This Way Home

JD Jackson takes listeners straight onto the streets of Baltimore, where 17-year-old Elijah and his two best friends are prepping for an adult basketball tournament that will have a fatal impact, especially after they capture the attention of the Blood Nation gang. The gang wants the boys to flaunt their colors in glitzy uniforms. Elijah refuses. Jackson's narration stays very even, with no drama even during intense sports and gang conflicts. But his characterizations of the young men, their adversaries, their worried and grief-stricken mothers, and, especially, a gruff ex-military mentor named Banks are terrific. He gives the story depth and keeps moving to a pat conclusion that clashes a bit with the gritty realism of the rest of the story. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

August 31, 2015
Growing up against the backdrop of Baltimore’s streets and basketball courts, 17-year-old Elijah is also desperately searching for the father he never knew. Basketball is Elijah’s way to something better in life, and his two best friends, Michael and Dylan, are by his side. During the summer after his junior year, Elijah goes to work for Banks, a mysterious Army veteran his mother knows, as he and his friends prepare for an important street basketball tournament. When tragedy strikes, Elijah is faced with increasingly untenable situations, including a showdown with a local gang, and must rely on Banks’s lessons to survive. Moore (Discovering Wes Moore) and Goodman (Kindness for Weakness) present difficult circumstances in an even-handed manner, while messages about friendship, hard work, and the importance of having—and following—a dream are an organic part of the story, delivered without preaching. Consequences arrive in a similarly no-nonsense fashion, standing on the strength of the story rather than literary acrobatics. Ages 14–up. Agent: (for Moore) Linda Loewenthal, David Black Agency; (for Goodman) Seth Fishman, Gernert Company.