Courage

April 1, 2018

Gr 4-7-Just after his 13th birthday, T'Shawn must rearrange his life when his older brother, Lamont, returns home to the south side of Chicago from prison. Fortunately, T finds focus through his dive team as he strives to keep his scholarship and excel at the sport. Friendships, family, and community support help T through the rough times in this absorbing and powerful tale. The characters are complex and compelling, with even minor characters evidencing a mixture of both positive and negative emotions and actions. Reminiscent of Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk, Binns's novel focuses on a number of intersecting concerns such as racism, police brutality, economic inequity, health care costs, gangs, incarceration, and recidivism. Though the perspective is completely appropriate for children-and perhaps all too familiar to many-the two scenes featuring police brutality display realistic violence; readers may benefit from a mediated exploration of their feelings and frustrations in reaction to the scenes described. While the optimistic conclusion might not be particularly satisfying for more mature or experienced readers, it will be satisfying for many younger readers and it pivots on the themes of forgiveness and second chances. VERDICT An auspicious debut and a compelling read that will prompt important discussions about police brutality, racism, and economic inequity.-Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2018
On the cusp of turning 13, an African-American youngster discovers a passion for an unusual sport and confronts a major change in his family.T'Shawn, a pretty good swimmer, discovers at a local pool that he likes diving off the diving board--and that there is a club where he can learn more. It's very expensive, though. His mother works hard, but there are huge bills left over from his father's illness before he died. Then his mother announces that his older brother, Lamont, is about to be released from prison and will be living with them. The brothers' relationship, once close, suffered due to Lamont's gang involvement, and his return is difficult. Although T'Shawn receives assistance that allows him to join the diving club, it is watching his brother for signs he might be returning to his old life that consumes him--and he even joins a community movement to get Lamont removed from the neighborhood. In this middle-grade debut, Binns depicts many issues facing urban youth, some with more success than others. Readers follow T'Shawn as he witnesses police brutality, copes with a well-meaning teacher, helps a friend with sickle cell disease, supports another friend grieving the loss of her mother to domestic violence, and more. The cast is multicultural, which adds to the story landscape, as do strong depictions of African-American men.A solid addition with a multifaceted look at the urban experience. (Fiction. 8-12)

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July 16, 2018
The tense relationship between two brothers drives this middle grade debut set on Chicago’s South Side, as narrator T’Shawn turns 13, joins a diving team, and deals with the return of his older brother, Lamont, from prison. Raised by his mother after his father’s death from cancer (an illness that left crushing medical debt and caused the family a brief stint in a shelter), T’Shawn realizes that he wants to dive. A windfall scholarship allows him to participate in the sport, despite the notion that African-Americans “don’t do water sports.” Though the sports thread and familiar middle school issues, such as crushes, loom large, friction in T’Shawn’s home anchors the story: he cannot forget the violence and betrayals of Lamont’s former gang days and regards him as “the biggest villain I know.” Binns amplifies T’Shawn’s distrust with the neighborhood’s concerns, and conflict heightens after T’Shawn gets swept up in a petition to send Lamont away. While forced dialogue marks some of the coverage of weighty issues, this novel successfully
tackles the realities of homelessness, police intimidation and violence, and racism, and it ultimately demonstrates that forgiveness requires courage. Ages 8–12.

September 1, 2018
After their father died of cancer and their family was forced to live in a shelter, T'shawn's older brother Lamont responded with anger. That anger culminated in a prison sentence for attempted robbery and a fractured relationship between the brothers. Two years later, T'shawn?T to his friends?has become a confident seventh grader who has discovered he has a passion for diving. Before he can work up enough nerve to ask his mother for money to join a diving team, however, T learns that his brother is being released and will be moving in with them. There is tension at home as T struggles to accept his brother and Lamont adjusts to life on the outside. Acceptance for T is particularly rough in light of the negative reactions from both his diving coach, who has a troubled past with Lamont, and T's crush Carmela, who is the daughter of a policeman. T must give serious thought to what forgiveness and second chances truly look like before his relationship with his brother deteriorates beyond repair. Told from T's point of view, this first-?person account of life on Chicago's South Side covers a variety of topics, also touching on sickle cell disease and domestic violence. None of the issues reaches a neat resolution, resulting in a novel that is sure to spark thought-provoking discussion among young readers. eboni njoku

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
As seventh grader T'shawn works up the nerve to ask his widowed mother for money to join a diving team, his estranged older brother, Lamont, is released from prison and moves home. Tension rises as both brothers struggle to adjust. This first-person account of life on Chicago's South Side covers topics including cancer, homelessness, sickle cell disease, and domestic violence. None of the issues reaches a neat resolution, resulting in a thought-provoking novel.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)