So, im sure this book is also very realistic, even though i have some complaints about it. When every thing feels like its going down hill everything turns the other way and its a great feeling to feel for a person that grows up in a horrible like to a boss of the projects. Also includes sites with a short overview, synopsis, book report, or summary of todd strassers. Rance was trying to get william killed and deshawn set up so that he can take all the money for himself and keep any profit coming in. Characters todd strasser had a lot of characters aside from the protagonist and the antagonist. Todd strasser is not just an author but a writer in the fullest sense. Todd strasser has written many critically acclaimed novels for adults, teenagers, and children, including the awardwinning cant get there from here, give a boy a gun, boot camp, if i grow up, famous, and how i created my perfect prom date, which became the fox feature film drive me crazy.
The main characters of this realistic fiction, young adult story are. Further, the book spends a large amount of time looking into the gang life and how the different elements relate to one another. Being part of the disciples would guarantee there would be food on the table, diapers for his sisters twin babies, and money for the. Buy the paperback book if i grow up by todd strasser at indigo. In the the city it gets hard for deshawn stuck in the the fredrick douglas project. I thought that strasser did a great job of showing who were the main characters were and who were the people that opposed them. In this superficially compelling but heavyhanded book about gang culture, narrator deshawn faces tough circumstances and limited choices. Given that strassers foreword explicitly defines himself and his audience as more privileged than his characters we forget that millions of. When seventeenyearold ishmael wakes up from stasis aboard the pequod, he is amazed by how different. The first edition of the novel was published in 2004, and was written by todd strasser. He lives in westchester county, new york, and he grew up on long island, where his.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the wave. Free download or read online if i grow up pdf epub book. Todd strasser uses his literary aspect by having protagonists deshawn, terrell, and marcus and antagonists jamar, rance, and willam. I bet when you were younger, you would think about what you might do some day and youd start by saying, when i grow up. Through the fictional characters of deshawn, his best friend, terrell, and the gang leaders in if i grow up, todd strasser gives the reader a vivid picture of the pressures people face living in poverty with gang members ruling the neighborhood in the innercity. Read if i grow up by todd strasser available from rakuten kobo. The supporting characters actually made the book worth while because if deshawn was just by himself then he wouldnt have had the gang involvement. Trying to grow up and get out the ghetto without getting included in the local gangs while seeing his. If i grow up by todd strasser character analysis deshawn the protagonist.
If i grow up is one of an actionfilling book that was written by todd strasser. In if i grow up, our main character is deshawn another. In a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns his attention to gang life in the innercity projects. The protagoniss and some of the antagonists were dynamic during the book. 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. The book has a lot of interaction between family members and neighbors, who all cluster together for mutual support.
Strasser had supporting characters like lightbulb and big d. Well, in my world, you better start that sentence with, if i grow up, because around here, growing up aint easy. If i grow up is a drama about a teenage boy named deshawn who grows up around gangs and violence. At first deshawn is uninterested in joining his neighborhood gang, and would rather attend school. He writes for television, too, and has adapted novels from movies such as free willy and tv films such as the wave into wellcrafted novels that. Lives in the projects, has a sister named tia, lost his mother at a young age and dates tanisha which is the mother of his two sons. He goes to school for a while but then by middle 7th grade year he looks as his family struggles,his sister taking care of 2 kids his grandma has the. At twelve years old, deshawn is the kind of character i could instantly relate to. Strassers fans will recognize and appreciate his mastery at creating a dangerously isolated. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. If i grow up is by todd strasser, who has many awardswining novels, including. The first edition of the novel was published in february 24th 2009, and was written by todd strasser. Master storyteller todd strasser reimagines the classic tale of moby dick as set in the future and takes readers on an epic scifi adventure.
If i grow up by todd strasser young adult literature. If i grow up by todd strasser book trailer youtube. Theres a nuclear war and moms bleeding and too many people are already in the shelter and more are trying to. Todd strassers past works on a system of teen detention, boot camp informs the well researched passionate purpose of this work, which he states in his if i grow up preface, are to alert readers to these social and economic gulags. If i grow up by todd strasser in a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns his attention to gang life in the innercity. If i grow up by todd strasser lisa loves literature. In this gritty novel about growing up in the inner city, awardwinning author todd strasser opens a window into the life of a teenager struggling with right and wrong under the everpresent shadow of gangs. Todd lives in a suburb of new york and speaks frequently at schools. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read if i grow up. If i grow up by todd strasser book trailer michelle ryan. Todd strasser books list of books by author todd strasser. Diverse characters, easy dialogue, realistic school and community settings, believable tension, and references to john steinbecks the grapes of wrath fuel strassers wellpaced, engaging narrative. No place book by todd strasser official publisher page.
Stock characters the hard working grandma, the knockedup older sister, the good kid struggling to stay out of trouble while enduring peer pressure and oppressive poverty are all in place here, as well as stock ghetto situations like eating cereal with water, multiple sex partners, pregnancies, lack of male responsibility, and blingedout. If i grow up is a novel about a boy in the projects named deshawn. This, along with twodimensional characters and dated, unrealistic dialogue, may put off. See all books authored by todd strasser, including the wave, and give a boy a gun, and more on. If i grow up summary and analysis like sparknotes free book. If i grow up book by todd strasser official publisher page. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 208 pages and is available in paperback format. The main characters of this young adult, realistic fiction story are. Deshawns grandmother that takes care of him and his sister. I do feel that its very nice that the 100th book happens to be fallout, since this is such a special book to me. The realism and consistency with both the characters and the setting is.
The title of this book is if i grow up and it was written by todd strasser. At first, deshawn is reluctant to join his projects gang, but when hes slapped in the face with poverty and sickness, he sees no other option but to enlist. He studied literature and creative writing at new york. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of if i grow up by todd strasser. Buy a cheap copy of if i grow up book by todd strasser. If i grow up by todd strasser by jawan graves on prezi. Strasser presents a story about a young girl who wants to find fame, but the reader can see that. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders.
Todd strasser born may 5, 1950 is an american writer of more than 140 youngadult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of nonfiction, some written under the pen names morton rhue and t. Todd strasser books, author biography, and reading level. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 240 pages and is available in hardcover format. Boot camp book by todd strasser official publisher. The events in if i grow up have a lot to do with themes of race, family, friends, power, and hopelessness. Todd strasser is the author of more than 140 novels for children and young adults, most notably the wave and give a boy a gun, which are taught in classrooms around the world. He contributes articles to such periodicals as the new yorker, esquire, the new york times, and the village voice. Todd strasser s if i grow up is a 2009 ya novel about a young. Pdf cant get there from here book by todd strasser free. Everything is a hustle and people are trying get it the quick and easy way. Deshawn lost his mom to crossfire from gang shooting.
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