SILVER WOLVES

A young man named Jonah is released from juvenile detention. Jonah’s drawing skills allow him to attend Harlem Heights’ High School of Music and Art. At school, Jonah, who is Jewish, is surrounded by the Ivy League–bound elite. Jonah starts dating Merle Messenger, a polio survivor. Jonah must balance new opportunities with what he owes the gang and community. The book paints a detailed historical portrait of New York City. The supporting cast members are the real stars. The author portrays the complexities of Jonah’s life, avoiding didacticism.

• His drawing skills earn him a spot at Harlem Heights’ High School of Music and Art, the chance of a lifetime for a boy from the South Bronx.
• Invited into Merle’s world of wealth and culture, Jonah must balance new opportunities with what he owes the gang and community.
• The author portrays the complexities of Jonah’s life—carceral systems fail him and the people he cares about—but he avoids didacticism, instead offering an almost dreamlike trip that unfolds at a measured pace through the events that shape Jonah into the young man he’ll become.

Source: Kirkus Reviews  | 
Read the full article →