I’m sure all of us have went through times where we had to be honest with ourselves and people around us. Tupac calls it “keepin it real”. Tyrell is a book about a 15 year old boy who lives in the South Bronx in a shelter with his mom and brother. If you’re interested in seeing how a boy struggles to survive, I definitely recommend this book.

Tyrell feels like he has to be responsible of his family since his father was locked up. He’s the only one that’s old enough to take care of them, and feels as if he should be the “man” of his family now that his father is gone. He and his family are sent to Bennett, a family shelter. On the bus, he meets a girl named Jasmine, who he finds hot, but assures himself that he won’t do anything with her since he has a girlfriend. Tyrell eventually gets closer to Jasmine, and they sleep in bed together almost every night. He feels as if Jasmine can connect with him more since Novisha is a rich kid who goes to a smart school and goes to church. Tyrell has been planning a party for a while now, which consists of his father’s DJ equipment. He calls a few of his dads friends to help him set it up, and they succeed. Tyrell throws an awesome party and makes a lot of money, but finds out Novisha has been hiding a secret from him. She lost her virginity to a camp counselor before her and Tyrell even started talking. Tyrell is furious, and breaks up with her shortly after. He goes home, still a little angry about the situation at the party, to find that his brother got taken by the Child Protective Services. 

Tyrell as a character is a very blunt person who doesn’t take nonsense from anybody. He is an independent person who likes to get things done. An example to understand his personality is, “"I never really believed in God, 'cause if there was a God he wouldnt have taken my Pops away from me. And My Pops always taught me not to depend on nobody but yourself..."”. He also doesn’t bother going to school since he believes he thinks school just distracts you. Even though he seems very tough, he has a soft spot for his brother, Troy. He takes care of his brother since his mom is too used to their dad being there. He states that he hates listening to new rap music because they rap about unimportant things. He believes the real deals are rappers like Tupac, who rap about their life struggles. 

The message of this book is to always keep it real with yourself and others, especially when life gets difficult. When I was going through a hard time in my life, I tried to be honest with myself and my feelings. I know some people around me always tried to make excuses for what they did, but I didn’t do that and always attempted to owe up to my actions. I think the people who want to, or already do that, should read Tyrell, and also if you want insight of how people in poverty are living.

Overall, the plot, the message, and the characters are really relatable to teens and young adults. The problems Tyrell face are problems really anybody has/can face. It is a great read and gives you a new perspective on life, and I recommend it.