The Young Landlords

by Walter Dean Myers

If you were looking for a real ghetto dump, you couldn’t beat The Stratford Arms. There was Askia Ben Kenobi throwing karate chops upstairs, Petey Darden making booze downstairs, and Mrs. Brown grieving for Jack Johnson, who’d died for the third time in a month—and not a rent payer in the bunch. Still, when Paul Williams and the Action Group got the Arms for one dollar, they thought they had it made. But when their friend Chris was arrested for stealing stereos and Dean’s dog started biting fire hydrants and Gloria started kissing, being a landlord turned out to be a lot more work than being a kid.

Genres: African American, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Childrens

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

"We all keep our delusions with us. Sometimes it's a person, sometimes an idea, sometimes even a dream that seems more real in memory than it ever did in life."

—Mr. Pender, The Young Landlords, P. 112

Decades of artistic and commercial success lay ahead for Walter Dean Myers when he released The Young Landlords in 1979, but back then he was still discovering the storytelling identity he perfected in the 1980s and '90s. Paul Williams and his friends are teens in New York City who want to do good for the urban world they inhabit. Gloria Wiggens suggests they call themselves the Action Group and seek positive projects to engage with, and it isn't long before they notice the Stratford Arms, a rundown apartment building owned by a Mr. Harley. The Action Group—made up of Paul, Gloria, Dean, Bubba, Omar, and Jeannie—confront Mr. Harley, insisting the tenants deserve better accommodations. Mr. Harley asks Paul to give him a dollar, not explaining why, and a few days later papers arrive in the mail confirming the Action Group's purchase of the Stratford Arms. Paul has a bad feeling—maybe telling Mr. Harley how to run his property was foolish—but Gloria is ready to tackle the task of improving the Stratford Arms. The Action Group could make a real difference in the lives of struggling New Yorkers.

Managing an apartment building is hard work for six teenagers, but it seems doable...until the Action Group meets the residents. Petey Darden is the Stratford Arms handyman, exchanging his services for the basement apartment he occupies. He runs an illegal still down there, and is constantly on the brink of accidentally blowing up the building. Mrs. Brown is nice, but harbors some psychological delusions; Tina and Johnnie Mae Robinson request an almost continuous stream of maintenance visits to their apartment; and Askia Ben Kenobi is violent and eccentric, threatening people with karate moves and refusing to pay rent. It's obvious why Mr. Harley wanted to be rid of the Stratford Arms; the place is dangerous and a money pit. The Action Group has no idea what to do until a quaint man named Mr. Pender agrees to be their accountant for virtually no pay. He can't magically turn the Stratford Arms profitable, but does his best to keep the business afloat. The Action Group has another problem: their friend Chris faces criminal charges for allegedly stealing stereo equipment, but Paul thinks he's innocent. Someone running a fence racket must have framed Chris, but can the Action Group prove it? Maybe...by going undercover to expose the real thief. The police—not to mention Paul's parents—frown on the idea of an amateur sting, but saving Chris from jail is worth the risk, isn't it? If the Action Group can do right by the people living at the Stratford Arms and exonerate Chris at the same time, it will be a summer worth remembering. No one said it would be easy, though.

Walter Dean Myers wrote some masterpieces, but more than a few oddball books were scattered over the course of his career. The Young Landlords is a story so disjointed and undisciplined that it achieves only a tiny fraction of its considerable potential. The ending feels rushed and makes little sense, but above all, the narrative suffers from a lot of telling and not enough showing; rather than actually create the scenes, the author usually just summarizes what happens, and that does nothing to draw readers in. It's a shame, because the theme is pretty good: it's easier to signal virtue than to be virtuous. As Paul observes, "I realized that what (Gloria) was saying, about being for people and everything, wasn't going to solve the problems of running the building. It solved the problem of knowing how to feel and of saying something cool, but it was something else again to get the money to run things so that things would be as cool for real as they were in talk." Doing good is infinitely more important than feeling good, and putting yourself in that first category is how you exact positive change. That's the lesson for the Action Group in these pages, and our takeaway as well. I rate The Young Landlords one and a half stars for a few emotional moments it gets right, but this isn't vintage Walter Dean Myers; for that, I direct you to Scorpions, Somewhere in the Darkness, Monster, or Lockdown. You'll find he acquits himself more creditably in those novels.

[Leann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes it is so clear when something is a product of its time. This book was published in 1979, and won the Coretta Scott King Award. While the premise is intriguing and there are some funny parts to the story, there are too many dated references for me to feel comfortable recommending it to a kid today. There were several blatant, definitely not veiled, incidents of sexism, misogyny, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and ableism (what a list, eh?). A few of these were called out within the story, but most were not. I'll spare you the details of those incidents, but clearly I do not recommend.

[Nushra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has lots of events, action, and overall a lot of things happen but at the same time its just not exciting. I remember when this was our read aloud and no one was ever happy to read it, I mean no one hated it, but it just wasn't something we were looking forward for because it never felt exicting. It's just kinda meh.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't my favorite the characters had a lot of potential and there wasn't that much action throughout. I rate this book about 2.5 stars

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my tutoring student (well...let's see if she actually finishes it over break). It's a "young adult" book, so I tried to read it with that in mind. The writing style still seemed a little juvenile for the intended age range, but the content was more age appropriate, though very unrealistic. The premise is that a bunch of high schoolers bored on their summer break decide to protest the slumlord of a neglected building on their block and end up accidentally buying the building from him. So they have to deal with all the problems of being a landlord, including makeshift distilleries, delusional people, alcoholics, an eccentric karate instructor with rage issues, non-payment of rent and more. On top of that they are trying to find evidence to find evidence that their friend is not guilty of robbing an electronics store and the narrator is dealing with relationship issues with his father and a crush on one of the girls in their group. There was a lot of stuff going on and a lot of setup for potential stories that never went anywhere. Maybe I'm not used to the non-complexity of young adult books, but I think the book was good overall (it did keep me interested), but could stand to be more involved and actually use the suspense it builds.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about teenagers running a dilapidated apartment building in Manhattan. I enjoyed it as a light-hearted, next-gen coming-of-age story. The descriptions of eccentric tenants made me laugh out loud. The characters are 15; I recommend this novel for high-school ages.

[Laura Beam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun original story! It was so fun to see Paul and his friends be kid landlords, try to improve their neighborhood, and solve mysteries to save a friend! I would definitely recommend this book. It is unlike any story I have ever read.

[Sumaiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very great book! I enjoyed reading it and I guess it was a little funny too. Also it teaches you a great lesson of how one should be a good landlord

[Sally]

On my list because Jason Reynolds said:
“I read The Young Landlords [by Walter Dean Myers]and
felt almost a chemical change. What I realized while
reading that book was that I could write in my voice, use
my tongue, my language, my style, and write a story.”

Recommended by www.younginklings.org as a writing prompt/inspiration ON USING YOUR OWN VOICE:

[Emily S · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't relate, and I found it sort of boring, though there were parts in the story that kept me going. The only reason I finished the book was because it was an assignment.

[Chelsea Coca · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.

[Madeleine]

Interesting and fun for me to read but the language was too old fashioned for Alex. He didn’t get past the first chapter.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think that Josiah has said it all...shouldn’t have read his review first 😅🤣😂

[Izayah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, good read

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although very dated this book makes for a very good discussion book with my 11 year old grandson. Values, mores and even family interactions were very different in the mid seventies.

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful story

[Nydeja Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you ever bite off more than you could chew? If so, you could relate to this book. A group of 14 year-olds2 from Harlem, New York, in the 1980’s called themselves The Action Group. They go around the town trying to fix things, but there was this one building that was the eyesore of the town. They decide to confront the landlord on the building’s quality and the appearance. The landlord told them that if they want to help the building, the main character Paul Williams gives the landlord $1. A week later, Paul gets papers in the mail, and his mother took the documents down to his father’s office. Apparently, Paul bought a building for $1. He decides that he is going to own, and repair this building, with the help of his Action Group. They soon realize that they have bitten off more than they could chew.
There was this one statement that Paul Williams said that really stood out to me. “I think men are better at fixing things than women.”(Myers,105). This is my favorite quote because it reminds me of how much society has changed in a span of 30 years. In present time, most people seem to believe have men and women could do the same tasks, but in the time the book takes place in, most people believed that this quote was true. I’m making that inference based on how everyone reacted when Paul said it. The guys agreed, and the girls agreed too, but they weren’t as easygoing as going with what was said. I also thought this quote was especially interesting, because most girls will disagree with this quote, and say everyone is equal. However, those same girls would expect boys to do certain things, like hold doors. Then when you actually think about it, why do girls expect guys to do these things, if both genders are equal?
I have made many personal connections with this book, and all the themes that I can tie to it. The Action Group have to find a way to repair the building, but cannot use the money the tenants are paying for the rent. They were basically stuck between a rock and a hard place, and still found a way to prevail. Every Time I am faced with some kind of challenge, like the Action Group, I do my best to conquer them. Another theme that I tie this book to is biting off more than you could chew. In The Young Landlords, Paul thinks that he and his friends can handle being landlords of a building, although they are only 14 years old. This causes them to become stressed and overwhelmed. I can relate to this because, most of the time, my friends are stressed. My friends are this way because they usually bite off more than they could chew. A topic that this book made me think about was how people are judged based on their appearance. Throughout the book, the main character, Paul Williams, talks about the way certain characters look, and then I begin to think about what kind of person they are. This caused me to think because, I realized that they only gave traits based on appearance, and not based on personality. When I noticed this, I asked myself, how am I able to start thinking about what kind of person they are?

[Badiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Walter and his friend who tried to make a difference in their area. Walter was always a target in his school, and he always got bullied. Somehow Walter is able to pass through those struggles, and he becomes a landlord with his friends.

I would recommend this book for other people to read. It is a really good book, and im sure that everyone would enjoy it as well.

If i were to rate this book out of ten, i would give it a ten. It deserves a ten, because it was extremely good!


10TH GRADE ADVISORY

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Young Landlords is the story of a group of young friends who come into possession of a rundown apartment building. Paul and his friends are idealists, although they have varying degrees of commitment to the causes they take up. The kids want to do the right thing but find that it isn’t always easy to do the right thing or even to determine what the right thing is. Their situation seems implausible but may not be that farfetched. The young people learn and grow up without any overtly didactic or moralistic lessons for the reader, and the story is entertaining on its own.

[Diego Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of kids from Harlem want to feel grown up and ask to take over a building. They feel like they can do it all in life and they start off being successful at running the building in which they live. Soon after they learn that it isn't easy and ask for help. This story is a twist from the other Walter Dean Myer books where the kids struggle to meet their families or are convicted of crimes. The Young Lords is a book that i recommend to anyone who feels they can do it all in life.

[7kevinw4339 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started off kind of weird but then it gets to the point and starts making sence. If you keep reading it goes to all diffrent types of styles like funny weird why did you do that romantic which isnt what i thought it would be but yeah. its a good book but i dont like the way it ends its completly stupid.

[Brittney Narcisse- Rosario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and easy read. A story about young children who bought a dilapidated building for $1 without doing their due diligence. Between the repair issues, nuisance tenants, and lack of an operational budget and solving the mystery of an accusation of a hi-fi store burglary against their friend Chris, these young landlords got more than what they bargained for.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! I was looking for something light to read and this fit the bill! The book cover has it right it's about the people on a block in NYC. Could teenagers actually own a building and do as well if not better than an adult? Read the book and find out!

[Zakayla]

listen to your ideas i guess before you make em

[Stephenie]

summer reading possibility

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nit a ghetto dump of a book, like the book itself says, but only a gang of rebels who try and savor the moments of one of their members "growing up". Good book.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit dated for the young people of today--was a Coretta Scott King award winner in 1979 but I enjoyed it and think it is a good read for young adults

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a WDM book I can recommend! :)

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. I would rate it a 3 because it was interesting and right when I started reading it I jumped right into to the book.

[GPPL Youth]

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