Growing up in the innercity projects, teenager deshawn is reluctantly forced into the gang world by circumstances beyond his control. Free download or read online wish you were dead pdf epub book. Connect if i grow up to the common core toddstrasser. He studied literature and creative writing at new york. This book shows how there are always going to be events to sidetrack us from achieving our goals. Todd strasser is the awardwinning author of more than 120 books for children and teenagers, including give a boy a gun, if i grow up and the wave, which sold seven million copies worldwide. Todd strasser has written many critically acclaimed novels for adults, teenagers, and children, including the awardwinning cant get there from here, give a boy. Deshawn lost his mom to crossfire from gang shooting.
He decided to write if i grow up after visiting several innercity schools and reading about the growing problem of gangs. In this gritty novel about growing up in the inner city, awardwinning author todd strasser opens a. Created by todd strasser watch on todd strasser share. Click to read more about if i grow up by todd strasser. 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. If you are still wondering how to get free pdf epub of book if i grow up by todd strasser. If i grow up is a drama about a teenage boy named deshawn who grows up around gangs and violence. See all books authored by todd strasser, including the wave, and give a boy a gun, and more on. If i grow up by todd strasser book read online scribd. Dropping out of school and joining a gang is the norm and every kid knows someone whos died. He treated deshawn especially different form others,more so like a younger brother he didnt have. Three times more black men live in jail cells than in college dorms. Through a dedicated focus on deshawn, a young man, who values family, friendship, loyalty, elders, and relationships, strasser grabs his readers attention to the plot details, ideas, themes, perspective and language of his narrative.
If i grow up by todd strasser by jawan graves on prezi. In his latest gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, the acclaimed author of give a boy a gun focuses on the pervasive but underreported problem. Deshawn tries different ways to get out of what seems like. In a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns his attention to gang life in. Im trapped in series, and numerous awardwinning ya novels including the wave, give a boy a gun, the accident, cant get there from here, boot camp, if i grow up and fallout. Struggle is my address, where pain and crack lives,born on the black list, told im below average. Free download or read online if i grow up pdf epub book. The title of this book is if i grow up and it was written by todd strasser. People in the book dont really have choices, even they are smart enough to have a better life such as the main character. Read unlimited books and audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. If i grow up is a realistic, cautionary book about what happens or can happen to far too many children, especially african american boys in this country without positive adult interactions and guidance his grandmother was maybe 40.
If i grow up is a realistic, cautionary book about what happens or can happen to far too many children. Several of his books have been adapted for television, and his novel how i created my perfect prom date became the feature release drive me crazy. Streets full of gangs and a life of hardship is what he goes through. 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. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read if i grow up. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. If i grow up by todd strasser book trailer duration. So when he picked up this book without being forced to, then came to me and told me i had to read it well, clearly i needed to see what it was that had made such an impression on him. The protagonist, deshawn, faces gang violence, shootouts, drug dealers, and the fear that he might never get a chance to grow up. Deshawn 11 year old boy to start the book lives in a ghetto neighborhood and has always been the smartest kid in school. If i grow up book by todd strasser official publisher page.
Marcus was like the father of the the fredrick douglas project. He decided to write if i grow up after visiting several inner city schools and reading about the growing problem of gangs. 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 shingles,and the welfare check just isnt enough. From a dream by common i teach eleventh and twelfth grade english at a high school where 80% of our students qualify for the freereduced national food program and 60% are involved with the department of. Growing up in the innercity projects, deshawn is reluctantly forced into the gang world by circumstances beyond his control. Blood on my hands by todd strasser trailer duration. Innercity teen deshawn fights to keep his head above water while trapped in a violent, gangridden nightmare as his friends and family succumb to drug deals, murder and shootouts. The absence of inner city dialect and objectionable language makes this a highinterest book that can, indeed, be shared in the middle school classroom.
Read if i grow up by todd strasser by todd strasser for free with a 30 day free trial. If i grow up is by todd strasser, who has many awardswining novels, including boot camp, cant get there from here, and give a boy a gun. If i grow up cant get there from here series by todd strasser. Trying to grow up and get out the ghetto without getting included in the local gangs while seeing his. After reading if i grow up, what i feel the most is that our current lives are really blessed. The book made me think of the question, not if i grow up but why so many children have to grow up so fast. But they only allowed peoples live there if they know them. The main characters of this mystery, young adult story are. The story begins with deshawn as a boy who lives in a neighborhood that is plagued with gang violence. He is the author of more than 140 books for teens and middle graders including the bestselling help.
If i grow up by todd strasser young adult literature. Images courtesy of publishers, organizations, and sometimes their twitter handles. How can he stick to his principles when his family is hungry. If i grow up in a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns his attention to gang life in the innercity projects. Buy a cheap copy of if i grow up book by todd strasser.
In the frederick douglass project where deshawn lives, daily life is ruled by drugs and gang violence. Strasser frequently speaks at schools about the craft of writing and conducts writing workshops for young people. Click on below buttons to start download if i grow up by todd strasser pdf epub without registration. If i grow up by todd strasser is a realistic fiction set in new york.
If i grow up todd strasser page 15 read online free books. Strasser is a writer and the founder of a fortune cookie company. We meet deshawn at age 12, still a child but growing up. 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. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of if i grow up by todd strasser. The main characters of this young adult, realistic fiction story are. The resource if i grow up, todd strasser if i grow up, todd strasser. If i grow up is a realistic, cautionary book about what happens or can happen to far too many children, especially african american boys in this country without positive adult interactions and. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 236 pages and is available in hardcover format. Strasser is able to paint a realistic picture of this tragic world, but at the same time he keeps this novel free of the extreme use of foul language, explicit sex, and graphic drug use most novels of this type usually employ. Dec 12, 2011 if i grow up by todd strasser a brief summary if i grow up follows the story of a young man named deshawn who is growing up in the projects, starting when he is twelve years old and following him through the next ten years of his life.
This makes if i grow up a story that can be shared and discussed in any classroom setting. This book is about teenagers who live in the hood they were poor no one want to go nearby because is danger is full of gangster. 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. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 240 pages and is available in hardcover format. Feb 24, 2009 if i grow up ebook written by todd strasser.
In a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns. But while his friends have drug money to buy anything they want. The war is between the century gangsters and the gangster. If i grow up follows the story of a young man named deshawn who is growing up in the projects, starting when he is twelve years old and following him through the next ten years of his life. If i grow up book by todd strasser official publisher. Deshawn, an intelligent young man knows this very well as he watches the young people around him join gangs, drop out of school, and fall between the cracks of society. 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 strasser s if i grow up offers a horrific view of an inner city society that is dominated by gang activity.
In a gripping novel with a plot pulled from the headlines, todd strasser turns his attention to gang life in the innercity projects. My students need 20 copies of todd strasser s novel if i grow up. Todd strasser had a lot of characters aside from the protagonist and the antagonist. In the the city it gets hard for deshawn stuck in the the fredrick douglas project. Deshawn is smart enough to want to stay in school and. The first edition of the novel was published in september 1st 2009, and was written by todd strasser. I wont grow up, never grow up, never grow up, not me. Todd strassers if i grow up is a 2009 ya novel about a young teens struggles in the innercity projects of chicago. Pdf if i grow up book by todd strasser free download. 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.
I just want to take a moment to thank you for writing if i grow up. The supporting characters actually made the book worth while because if deshawn was just by himself then he wouldnt have had the gang involvement. Todd strasser books list of books by author todd strasser. The first edition of the novel was published in february 24th 2009, and was written by todd strasser. Pdf if i grow up book by todd strasser free download 240. If i grow up a haunting story of an adolescent whose potential was overwhelmed by his social and economic background. Deshawn is smart enough to know he should stay in school and keep away from the gangs. Read if i grow up by todd strasser available from rakuten kobo. Todd lives in a suburb of new york and speaks frequently at schools. In the twelve years that i have been teaching, there has never been an. The setting of this book is in the frederick douglas project the main conflict in this book is all of the gang wars, fights, and battles over propertyturf. 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.
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