home again soon

I leave tomorrow and return home after more than a week on the road. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for a few days before heading off on another trip. Finished reading AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DEAD BROTHER by Walter Dean Myers with illustrations by Christopher Myers. Once again, Myers examines life on the street in Harlem and how tough it is to survive as a young black male. CJ and Rise and Jesse have been tight. However, Rise is moving up in the Counts and making noise like a gang banger. CJ and Jesse do not know how to act around the new Rise. He seems changed in some profound ways; is knowing him dangerous? Myers offers no easy answers and instead shows how difficult it is to navigate adolescence. The illustrations by son Christopher are perfect as Jesse is an artist who sees more clearly through his art than through his eyes. Readers will pick up the book for the title alone but stay with the story to see how the friendship progresses.