Way Past Cool ANNOTATION
Authentic, dark, suspenseful, inspiring--here is a novel about the street gangs of Oakland that brings alive the tension, drama, and pathos of America's urban reality in a totally fresh way. Rival gangs the Friends and the Crew--though they are enemies--share many common problems, especially the presence of a drug dealer bent on conquering their neighborhoods.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Gordon, age thirteen, is the leader of the Friends, a gang of young black boys who struggle to hold a few blocks of bleak, ragged turf in Oakland—known to the homeboys as Oaktown—California. When a more powerful sixteen-year-old drug dealer tries to set the Friends against their neighboring rival gang, the Crew, the dealer's unwilling bodyguard emerges as the key player in a drama that illuminates America's urban reality in a totally new way. A shocking portrait of young kids living on the slimmest of edges, Way Past Cool is also an inspiring, even hopeful testament to the renewing power of love.
FROM THE CRITICS
Terry McMillan
A stellar literary debut that should be read by all of mainstream America.
Los Angeles Times
A brilliant piece of work from a young writer with a big talent....Like Hubert Selby's Last Exit to Brooklyn or Warren Miller's great novel Harlem, Mowry's book is a report from the front lines.
San Francisco Chronicle
Sometimes shocking, sometimes inspiring, always engaging, and ulitimately hopeful....Way Past Cool speaks for itself, loudly and eloquently, revealing its author as...clearly a master of fiction.
Boston Globe
A powerful, bold, memorable debut.
Library Journal
Set in Oakland's mean streets, this novel is a vivid portrayal of gang life from the inside. It involves a group of young teens, the Friends, whose turf is threatened by a mysterious drive-by shooting. When the same thing happens to the Crew, a rival gang, the two groups band together, ultimately uncovering a plot by Deek, a drug dealer, to incite a gang war and move in on their territory. The gangs lay a trap for Deek, resulting in a bloody showdown in an abandoned car wash. While Mowry sympathetically portrays gang members as victims of the adult world's lack of concern, he clearly recognizes ``the street'' as a dead end. What little hope exists in the novel is conveyed through Ty, Deek's bodyguard, and Markita, single mother, as they struggle toward self-respect and a better life. This is a violent, yet gripping, communique from the urban battlefront. Highly recommended.-- Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
A stellar literary debut that should be read by all of mainstream America. — (Terry McMillan, author of Waiting to Exhale)
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