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Babylon Boyz
In this tense teen novel, three struggling boys in embattled West Oakland are faced with a choice sure to change their lives—for better or worse.
Dante, Pook, and Wyatt are eighth graders in a rundown school in West Oakland, California, plagued by guns, gangs, drugs, and violence, all overseen by inept or indifferent teachers. The three friends are used to only being able to react to the world around them, dodging blows rather than forging their own paths.
Dante, thirteen, was born to a crack-addicted mother and needs an expensive heart operation if he hopes to reach thirty. Pook is newly fourteen and, handsome and muscular, outcasted for being gay, with dreams of medical school he can’t afford. Wyatt, thirteen, is awesomely fat and cursed with being smart in a stupid place.
They feel like they’re headed for a dead in until they find a suitcase full of cocaine and suddenly face an excruciating decision. Selling the coke means escape. But it also means adding to the crack epidemic that has already destroyed their community.
What price are they willing to pay for freedom.
Dante, Pook, and Wyatt are eighth graders in a rundown school in West Oakland, California, plagued by guns, gangs, drugs, and violence, all overseen by inept or indifferent teachers. The three friends are used to only being able to react to the world around them, dodging blows rather than forging their own paths.
Dante, thirteen, was born to a crack-addicted mother and needs an expensive heart operation if he hopes to reach thirty. Pook is newly fourteen and, handsome and muscular, outcasted for being gay, with dreams of medical school he can’t afford. Wyatt, thirteen, is awesomely fat and cursed with being smart in a stupid place.
They feel like they’re headed for a dead in until they find a suitcase full of cocaine and suddenly face an excruciating decision. Selling the coke means escape. But it also means adding to the crack epidemic that has already destroyed their community.
What price are they willing to pay for freedom.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
5 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Jess Mowry
32 books21 followersWhy do I write?
"After almost forty years of working with kids and raising four of my own, along with a few strays -- none of whom are in prison or collecting Welfare -- not to mention over twenty years of writing books and stories for and about kids, I've found that it's a lot easier for people to be "pro-child" about some kids than it is for them to care about and champion "other" kids. Perhaps, like the animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm, some kids are more equal than others?
"Almost all my stories and books are for and about black kids, who are not always cute and cuddly. My characters often spit, sweat and swear, as well as occasionally smoke or drink. Just like their real-world counterparts, some are "overweight," may look "too black," or are otherwise unacceptable by superficial American values. Like on the real kids, they often live in dirty and violent environments, and are forced into sometimes unpleasant lifestyles.
"And virtually no one writes books or stories about them -- at least seldom in ways that don't exploit them, and/or don't glorify gangs, guns, drugs and violence. I've learned from experience that few publishers, including black ones, will publish positive books about these kids... books that don't portray them in stereotypical roles, and thus only reinforce the negative aspects of their lives.
"The result is that there very few positive books about these kids. This leaves them with no role models except stereotypes of gangsters, rappers or sports figures. Worse, virtually the only books that "white" (or more fortunate) children have to read about most black kids are also filled with these negative stereotypes. About the only exception are books in which black kids play a supporting role to a white hero.
"I have devoted my career, such as it is, to writing positive but realistic books and stories, not only for and about black kids, but also for "white" kids so they will understand that the negative stereotypes aren't true... that most black kids have other interests besides guns, gangs, drugs, violence, becoming rap stars, or playing basketball.
"When I first began writing I wanted to write many different kinds of books; adventure novels, magic, ghost stories. These were the kinds of books I grew up reading, though I often wondered why there were no black heroes, such as ship captains or airplane pilots... no black Indiana Joneses, Hardy Boys or Hobbits. But mainstream publishers only want the stereotypes: if not blatantly negative stereotypes, then only stereotypical positive images. Only what "good black kids" are "supposed" to do. What the mainstream white world expects them to dream about and aspire to be.
"I often write about violence because the U.S.A. is a violent country in a violent world and pretending it isn't doesn't help anyone. Most of my kids aren't angels, but they are being as good as they can be... which is a lot better than most people seem to think they are.
"To me, being pro-child includes all children, even kids whom it may be hard to like... especially kids who are hard to like."
"After almost forty years of working with kids and raising four of my own, along with a few strays -- none of whom are in prison or collecting Welfare -- not to mention over twenty years of writing books and stories for and about kids, I've found that it's a lot easier for people to be "pro-child" about some kids than it is for them to care about and champion "other" kids. Perhaps, like the animals in George Orwell's Animal Farm, some kids are more equal than others?
"Almost all my stories and books are for and about black kids, who are not always cute and cuddly. My characters often spit, sweat and swear, as well as occasionally smoke or drink. Just like their real-world counterparts, some are "overweight," may look "too black," or are otherwise unacceptable by superficial American values. Like on the real kids, they often live in dirty and violent environments, and are forced into sometimes unpleasant lifestyles.
"And virtually no one writes books or stories about them -- at least seldom in ways that don't exploit them, and/or don't glorify gangs, guns, drugs and violence. I've learned from experience that few publishers, including black ones, will publish positive books about these kids... books that don't portray them in stereotypical roles, and thus only reinforce the negative aspects of their lives.
"The result is that there very few positive books about these kids. This leaves them with no role models except stereotypes of gangsters, rappers or sports figures. Worse, virtually the only books that "white" (or more fortunate) children have to read about most black kids are also filled with these negative stereotypes. About the only exception are books in which black kids play a supporting role to a white hero.
"I have devoted my career, such as it is, to writing positive but realistic books and stories, not only for and about black kids, but also for "white" kids so they will understand that the negative stereotypes aren't true... that most black kids have other interests besides guns, gangs, drugs, violence, becoming rap stars, or playing basketball.
"When I first began writing I wanted to write many different kinds of books; adventure novels, magic, ghost stories. These were the kinds of books I grew up reading, though I often wondered why there were no black heroes, such as ship captains or airplane pilots... no black Indiana Joneses, Hardy Boys or Hobbits. But mainstream publishers only want the stereotypes: if not blatantly negative stereotypes, then only stereotypical positive images. Only what "good black kids" are "supposed" to do. What the mainstream white world expects them to dream about and aspire to be.
"I often write about violence because the U.S.A. is a violent country in a violent world and pretending it isn't doesn't help anyone. Most of my kids aren't angels, but they are being as good as they can be... which is a lot better than most people seem to think they are.
"To me, being pro-child includes all children, even kids whom it may be hard to like... especially kids who are hard to like."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 10, 2010
Plot Summary
Three unlikely African American boys are best buds, having grown up in the same neighborhood of Oakland -that they call Babylon - since they were young. Pook is 14 and openly gay, Dante is 13 and has a frail heart condition, and Wyatt is14 and obese.
At the wrong place and time, Pook and Dante discover a gun a case of drugs, when a dealer they know and dislike is forced to throw them from his car during a police chase. After cluing Wyatt in, the three boys have to decide what to do with the drugs. Sell them to get money for Dante's heart surgery? Flush them down the toilet so to not perpetuate the drug culture and defeat of their own neighborhood? Not everyone sees eye to eye on what to do. On top of trying to figure this all out, the gang of three make two new interesting and complicated friends, whom are thrown into the mix. Suddenly the what to do with the drugs and the gun are not their only issues.
Critical Analysis
I appreciated the freshness of having a gay character of color, whom did not fit the traditional stereotype of gay characters. I was surprised to see this was written when it was. It seemed much more recent. Also, while homosexuality was an underlying theme, it was not at all the main story, but nicely woven in as a backdrop. Also, the story takes quite a few twists and turns that are unexpected, but not cliché. In general, Mowry presents ideas that have been written about a million times, but puts a fresh spin on them. It could easily be a coming of age story but doesn't feel like one. The dynamic friendships between the boys are very nicely crafted, developing slowly, as is their relationship to the dangerous world they live in. Setting, character development and story are well done. The actual writing still could have been improved. The characters, are all young, but would be easy for any teen to relate to.
Three unlikely African American boys are best buds, having grown up in the same neighborhood of Oakland -that they call Babylon - since they were young. Pook is 14 and openly gay, Dante is 13 and has a frail heart condition, and Wyatt is14 and obese.
At the wrong place and time, Pook and Dante discover a gun a case of drugs, when a dealer they know and dislike is forced to throw them from his car during a police chase. After cluing Wyatt in, the three boys have to decide what to do with the drugs. Sell them to get money for Dante's heart surgery? Flush them down the toilet so to not perpetuate the drug culture and defeat of their own neighborhood? Not everyone sees eye to eye on what to do. On top of trying to figure this all out, the gang of three make two new interesting and complicated friends, whom are thrown into the mix. Suddenly the what to do with the drugs and the gun are not their only issues.
Critical Analysis
I appreciated the freshness of having a gay character of color, whom did not fit the traditional stereotype of gay characters. I was surprised to see this was written when it was. It seemed much more recent. Also, while homosexuality was an underlying theme, it was not at all the main story, but nicely woven in as a backdrop. Also, the story takes quite a few twists and turns that are unexpected, but not cliché. In general, Mowry presents ideas that have been written about a million times, but puts a fresh spin on them. It could easily be a coming of age story but doesn't feel like one. The dynamic friendships between the boys are very nicely crafted, developing slowly, as is their relationship to the dangerous world they live in. Setting, character development and story are well done. The actual writing still could have been improved. The characters, are all young, but would be easy for any teen to relate to.
March 18, 2016
Babylon Boyz is an intriguing story of a group of boys living in the Babylon Ghetto. Dante, the main character, develops greatly through the story. He changes from a keep it safe boy to a brave and protective leader. This books lets us see what it was and is like on the other side of the tracks, and for some it's what they are going through. Mr. Mowry uses all the right slang and words to make us feel like we're there with the trio. Dante, Pook, and Wyatt, who are just trying to stay out of the Babylon game, the game where it's kill or be killed, and where the money and drugs are most important to the players. The friends try to stay out of the Babylon game for their different reasons. Each character is unique and special in his own way. Dante is the one with a heart defect. Pook is the brawny one who is shunned of his homosexuality and his wanting to be a doctor. Lastly, There is Wyatt the chubby one who is great at tagging and loves to take photos. There are the other characters like Air Touch, Jinx, and Radgi. Air Touch is the Gangster that they cause so much trouble; Jinx is the recovering crack addict; and Radgi the homeless one who's lost all his family. Jess Mowry pulls you into the world that Dante, Pook, and Wyatt live in. This book has a great message and a thrilling tale; that you won't be able to put it down.
March 9, 2010
I really liked the characters in this book. While I have no firsthand experience of the trials they faced (poor black boys doing the best they can in a world that is constantly beating them down) I was able to “become” and empathize with them. The boys were very complex and realistic. The plot was original with a true sense of conflict and suspense. The end of the book left you hopeful and with a positive message but still uncertain as to the fate of the characters. Mowry is from Oakland so the language is very authentic with a lot of slang and natural swearing without it becoming distracting.
This would be a great discussion book.
1) The book is 10 years old now. Do you think the conflict and characters still hold true?
2) There is a big emphasis on choices. If you were put in these boy’s situations, what choices would you make?
3) Where do you see the characters going in life?
4) Several characters refer to the US being the “richest nation on earth,” does this story make you question that statement?
This would be a great discussion book.
1) The book is 10 years old now. Do you think the conflict and characters still hold true?
2) There is a big emphasis on choices. If you were put in these boy’s situations, what choices would you make?
3) Where do you see the characters going in life?
4) Several characters refer to the US being the “richest nation on earth,” does this story make you question that statement?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews