Safe passage

Title:

Safe passage

Author:

Neri, Greg,

ISBN:

9781643790343

Edition:

First edition.

Publication Date:

2024

Physical Description:

219 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Language:

English

Subject Term:

African Americans -- Comic books, strips, etc. -- Young adult literature.

Siblings -- Comic books, strips, etc. -- Young adult literature.

Gangs -- Comic books, strips, etc. -- Young adult literature.

Public safety -- Comic books, strips, etc. -- Young adult literature.

Stepfamilies -- Comic books, strips, etc. -- Young adult literature.

Comic books, strips, etc. -- United States.

Graphic novels -- United States.

Genre:

Social issue comics.

Graphic novels.

Summary:

"An epic journey across the South Side of Chicago for Darius, his little sister Cissy, and his best friend Booger as they set out to find an armored truck that has lost a payload of cash"--Provided by publisher.

Added Author:

Brame, David (Illustrator),

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status
Searching... City Terrace Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Claremont Helen Renwick Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... East Rancho Dominguez Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hacienda Heights Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lancaster Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West Hollywood Library	Book	YA 741.5 NERI	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

From Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Yummy G. Neri comes an epic journey across the South Side of Chicago for Darius, his little sister Cissy, and his best friend Booger as they set out to find an armored truck that has lost a payload of cash.

Thirteen-year-old Darius is going through a rough time. It's almost been a year since a terrible act of violence took the life of his mother and left him with a wound both in his leg and in his heart. With his stepdad out of work; his little sister, Cissy, always on his case; and the looming prospect of foreclosure on their house, he feels his world closing in on him.

But Darius's best friend, Booger, has a plan. A Brinks armored truck has crashed on a nearby highway and money is blowing everywhere. If they can get across town and back safely, they just might get rich! But to do it, they need to cross through some of the most dangerous streets in Chicago, staying ahead of the gangs that rule those neighborhoods.

Before long, their adventures blow up on social media as Booger documents their search for riches, and everyone is after them. Can they get home without falling victim to the violence of the streets? Sometimes, on the streets of Chicago, there is no Safe Passage.

Reviews: (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up--On the anniversary of his mother's death, Darius ignores his stepfather's instructions to never stray from the safe path to school into gang turf; he joins Charles, his clout-hungry friend who is trying to make a rep for himself as "Big Money," in skipping class to hopefully find a bag of cash that fell from an armored car. This could help Darius's family avoid eviction, but everything quickly goes wrong, including his little sister Cissy following him into contested territory. Drawn digitally in layered black and white, the artwork contains a plethora of details of the Chicago environment and nimbly switches between cartoonlike figurework and nicely observed realistic behavior, sometimes in the same scene. This gives the art an energy that the story requires to help propel readers through the repetitive scenes of bad decisions and resulting peril. The journey is meant to be epic and arduous, and the stakes receive breathing room and context to feel realistic instead of artificially heightened. However, the storytelling becomes a grind, particularly as the characters continually make terrible--though age-appropriate--choices that sap them of sympathy. This is especially disappointing as so much effort is spent to effectively humanize almost every character, including the climactic antagonist of the piece. VERDICT A well-crafted story that somewhat balances humor and risk, character and caricature, but which may leave readers unsympathetic after the deluge of circumstances stretches on, losing the power to sustain either threat or investment.--Benjamin Russell

Kirkus Review

In this stand-alone companion to the award-winning Yummy (2010), a teenage boy learns that sometimes you can't go around a problem: You have to go through it. Darius, a Black 15-year-old living in the South Side of Chicago, wants one thing--a safe place to live with his unemployed stepdad and younger half sister, Cissy, following the death of his mother. When his best friend, Booger, shares a plan to get quick, easy money, Darius reluctantly agrees. Despite Cissy's disapproval, the boys skip school to take a bus across town to investigate an armored truck that got into a traffic accident; they hope to grab some of the money they expect to find flying around. Things get out of control when Cissy sneaks along to keep an eye on them, and Booger brags about their journey on social media, putting targets on their backs. They have to use their street smarts and follow the survival rules Darius' stepfather taught them for navigating territories controlled by microgangs to try to make it safely back home. In this fast-paced story, each decision the characters make is critical. Despite the difficult situation the kids are in, Neri provides small pockets of hope and light. Brame's evocative digital black-and-white illustrations bring the setting to life, emphasizing the emotional intensity and high stakes. Somber with a sprinkling of optimism and a firm grounding in unconditional familial love. (author's note) (Graphic fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.