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Drive-By
"Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: Those who were dead and those who were going to die. Joining a gang doesn't make sense to Jimmy..." Jimmy is dead now—gunned down in front of his little sister, Mina, and his brother, Tito. And Tito is left wondering: Was Jimmy in a gang after all? Ice Breaker Joe and Lamar think so. They say Jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned, Tito may have to pay—with his life. Some people go to the crossroads, but Tito's crossroads laid themselves down in front of him. His brother Jimmy sprawls on the sidewalk at his feet. Shot in a drive by. Now a gang claims that Jimmy was their Ace Man. They say Tito must take his place and resolve some unfinished business. They give him a gun. "You need protection. It's not safe on the street." What path will be choose at the crossroads? He knows one leads to safety and one to death . . . but which is which?
96 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
66 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Ewing
48 books861 followersLynne Ewing is an American author and a screen writer.
She always had to move around a lot when she was growing up because her father was in the Marine Corps. She has two sisters. Lynne graduated from high school in Lima, Peru after attending seven other schools. While she was in Peru, she learned to speak Spanish. She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara. When she was 30 years old, she began writing for newspapers, documentaries, magazines, and did screen writing. She also counsels troubled teens. Her first books were Drive-By and Party Girl. Drive-By took six years to write, and Party Girl has been made into a movie called Living the Life. She has written the completed Daughters of the Moon and Sons of the Dark series. She lives in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.. Ms. Ewing has two children, Jonathan, a molecular biologist, and Amber, an international lawyer. She has also traveled to Japan, China, Russia, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. She has begun a new series called Sisters of Isis.
She always had to move around a lot when she was growing up because her father was in the Marine Corps. She has two sisters. Lynne graduated from high school in Lima, Peru after attending seven other schools. While she was in Peru, she learned to speak Spanish. She attended the University of California at Santa Barbara. When she was 30 years old, she began writing for newspapers, documentaries, magazines, and did screen writing. She also counsels troubled teens. Her first books were Drive-By and Party Girl. Drive-By took six years to write, and Party Girl has been made into a movie called Living the Life. She has written the completed Daughters of the Moon and Sons of the Dark series. She lives in Los Angeles and Washington D.C.. Ms. Ewing has two children, Jonathan, a molecular biologist, and Amber, an international lawyer. She has also traveled to Japan, China, Russia, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. She has begun a new series called Sisters of Isis.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
July 10, 2022
4th grade read that I still think about sometimes
July 8, 2024
Wow. This was sitting on a teacher's desk and I picked it up to see what in the 1996 was going on. Gangs! are what is going on. People with gang names like Lamar and Ice Cube Joe and Gus. Our protagonist's name is Tito, which is a short way of saying Timothy Thomas. Jimmy, Timmy's older brother is in high school and old enough to help support the family with a job. Timmy has one classroom teacher so he's probably fifth grade. Their younger sister is five. The book is very ambiguous about kid age. This book walks many lines. It walks the line between '90s LA street culture and the mainstream culture of the 1950s, like when Lisa, the prettiest girl in class asks Timmy to walk her to school. Boys weren't walking girls to school in 1996. I was there. It didn't happen.
This book walks the line between between racism and being so oblivious that it's not racist at all. No one's race is mentioned except Timothy's other friend Zev, who's a Russian Jew. (Zev isn't an actual Russian name, just BTW.) I have to assume that a book about gangs in '90s LA isn't about a white family and the white people they know, but maybe they're Hispanic because kids named Tito and Mina. It's unclear. Lynne Ewing's conception of urban poverty is also strange. Timmy brags that even when there's nothing else, his mom can make dessert out of potatoes. Respect for a single working mother who serves creative nightly desserts.
This book walks the line between things the author read about gangs in the newspaper and a blind lack of research or understanding of the subject matter. Tagging crews! People are tagging with spray-paint graffiti. A man doing something incredibly dangerous to tag a bus! Busses never stop to be written on.
There was a drive-by in front of my building this January and my car was hit by a bullet and I have stronger feelings about this than the author was able to compel Timmy to express about the death of his brother Jimmy in a drive-by. (It was the kind of drive-by where the car stopped first. Lynne Ewing doesn't understand drive-bys. Whenever there is a drive-by in this book, loud music plays ominously out of an approaching car stereo. Lynne Ewing doesn't say what kind of music this is, but she doesn't like loud music or understand that people in some neighborhoods often play loud music while driving their cars. Maybe in 1996 only gangsters had car stereos?) I read this book in an hour and a half while managing an eighth grade classroom and it could have been so much longer and clearer. It's okay to sit with feelings like the DEATH OF SIBLING IN A BOOK FOR MIDDLE GRADE CHILDREN and not treat the situation like an emotionally bare catalyst for further didactic shenanigans.
After the funeral, Timmy comes home one day to find that his house has been stripped of all its possessions and a tagging crew has been in to tag it, with tags. After some convoluted nonsense about hiding in doghouse with somebody else's pants, Timmy finds out that his house was not robbed, his mother has just moved the family in with the next door neighbor to save money. Timmy goes to school the next day and his friend Gus gives him a gun, with which to protect himself, and encourages Timmy to join his gang, which causes Timmy to go on some didactic reflections about how gang members say they're family but they're not even really your friends.
In the end, Timmy realizes that everyone is ganging and banging, including his brother, but he hatches a plan to foil the gangbangers and he may or may not exit the scene with a suitcase full of money. He does get a job cleaning restrooms in exchange for French fries. Children aren't really good at cleaning restrooms, but the diner owner is clearly doing him a solid.
Lynne Ewing does not know anyone's who's been personally affected by a drive-by shooting, or if she does, it's because she works with children at a school far away from where she lives. "Representation matters" means more to me after reading this book, because when authors don't come from the places they're writing about, then you have this mess of an effort to talk to kids about gang violence digested through a white lady. This book would have been groundbreaking in 1996.
This book walks the line between between racism and being so oblivious that it's not racist at all. No one's race is mentioned except Timothy's other friend Zev, who's a Russian Jew. (Zev isn't an actual Russian name, just BTW.) I have to assume that a book about gangs in '90s LA isn't about a white family and the white people they know, but maybe they're Hispanic because kids named Tito and Mina. It's unclear. Lynne Ewing's conception of urban poverty is also strange. Timmy brags that even when there's nothing else, his mom can make dessert out of potatoes. Respect for a single working mother who serves creative nightly desserts.
This book walks the line between things the author read about gangs in the newspaper and a blind lack of research or understanding of the subject matter. Tagging crews! People are tagging with spray-paint graffiti. A man doing something incredibly dangerous to tag a bus! Busses never stop to be written on.
There was a drive-by in front of my building this January and my car was hit by a bullet and I have stronger feelings about this than the author was able to compel Timmy to express about the death of his brother Jimmy in a drive-by. (It was the kind of drive-by where the car stopped first. Lynne Ewing doesn't understand drive-bys. Whenever there is a drive-by in this book, loud music plays ominously out of an approaching car stereo. Lynne Ewing doesn't say what kind of music this is, but she doesn't like loud music or understand that people in some neighborhoods often play loud music while driving their cars. Maybe in 1996 only gangsters had car stereos?) I read this book in an hour and a half while managing an eighth grade classroom and it could have been so much longer and clearer. It's okay to sit with feelings like the DEATH OF SIBLING IN A BOOK FOR MIDDLE GRADE CHILDREN and not treat the situation like an emotionally bare catalyst for further didactic shenanigans.
After the funeral, Timmy comes home one day to find that his house has been stripped of all its possessions and a tagging crew has been in to tag it, with tags. After some convoluted nonsense about hiding in doghouse with somebody else's pants, Timmy finds out that his house was not robbed, his mother has just moved the family in with the next door neighbor to save money. Timmy goes to school the next day and his friend Gus gives him a gun, with which to protect himself, and encourages Timmy to join his gang, which causes Timmy to go on some didactic reflections about how gang members say they're family but they're not even really your friends.
In the end, Timmy realizes that everyone is ganging and banging, including his brother, but he hatches a plan to foil the gangbangers and he may or may not exit the scene with a suitcase full of money. He does get a job cleaning restrooms in exchange for French fries. Children aren't really good at cleaning restrooms, but the diner owner is clearly doing him a solid.
Lynne Ewing does not know anyone's who's been personally affected by a drive-by shooting, or if she does, it's because she works with children at a school far away from where she lives. "Representation matters" means more to me after reading this book, because when authors don't come from the places they're writing about, then you have this mess of an effort to talk to kids about gang violence digested through a white lady. This book would have been groundbreaking in 1996.
August 20, 2013
Drive by was a good and easy book. this book was very intense. The kid they called Tito was Jimmys younger brother, Jimmy, Tito, and there little sister Mina were walking home and a car drove by and shot Jimmy down and he died. There whole family was devestated. because jimmy died there mom couldnt afford to pay for there house anymore so they moved in with an old lady next door with a dog named spider. After jimmy died people were kind of going after Tito because they thought jimmy had told him something about the money that they needed but Tito had no clue. there old house kept getting broke into and Tito was wondering why they were looking in there. Tito remembered an old crawl space under the house and if Jimmy would've hid anything he would put it there. one night he decided to go check it out and sure enough there was a suit case filled with a bunch of money and a note for Tito, saying that he new he would find it and to keep it safe. the next day he found out that Jimmys best friend was the one that shot him. they were starting to come after Tito hardcore now because he knows that he knows about the money. Tito faked the gang out and told them where the money was and had the cops waiting for them. The family got all the money they needed and had a great life after that.
it was a wonderful book. all time faverite book
it was a wonderful book. all time faverite book
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March 6, 2018Awesome
January 30, 2015
Did someone ever force you to believe something that you knew wasnt true?? The genre of this book is realistic fiction. I really liked the book even though it was pretty short but it still was a great book. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Drive By is mainly about a kid name Timothy Thomas experiencing a horrible Drive By. During the drive by his brother, Jimmy, was shot dead. After the death of Jimmy, Timothy's life changed. The setting of this book is during the summer. The plot of this book is when Jimmy was killed and then other gangsters wanted to get to the money he was hiding. But only one person knew...and that person was Timothy. After finding the money Timothy called the cops and told them where the gangsters of Jimmy's killers were and in a few minutes they were caught. The conflict of this book person vs society because Timothy goes through a lot of people to find out who had killed Jimmy.
"Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: those who were dead and those who were going to die" I go back to this quote because if Jimmy knew what he was doing why did he join a gang?
I thought the ending of the book was pretty simple but the rest of ot was great.
I would rate this book 4-5 stars because I feel like even though the book was short the author made a great explanation in it for everyone to understand. I would recommend this book to people who like action - packed books. "Joining a gang didnt make sense to Jimmy...so why should you??
"Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: those who were dead and those who were going to die" I go back to this quote because if Jimmy knew what he was doing why did he join a gang?
I thought the ending of the book was pretty simple but the rest of ot was great.
I would rate this book 4-5 stars because I feel like even though the book was short the author made a great explanation in it for everyone to understand. I would recommend this book to people who like action - packed books. "Joining a gang didnt make sense to Jimmy...so why should you??
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November 7, 2016Jimmy is dead now-gunned down in front of his little sister Mina and his brother Tito. Also jimmy's brother Tito is left wondering was jimmy in a gang after all. Other gang banger's named Ice Breaker Joe ,and Lamer think that jimmy was in a gang.The other gang banger's say jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned his brother Tito may have to pay his life for jimmy's money that he skimmed the gang banger's. I will have to say that the genre for the book will be mystery. Tito then became the man of the house by taking care of and protecting his little sister Mina and his Mom. The mystery begins when Tito and his mother attempt to collect jimmy's last paycheck at the restaurant only to find out that he had never worked there. To add to the mystery Gus who's is Tito's long-timed. friend intentionally gives an inaccurate description of the car used in the drive by shooting. Gus tries to pressure Tito into carrying a gun and joining a gang for protection now that jimmy is dead. On the other hand Tito Jewish friend Zev tries to be a positive influence. Tito is faced with many though decisions how to find out the truth about his brother,what the gang members want form him whether or not to join a gang or to perform honest work to provide for his family.
April 24, 2017
The book Drive By by Lynne Ewing is a good book because there is a lot of excitement. The genre is realistic fiction. There are guns and gangs. This book would be good for someone who likes excitement because there is a lot of action. Mina ran away and they heard really loud music and then they heard gunshots and Jimmy died. The characters are Mina the little sister and jimmy the brother of both of them and the main character is Timothy Thomas. The conflict is that jimmy got shot by a gang. This book is realistic fiction Because it could happen, but didn't.Timothy’s sister ran away and they couldn't find her but they stood on the front steps and found her when a cop car pulled up and they got her out of the backseat. Timothy's older brother got shot and died. The conflict is man versus man because the gang shot Jimmy and he died. This is External conflict because it actually happened and not in Timothy's head . I rate it a four star because the book had a really good hook and as you read more and more it kept on hooking me into the book
May 30, 2013
This was my favorite book as a young kid. I always have loved to read ever since I knew how and I remember I used to carry around this book all the time when I rode with my mama, I would bend the ears on the pages I've read and I've probably read this book a million times Lol it sends a good message out to the younger generation who think that gangs are cool but what really happens when you get involved! I loved it
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February 6, 2009i luv that this book has violance
October 22, 2010
i thought it was a good influence for little people that are in gangs that they should get out and not to get in trouble. i loveed the book when i first started.
February 12, 2013
I like this book because it has a lot of action and because Titos brother Jimmy died and now Tito needs money or else the people that killed Jimmy will kill Tito
March 12, 2017
Quick read. I liked the story line, but I am not sure I would share it with students below the 5th grade. I know my students wouldn't quite get what is going on.
October 20, 2019
Drive-by takes place is Los Angels, California. This story is about a family of four that a terrible tradedy leaves them with only three. Gangs are huge in LA, jimmy the older brother always reminds his little brother Tito that "There were only two kinds of gangbangers, those who were dead and those who were going to die. One night as they're walking back home Jimmy, Tito and their little sister Mina their older brother pulls out the claw(hand) and scares Mina and leads to her running off. Tito goes off to find her shes always hiding. Tito hears a car pull up it stops infront of Jimmy, he hears a loud bang and Jimmy falls to the ground. Tito runs to Jimmy but he was already gone. Everything changes the mystery on why Jimmy? was he randomly selectived wrong place and the wrong time? Tito don't walk at night by himself and has to watch his back. He is now the big brother and then man of the house. Some of the neighborhood gangbangers confront Tito, saying that his brother owns them something and they need him to give it back. Tito tells them that his brother was no gangbanger, they laugh and say yes he was. Tito and his family have to mom way, their house was broken into and shot at, luckliy no one was home. They mom into the neighbors house Mrs. Washington he gets the upstairs room, he had never had his own room that night he looked out the window and see a car infront of his old house it was the gangbangers they must be looking for something. A few days later his friend Gus give him a gun for protection, he don't want the gun. Gus insistes for him to keep it. The next day Gus ask him to go get a hamburger Tito isn't sure about going because its late at night but he decides to go anyways. Gus is his friend, he has his back except for that night he sets him up and leads him to the gangbangers. They let him go but leave him wondering if his brother really was a gangbanger. He goes back to his old house, Jimmy was always say he was fixing the "pipes under the house". He craws under the house and sees a black suitcase with a note from Jimmy explaining everything. Tito knew what to do. The next day he say the gangbangers and told them about Jimmy always "fixing the pipes" they left and went towards his old house and Tito went to the pay phone and told the police that" Jimmy, left money under the house and his killers were on their way to get it." Police sirens passed him.
October 28, 2016
Drive By is a very good book. This book was about a boy named Tito that his brother Jimmy died in a drive by. Tito is trying to find the truth about Jimmy's death. Was Jimmy in a gang after all?
This story takes place in Los Angeles. Tito, Jimmy, and there little sister Mina were walking home and a car drove by. They shot Jimmy leaving him dead on the floor. His family was devastated. There mom couldn't afford the house where they were living at so they moved in with there neighbor. **Spoil Alert** Tito finds out that Jimmy was in a gang after all and Jimmy best friend was the was the one who shot him. The gang started to go after Tito because they thought jimmy told him something about the money he was supposed to give to the gang. Tito had no clue what they were talking about. He then remembered a box that jimmy had. Tito looked for it and found it. When he opened it up there was a lot of money and a note to Tito from jimmy because jimmy knew Tito will find it. Tito tricked the gang into going to where the money was. When the gang got there the police arrested them. The family kept all the money and they lived a great life after that.
I think that the part when Tito finds out that jimmy's best friend killed jimmy is a major part. I think it really stood out to the readers. Its very shocking.
I think the purpose of the book was to be careful on what the choices you make in life. In the book Jimmy shouldn't have been dealing with things gang related. I would rate the book a 3.5 because i think they could of added more detail but over all it was a great book. I would recommend this book to people who like reading book that can happen in real life.
This story takes place in Los Angeles. Tito, Jimmy, and there little sister Mina were walking home and a car drove by. They shot Jimmy leaving him dead on the floor. His family was devastated. There mom couldn't afford the house where they were living at so they moved in with there neighbor. **Spoil Alert** Tito finds out that Jimmy was in a gang after all and Jimmy best friend was the was the one who shot him. The gang started to go after Tito because they thought jimmy told him something about the money he was supposed to give to the gang. Tito had no clue what they were talking about. He then remembered a box that jimmy had. Tito looked for it and found it. When he opened it up there was a lot of money and a note to Tito from jimmy because jimmy knew Tito will find it. Tito tricked the gang into going to where the money was. When the gang got there the police arrested them. The family kept all the money and they lived a great life after that.
I think that the part when Tito finds out that jimmy's best friend killed jimmy is a major part. I think it really stood out to the readers. Its very shocking.
I think the purpose of the book was to be careful on what the choices you make in life. In the book Jimmy shouldn't have been dealing with things gang related. I would rate the book a 3.5 because i think they could of added more detail but over all it was a great book. I would recommend this book to people who like reading book that can happen in real life.
May 24, 2017
Drive By is a very good and i would recommend it to my friends. This book has a lot of conflict and action. Tito is the main character who grows up in a bad neighborhood where a lot of drive by's happen. When his brother Jimmy gets involved in a drive by things take a turn for the worst & Tito's whole life changes.the main characters are jimmy Tito and there sister Mina .and the guys that killed his brother the main person is Tito hes funny brave and loving.i can not relate to anybody in this story because i do not know anyone who was in a gang or was in one at a time.i do relate to Tito because i am caring i liked the book because it was a good mystery and interesting .my favorite part was when he died because that is when it got really good.my least favorite part is when the police did not believe him.i like that the author had good detail.but he could have out a better ending.......
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September 19, 2019This book has a lot of different stuff going on in. some of the stuff going on in it is jimmy, jimmy is the main charter of the book. Jimmy gets in a gang and after a while of being in the gang he gets to shoot and dies his whole family is devastated.so his little sisters toto sees her brother get to shoot and a car drives off. so jimmy liltle brother just doesnt understans why this would happen to his big brother. So he tries to figures out who murders his big brother jimmy. So the people that killed jimmy is the people that are in a gang with him. They were his best friends ice beraker and lamer. So jimmy takes something from them and lamer and ice breaker ends up shooting them in the car. I would recommend this book if you like a mystery with a lot of conflicts.
March 12, 2019
Read this as a kid, and I remember loving it because it was a peak into what it would be like to grow up in different socioeconomic circumstances. I recall re-reading this a few times and being intrigued by the idea that children my age elsewhere had to cope with such different and violent situations as regular occurrences in their everyday lives. I think it's culturally important to expose children to reality of differences in how people are raised. It helps them develop empathy and understanding for human behavior in the future.
December 2, 2018
After Tito's older brother is killed by members of a gang, he has questions about who his brother was and what he had been doing. While he is grieving for his lost brother, he also finds out that he is now in danger. What can he do to protect himself and his younger sister?
October 2, 2019
Very easy read, finished it at MVD!! I was a bit confused about if the brother was a gangbanger or not. How did he make the money? None of the gang members thought of looking in the crawl space?? Interesting read, made me, as a teacher, think about what kids are going through.
September 1, 2017
This was a really good book.
October 25, 2017
this book is intresting and fun to read will recommend to all friends
January 31, 2019
This is a great middle-grade book or for a reluctant high school reader. The reading level is easy and it's very short. The plot itself is a bit predictable, but I think it would engage kids.
May 26, 2020
3.25 ⭐️
May 9, 2023
A gritty, engaging story. Not super well-written, but always hooks my struggling readers.
March 19, 2025
a beautiful and sad story about gangs.
November 14, 2016
very very very very very very very very very very very very good book.
Currently reading
March 6, 2017Started: January 6
Day finished: February 7
Day Goal: February 7
Drive-By
By: Lynne Ewing
The book that I’m reviewing is “Drive-By” the Lexile range is 560. The main character is Timothy and Jimmy, the brother of Timothy's’ that died. Timothy has a brother and a sister. His sister's name is. Timothy’s sister is only 5, she really likes princesses (she wants to be one).
The first part of the book was about Timothy and his brother and sister when they were walking a car ended up shooting at Jimmy and killing him. After that Timothy was not that good, neither was his friend. His friend gave him a gun, and timothy was not sure what he should do with it. Lamar and the other guy always wanted something from Jimmy and so that Jimmy died they were going to get it from him. Timothy found a suitcase under the house and when Timothy was brought to Lamar Timothy said there was a suitcase under the house, go get it. Right after that, he dialed 9-1-1.
In the beginning of the book they started out with Jimmy's death so immediately I thought he had an important role to do in this book. It wasn’t a very hard book because it gave a lot of details during important events. By the book cover, I could infer that someone was going to be killed because drive by’s usually have people killed. My favorite part was when Timothy got a job at a restaurant and he would get one plate of food a day and his sister. In this book, you could infer what was going to happen a lot because it would usually be that outcome. I would recommend this book to people who like Drama.
Day finished: February 7
Day Goal: February 7
Drive-By
By: Lynne Ewing
The book that I’m reviewing is “Drive-By” the Lexile range is 560. The main character is Timothy and Jimmy, the brother of Timothy's’ that died. Timothy has a brother and a sister. His sister's name is. Timothy’s sister is only 5, she really likes princesses (she wants to be one).
The first part of the book was about Timothy and his brother and sister when they were walking a car ended up shooting at Jimmy and killing him. After that Timothy was not that good, neither was his friend. His friend gave him a gun, and timothy was not sure what he should do with it. Lamar and the other guy always wanted something from Jimmy and so that Jimmy died they were going to get it from him. Timothy found a suitcase under the house and when Timothy was brought to Lamar Timothy said there was a suitcase under the house, go get it. Right after that, he dialed 9-1-1.
In the beginning of the book they started out with Jimmy's death so immediately I thought he had an important role to do in this book. It wasn’t a very hard book because it gave a lot of details during important events. By the book cover, I could infer that someone was going to be killed because drive by’s usually have people killed. My favorite part was when Timothy got a job at a restaurant and he would get one plate of food a day and his sister. In this book, you could infer what was going to happen a lot because it would usually be that outcome. I would recommend this book to people who like Drama.
December 17, 2013
Drive By
By: Lynne Ewing
After I have read this book, I felt really sad for the main character because his brother dies in a drive by shooting. This thought kept going through my head, " What would I do if my brother died?” That was what I was thinking as I read a few more chapters. Then I came with an answer. I would feel like the oldest sibling because I am the middle child. The challenges Tito faced were like being the most and helping out with your brother or sisters homework.
The book takes place in L.A. California. The book is about this kid named Tito, Mina and the brother who dies Jimmy. So the book starts out at scene where Jimmy died but then Tito fills you in on what happened. They were walking their little sister Mina home from a party and Jimmy decides to play a joke on Tito and he gets scared and goes ahead with Mina and all of the sudden gun shots fire.
Okay so when I got up to this point I was like are they going to kidnap him so I stopped to think if they were to kidnap my family. This is what I would do. I would go to the police and let them take care of it. And plus if they were kidnapped it would be no fun it would be like if you were a homeless person or an orphan and you would also have no one to talk to about your problems.
I read on and I got farther into the book they were at Jimmy's funeral and a lot of people came because everybody knew him and thought he was a good kid and everybody was crying too. Then after the funeral Tito saw the oldsmoble. A few days after the funeral Mina ran away. Tito started looking for her but didn't find her so went back home hopinfpg she was there. But she wasn't there he saw his Mom crying and asking where she is the police came a few minutes later and she came out of the car.
Later on that day Tito was sleepy so he went to sleep. As he was sleeping Jimmy showed up in his dream and was saying to not make the same mistakes like he did and he also said never become a gangster.
One day Tito was walking home and his mom was packing boxes and said they were going to live with Ms.Washington for awhile but Tito thought she was taking too far but Tito just packed later that they moved into their neighbor's house and Tito was just going to get use to it. A thing he liked about living there was that the dog was named Spider because of his legs and he likes dogs. So one day him and Mina were walking home and Spider wasn't there he thought he ran away so he went out looking and didn't find him but he over heard Ms.Washington and his mom talking and some random people just came into the yard and took him so later that night gus came over late at night and woke up Tito and asked him if he wanted to join his tagging party but Tito say no so gus started to run and Tito went after him found him running to Big Molly's diner. Lamar had some stuff to deal with Tito.
Tito took Spider and tryed to figure out what Jimmy took. He remembered that Jimmy told Tito that there is a crawl space undef the house and he always said he is going to fix the pipes. So Tito went under the house and saw a brief case with a note on the note said that he was a gangster and he took the money from Lamar and he knew from gangbanging he was going to die one day.
Tito came up witha plan he put the gun in between is E.L.A and math text book and put it on a bumpster and ran to the diner and told Lamar that his money was under the house he got in his car and drove so Tito went to the phone and dialed 911 and said lamar is going for his drug money so the police went there and he got arrested and Tito got a job scrubbing toilets for something to eat.
Over all I think the book was really good and sad because a person had died in the story but that was good because that made the book more interesting but over all the book was really good.
Kacper C.
Manhiem Middle School
By: Lynne Ewing
After I have read this book, I felt really sad for the main character because his brother dies in a drive by shooting. This thought kept going through my head, " What would I do if my brother died?” That was what I was thinking as I read a few more chapters. Then I came with an answer. I would feel like the oldest sibling because I am the middle child. The challenges Tito faced were like being the most and helping out with your brother or sisters homework.
The book takes place in L.A. California. The book is about this kid named Tito, Mina and the brother who dies Jimmy. So the book starts out at scene where Jimmy died but then Tito fills you in on what happened. They were walking their little sister Mina home from a party and Jimmy decides to play a joke on Tito and he gets scared and goes ahead with Mina and all of the sudden gun shots fire.
Okay so when I got up to this point I was like are they going to kidnap him so I stopped to think if they were to kidnap my family. This is what I would do. I would go to the police and let them take care of it. And plus if they were kidnapped it would be no fun it would be like if you were a homeless person or an orphan and you would also have no one to talk to about your problems.
I read on and I got farther into the book they were at Jimmy's funeral and a lot of people came because everybody knew him and thought he was a good kid and everybody was crying too. Then after the funeral Tito saw the oldsmoble. A few days after the funeral Mina ran away. Tito started looking for her but didn't find her so went back home hopinfpg she was there. But she wasn't there he saw his Mom crying and asking where she is the police came a few minutes later and she came out of the car.
Later on that day Tito was sleepy so he went to sleep. As he was sleeping Jimmy showed up in his dream and was saying to not make the same mistakes like he did and he also said never become a gangster.
One day Tito was walking home and his mom was packing boxes and said they were going to live with Ms.Washington for awhile but Tito thought she was taking too far but Tito just packed later that they moved into their neighbor's house and Tito was just going to get use to it. A thing he liked about living there was that the dog was named Spider because of his legs and he likes dogs. So one day him and Mina were walking home and Spider wasn't there he thought he ran away so he went out looking and didn't find him but he over heard Ms.Washington and his mom talking and some random people just came into the yard and took him so later that night gus came over late at night and woke up Tito and asked him if he wanted to join his tagging party but Tito say no so gus started to run and Tito went after him found him running to Big Molly's diner. Lamar had some stuff to deal with Tito.
Tito took Spider and tryed to figure out what Jimmy took. He remembered that Jimmy told Tito that there is a crawl space undef the house and he always said he is going to fix the pipes. So Tito went under the house and saw a brief case with a note on the note said that he was a gangster and he took the money from Lamar and he knew from gangbanging he was going to die one day.
Tito came up witha plan he put the gun in between is E.L.A and math text book and put it on a bumpster and ran to the diner and told Lamar that his money was under the house he got in his car and drove so Tito went to the phone and dialed 911 and said lamar is going for his drug money so the police went there and he got arrested and Tito got a job scrubbing toilets for something to eat.
Over all I think the book was really good and sad because a person had died in the story but that was good because that made the book more interesting but over all the book was really good.
Kacper C.
Manhiem Middle School
Read
October 7, 2016This book was very emotional. His brother jimmy was in a gang but never told his little brother. Jimmy was killed in a drive-by shooting. His brother Tito Has to find the people who murdered his brother.
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