YA Underground came about after I wrote a piece about self-published memoirs. For many years I have been actively trying to find new books for my kids that accurately reflect their lives (and believe me, it’s not all about being poor and downtrodden—if there were an African American Harry Potter I’d be more than thrilled). I hoped having a column (and committee, more on that in a future column) would send books my way—new authors to bring to light—especially for our teens’ reading pleasure. Let’s be clear. It is still by chance that I come across the ones that I do. I’d say I’ve read five books to every one that I feel is even worth mentioning.*

Marilyn Jones’s book is worth mentioning.

Jones has written a passionate memoir about her experience as an abuse survivor, single mother, crack addict, and college student. Written with humor and insight, From Crack to College & Vice Versa is equally real and thoughtful. Jones grew up with her loving grandparents, where food and nurturing were abundant. It was the 1970s in San Francisco’s Fillmore district, steeped in a strong Black Panther presence, and among many businesses owned by Black people, which instilled in her a sense of self-pride and love. At age 9, she moved into her father’s house where she encountered a toxic mixture of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. Jones was introduced to crack cocaine in 1985 when she was 19 years old.

In a detailed account filled with important insight, Jones describes the life of a crack addict: exchanging  her body for drugs, in and out of juvenile hall, county jails, drug treatment, and losing her children. She writes, “When I first got locked up, I was very angry, (but ultimately) I gave up fighting the system and adjusted my ability to function and not be so angry was looked upon as progress by the juvenile facility’s staff, but all I did was learn how to be in jail.” Also important are her insights and writing about the college experience, and the inherent racism and classism she experienced from curriculum to people being scared of her impassioned discussion style.

Self-published, Jones did a good job with the cover From Crack to College. The type face and interior design is functional but not particularly pretty, and the book could definitely, no doubt about it, use an editor to clean up the misspellings and repetitions, and improve overall flow and narration. In spite of the flaws, Jones’s voice shines through.

I gave the book to Janelle (not her real name), a biracial 17-year-old. She likes to read Chicken Soup for the Soul and inspirational books, and reads when she is not in the facility. When I asked for her feedback on From Crack to College, she said, “Has it been edited? Some stuff you can tell it hasn’t, because she said it twice. This is a book that wants to tell her story. It’s important because if you on crack you think there is no turning back, but it’s a major turnaround because some people can’t even get off weed and go to college. It gives you hope and inspiration and makes you want to go for something.”

In this genre, A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown still stands out as the superstar of drug memoirs, particularly for teens of color, but of interest to all teens. African American Cupcake is thrust into the foster care system when her mother dies. Experiencing abuse, gangs, and drug addiction, she completely turns her life circumstances around and becomes a lawyer and an internationally bestselling author. Well-written, filled with a ton of action and valuable insight, the memoir details clearly the interesting steps Brown took to change—it’s off the charts!

I asked Janelle to talk with me about a few of the books she read on the topic of crack, and terrifically, she explains where From Crack to College is in the spectrum. “Come Back: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back is a one—the book talked to me. Diary of a Crack Addict’s Wife is a two. The writing was more to tell the story with so much detail you can see it. It was kind of slow and I put it down a lot, because it was hard to find the action part. From Crack to College is a three. It was more like me writing a book and giving it to you. But it was real, talked like us, was shorter and easier to read. There was action.”  While clearly Janelle values a well written and edited story (as most everyone does), and clearly, race and class aren’t always of the utmost importance in relate-ability (Come Back is about a middle class white mother and daughter), there is enough of value in From Crack to College to pick up, read and easily finish the book.

I couldn’t find my one copy of From Crack to College for several weeks—girls were reading it. I tracked down Amanda, a 16-year-old African American girl who isn’t a big reader, and she had the book in her room. She sums it up perfectly—“The way she writes could be better but the overall story is good.”

Indeed, there is enough in From Crack to College that sets it apart from mainstream memoirs, making it a truly worthwhile read for anyone, including a population whose interests aren’t always reflected on our library shelves or served at the checkout desk. These teens need books that are really by, about, and for them.

Bottom line: this book belongs not only on inner city and urban library shelves; it belongs in libraries everywhere.

From Crack to College & Visa Versa is available on Amazon or direct from the author. I gave Jones the information on how to set up her book with Ingram, but she would only receive $1.10 per copy, so decided against it.

*In case anyone comes across the titleBitter Fruit: the Street Ministryand thinks it might have potential due to it’s provocative and street teen-pick-up immediately cover, two words: Nope. None.

Brittenum, DeVan Faye. Bitter Fruit: the Street Ministry. Brittenum. 2013. pap. $7.99. ISBN 9781482047462.

Brown, Cupcake. A Piece of Cake. Broadway Books. pap. $11.49. ISBN 9781400052295.

Fontaine, Claire and Mia. Come Back: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back. William Morrow. pap. $15.95. 0060859718

Hunter, Cynthia. Diary of a Crack Addict’s Wife. Kensington. 2005. Tr $15.00. ISBN 0758208340

Jones, Marilyn Denise. From Crack to College & Vice Versa. Marilyn D. Jones. 2013. pap. $14.95.  ISBN 9780989427401.

And if we are talking “underground” books, we have to mention Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy; it is the best book I’ve seen and read this year. The stark black cover with a bullet blazing through the title draws the reader into this clean, tightly written, and explosive story. Short sentences and realistic dialogue pack a punch and create a visceral and immediate understanding of the characters and their world.  Nikki—the daughter of a drug addict mother, with her stepdad in jail—is living at Bird’s. As much as Bird and her daughter Jamelee mean to Nikki, fellow teen Dee has her heart and soul. She finds purpose in being the one who understands him. He needs her to be there for him, and she is, until she puts everyone, including herself, in irreversible danger. One-, two-, and three-page chapters with nice sized type, filled with action and insight, make reading effortless. McVoy is able to distill the complex lives of at-risk girls in general, and in particular, addresses Nikki’s love/sex addiction and low self-esteem issues. This is a book teens won’t want to put down.

If it’s possible to have a best Bluford book (they are all good), Promises to Keep by Paul Langan might be it. No one likes Tyray Hobbs, including himself. He is a bully. Once outwardly respected, he recently lost his fear factor, and is now a complete outcast after a beat down in the school where he was ridiculed. Things are not good at home, with a strict father who lectures him and a brother in jail. On the streets, it’s not much better—Londell’s crew is stealing from him and threatening him. But he still has Lark. She’s not the cutest girl in the class, but she seems to like him, and even sticks up for him after everything he’s done. He feels guilty for how he lied to her and stole her money—can he make anything right? Langan has created a book from the bully’s perspective that is compassionate, insightful, and educational, along with being action-packed, realistic, and emotionally and psychologically accurate. There’s not a false note in the title.

April Henry has it down with her taut mysteries, and The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die is as good as her other works. Suspense and tension build from the first page—in which men are taking Cady out to kill her—to the last, as she uncovers the secrets in this eco-thriller.

If I was a designer, I would have created a much better cover and interior for Chloe Shantz-Hilkes’ Hooked:  When Addiction Hits Home.  It has a challenging opening for reluctant readers—an introduction and foreword that don’t make for kid-friendly reading. Many won’t get through those first pages, or know that they can skip the opening materials (stick that stuff in the back, editors!). Still, this title won me over and is being quietly checked out.

Ten young people are profiled in the book, all of whom have parents dealing—or not dealing—with some form of addiction: alcohol, sex, work, crack, gambling, etc. Jermaine kicks his crack-addicted dad out of the house. Nicola’s brother becomes a drug addict like their dad. Carmella shares her mom’s struggle with bulimia, but is able to recover. Section titles like “My Reaction,” “Looking Back,” “How I Coped,” and “A Code of Silence” provide signposts of how the disease impacts these young people and their families. There are pull-out quotes that give a general overview of the issue, and help move readers along. It’s free from any dogma—no 12-step sayings like “Let Go and Let God.” The title is clearly focused on key events and the experience from these events. No overt mention of race or class makes this book a great equalizer for all teens dealing with addiction in their families.

Always looking for a rare find, I was hoping Clare Griffin’s Nowhere to Run might be it, in spite of the dull cover. Calvin is a track star, so when he goes to confront hustler Norris, he’s not afraid because he knows he can outrun him. He didn’t think about Norris having a baseball bat as well as his buddies with him, which seems improbable. Deej, Calvin’s best friend and Norris’ cousin, intervenes and Calvin gets a temporary pass. Life gets good. Calvin and Deej hang out, Calvin starts going out with a “hard to get” good girl, and he gets a job. But as Deej gets more deeply involved with Norris and his crew, Calvin struggles with issues of loyalty. He has some tough decisions: should he stand up for Deej like he stood up for him? Even when his friend is doing something illegal and it might jeopardize Calvin’s job?  Besides the slow moving plot with spurts of action, the book also suffers from too light type face and not enough gutter space. I wanted to like this book, I really did. It will be good for some kids—but Matt de la Peña’s titles would make for better reads.

B.A. Binns’ first book, Pull, was on the 2012 YALSA Quick Picks list. Westside Books has since gone out of business, and as a result, inner city school teacher and author Binns turned to self-publishing for Being God. Seventeen-year-old Malik is determined to be the worst of the worst. Biracial, he’s the son of a Catholic mother and Jewish father. Assigned to community service, he gets paired with an angry ten-year-old who hates the world. His crush, Barney, watched her father murder her mother. The story holds promise. However, the face on the book cover looks too young. The language and voice is inconsistent and the story is extremely slow going, very much in need of those editors at Westside.

Ed Hardy’s recounting of his life becoming an iconic tattoo artist in Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos is nicely designed—great art, lots of space, big type. The writing is totally scattered, but who cares? There’s a history of tattooing, lots of name dropping, travels throughout the underbellies of Japan and American cities, passion for art and individuality, entrepreneurship, and getting sober—there’s nothing too dicey and it will work in any teen section, even censored lockdowns.

Susan Nussbaum’s Good Kings, Bad Kings is getting great press and for good reasons. The book highlights, through multiple perspectives, the ups and downs, abuses, and kind moments between multicultural teens and staff at a home (institution/dumping ground) for physically and mentally disabled teens. It’s a fast and intense ride with characters that stay with you and make you wonder what they are doing long after you close the book. I wish the cover reflected the characters—maybe we’ll just have to wait until the movie (that should be made) comes out!

BINNS, B.A. Being God. All the Colors of Love. 2013. 222p. pap. $ 9.95. ISBN 9780988182110.

HARDY, Ed and Selvin, Joel. Wear Your Dreams: My Life In Tattoos. St. Martin’s/Thomas Dunne. June 2013. 304p. Tr $26.99. ISBN 9781250008824.

HENRY, April. The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die. Holt. June 2013. 224p. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780805095418.

GRIFFIN, Clare. Nowhere to Run. Namelos. 2013. 110p. pap. $9.95. ISBN 9781-608981458.

LANGAN, Paul. Promises to Keep. Townsend Pr. 2013. 151p. pap. $5.95. ISBN 9781591943037.

McVOY, Terra Elan. Criminal. S & S/Simon Pulse. 2013. 288p. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978144242622.

NUSSBAUM, Susan. Good Kings, Bad Kings. Algonquin Bks. 2013. 304p. Tr $23.95. ISBN 9781616202637.

SHANTZ- HILKES, Chloe. Hooked: When Addiction Hits Home. Annick Press. 2013. 120 p. pap. $12.95. ISBN 9781554514748.