When I was the greatest / Jason Reynolds.
Record details
- ISBN: 1442459476 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 9781442459472 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 9781442459472
- ISBN: 1442459476
- ISBN: 9781442459472 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 1442459476 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 9780605855434 (permabound)
- ISBN: 0605855439 (permabound)
- ISBN: 9781442459489
- ISBN: 1442459484
- Physical Description: 231 pages ; 22 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2014]
- Copyright: ©2014
Content descriptions
Summary, etc.: | Ali lives in Bed-Stuy, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for guns and drugs, but he and his sister, Jazz, and their neighbors, Needles and Noodles, stay out of trouble until they go to the wrong party, where one gets badly hurt and another leaves with a target on his back. |
Target Audience Note: | Ages 12 up. |
Study Program Information Note: | Accelerated Reader AR Upper Grades 4.8 9.0 quiz: 163699. Accelerated Reader UG 4.8 9. Reading Counts 6-8 5.5 16. Accelerated Reader AR 4.8 9.0 163699. |
Awards Note: | John Steptoe New Talent Award, 2015. |
Search for related items by subject
Genre: | Young adult fiction. Young adult fiction. |
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Available copies
- 15 of 15 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 6 of 6 copies available at Bridgeport Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 15 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beardsley Branch - Bridgeport | YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000075231407 | Young Adult Graphic Novel | Available | - |
Black Rock Branch - Bridgeport | YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000075231233 | Young Adult Summer Reading | Available | - |
Burroughs-Saden Main - Bridgeport | X YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000075231464 | Young Adult Fiction | Available | - |
East Side Branch - Bridgeport | YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000075231357 | Young Adult Summer Reading | Available | - |
Newfield Branch - Bridgeport | YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000075231290 | Young Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Newfield Branch - Bridgeport | YA REYNOLDS (Text) | 34000147924906 | Young Adult Fiction | Available | - |
Electronic resources
Publishers Weekly Review
When I Was the Greatest
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
The "greatest" in the title doesn't just refer to the scene in which 15-year-old Ali defends a friend with Tourette syndrome by throwing a winning punch at a party-it also hints at what an accomplishment Reynolds's novel is. Set in the non-"Cosby" part of Brooklyn, in the neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, the story centers around the party incident and the evolving relationship between Ali, his best friend Noodles, and Noodles's brother Needles (the one with "the syndrome"). But Reynolds (half of the team behind 2009's My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.) thematically addresses much more-race and class divisions in New York, taking ownership of one's actions, and standing up for what's right-without ever sounding preachy. Reynolds also upends tired stereotypes-Ali lives with his sister and bighearted mother, but his sometimes-absentee father isn't a deadbeat, rather "a pretty good dude who just made some messed-up decisions"-while leaving in enough sass and grit to keep the story believable. Snappy descriptions (the barbershop is the "black man's country club") and a hard-won ending round out a funny and rewarding read. Ages 12-up. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Horn Book Review
When I Was the Greatest
The Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Ali's thing is boxing; his best friend Noodles's is comic books; Noodles's brother Needles's is...knitting. If this all sounds Time Warp Trio-ish, think again: the three teens live in Brooklyn's tough Bed-Stuy neighborhood, and their pastimes are as much strategies of survival as they are personality quirks. Ali, affable and vulnerable, tells their story, and through him Reynolds demonstrates a gift for conversational tone and sly humor: "[I] took a glance down at the kicks I had on. Perfect. I mean, not a mark on them and not a lace twisted. Them bad boys were clean enough for a cop to harass me just for having them on." (Additional irony can be found in the fact that the shoes in question were in fact stolen--but by Ali's dad, a petty criminal ne'er-do-well who is nevertheless a loving father.) Ali is a good kid, but Noodles is angry about something; Needles knits, at the suggestion of Ali's mother, as a way to keep his Tourette syndrome under control, a strategy that gives the novel some humor (as when Noodles steals some black yarn for Needles to knit rather than the embarrassing purple he's been working with) but also its violent climax, at a party that all three boys discover they are too young for. In his "What Makes a Good YA Urban Novel?" column in the November/December 2013 Horn Book, teacher Randy Ribay asks for books that show that "people are people above and beyond their zip codes." Here's one. roger sutton (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Review
When I Was the Greatest
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 7 Up-Set in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn with black teen main characters, including one named Needles, this story seems ripe for drug dealing, gang banging, and boys gone wrong. However, Reynolds's debut doesn't follow the predictable path, as narrator Allen (nicknamed Ali for boxer Mohammed Ali) is a pretty good 16 year old, and Needles gets his nickname because he knits. Ali, his best friend Noodles, Needles, and sometimes Ali's younger sister Jazz hang together under the strict embrace of Ali's bighearted, hardworking mom. Needles has "a syndrome" (Tourette's syndrome) but the knitting helps, and neighbors are tolerant of his outbursts. When the boys crash a party of twentysomethings, Ali finds himself in too deep with an older girl, and Needles gets into serious trouble. Reynolds busts stereotypes as Ali backs away from easy sex, violence isn't always seen as the answer, and Ali sees examples of cuttin' a brother some slack and turning over a new leaf. Narrator J. B. Adkins gives life to the various voices, though not all the characters have a strong Brooklyn accent, which downplays the New York setting a bit. When he nails the tone of a teenaged "Yo!" or "aight," the narration comes most alive. The very occasional swearing fits naturally into the teenage discussions and Needles's Tourette's-related outbursts. A good choice for schools seeking realistic stories in urban settings.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
BookList Review
When I Was the Greatest
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Sixteen-year-old Ali is a walking contradiction. He's a lauded boxer-in-training who's afraid of stepping into the ring; a straight-laced, head-down kind of kid on a bad block in Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood rife with drugs and violence. He's a pillar whose family structure has fractured only to create infrangible bonds of his own with friends and a little sister who rely on him alone for stability. But, most notably, he's a shockingly benevolent teenager who exudes ageless wit, charm, and grace among circumstances that seem like they wouldn't allow for such hope. With fresh, fast-paced dialogue, Reynolds' debut novel chronicles Ali's friendship with next-door brothers Needles and Noodles, flawed but unforgettable characters all their own, as the three prepare for the party of a lifetime and pay the consequences for thrusting themselves into a more sordid encounter than any of them could have envisioned. When I Was the Greatest is urban fiction with heart, a meditation on the meaning of family, the power of friendship, and the value of loyalty.--Walters Wright, Lexi Copyright 2010 Booklist
Kirkus Review
When I Was the Greatest
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A literary story of growing up in Brooklyn. Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for markers. He hangs out on the stoop with his two BFFs, brothers nicknamed by his sister: Noodles and Needles. Needles, the older, suffers from Tourette's syndrome, and Noodles and Ali look out for him. In the lead plotline, the three boys crash an illegal party in the basement of a nearby brownstone and then deal with the fallout. Action notwithstanding, the story actually reads more like a character study of Ali and his sister and friends and a tender homage to this seemingly dangerous neighborhood. Even though Reynolds thoughtfully (and most likely truthfully) depicts the neighborhood as one where guns and drug transactions are seen regularly, readers don't necessarily feel the danger due to the tender and deeply protective relationships of the characters, who are realistically if not exquisitely drawn. The plot, though compelling, takes back seat to them, and what unfolds is a moving and thought-provoking study of the connectivity among a family and friends that plays upon and defies readers' expectations. An author worth watching. (Fiction. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.