately drive him where nearly all others in similar circumstances go. Marcus is the local provider: he's the leader of the gang, and DeShawn's only true male role model. Strasser's narrative can be a bit heavy-handed, and it's clear from the start that he's writing a book to highlight the vast divide between the opportunities available to suburban high school-aged students and those in the ghettos and urban projects of America. Each chapter starts with quotes (primarily from rap songs) and a related fact about the difference of opportunities between rich and poor, white and black. The story is engaging and well-told, and it's so short that an avid reader can get through the novel within a couple hours. The book is a 2011/2012 Missouri Gateway Reader's Award nominee, and I can most especially see reluctant readers embrace this novel. There is violence-- several characters are ruthlessly executed on-page, but it's not offensively graphic and the language isn't vulgar. In one instance Strasser edits a rap lyric from "sh**' to make it read "stuff." Recommended for grades 7-10. ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

When you live in the projects and are faced daily with gang violence, drive-by shootings, teen pregnancy, and poverty, the chance of growing up and living a decent life as an adult dwindle with each passing year. Todd Strasser takes readers into the life of one teen living in just such a world.

DeShawn lives with his grandmother and his sister. His grandmother cleans for a living, but even though she's not old by the suburbs' standards, she is old and tired here in the inner city. DeShawn goes to school and wants to stay on the straight and narrow, but everyone he knows is involved in gangs or drugs, so the pressure is on.

IF I GROW UP starts when DeShawn is twelve years old. As each year passes he finds it more and more difficult to keep focused on the things he needs to do to find success in the world most of us know. The pull of the gang lifestyle, with its promise of money and power, are tempting. Being part of the Disciples would guarantee there would be food on the table, diapers for his sister's twin babies, and money for the rent every month.

When it becomes evident who was responsible for the death of a young child, DeShawn struggles with a feeling of needing to even the score. That's part of the curse of gang life. Once there is one killing, everyone wants to seek revenge, which creates an out of control spiraling effect with one drive-by shooting after another.

Is DeShawn the one to beat the odds and stay in control of his life by staying in school, getting a decent job, and making his family proud, or will he end up like the rest of the young boys and men of the projects?

Todd Strasser examines the tragedy of life in the inner city. The statistics reveal odds stacked against the youth of our cities. Strasser is able to paint a realistic picture of this tragic world, but at the same time he keeps this novel free of the extreme use of foul language, explicit sex, and graphic drug use most novels of this type usually employ.

This makes IF I GROW UP a story that can be shared and discussed in any classroom setting. I plan to use it as a read-aloud with my students to help them appreciate how lucky they are to be growing up in a rural, small town atmosphere. ( )

Book talk: I bet when you were younger, you would think about what you might do some day and you'd start by saying, 'When I grow up . . . ' Well, in my world, you better start that sentence with, 'If I grow up,' because around here, growing up ain't easy. My name is DeShawn. Where I live, the Douglass Disciples control pretty much everything, including who gets the chance to grow up. The Genrty Gangstas are close by, and because they are constantly battling the Disciples, they also help to determine who lives and who dies. My mom was killed by a stray bullet so I live with my grandma and sister, and when we hear shots fired outside, we stay away from the windows till it's over. My friend Terrell can't wait to join the Disciples. He wants all the money and power that comes with being in the brotherhood. And the girl I love I have to hide, because if her Gangsta brother found out she was seeing a Disciple, we know he'd kill me. It ain't easy growing up here, but me? I don't plan on joining the Disciples. I'm doing OK in school, and there's a teacher that thinks I can get an education that just might get me out of here. So how am I going to make it out of here alive? Well, if I grow up . . . ( )