Underprivileged Overachiever: A Crenshaw Story, Hardcover/Y. a. Salimu

Written with the HEART of a fighter Readers unfamiliar with memoirs will be spoiled rotten by this book. These are quick short chapters with powerful impacts laced in every turn of the page. "At age 14, I ran away, but not from home - because I never had one to begin with. At school I participated in every sport, club, and after-school activity, so that when the other kids finally left, I could settle in for the night by my locker. I spent my childhood dealing with gangs, drugs, violence, and my mother's mental illness, but the real enemy was always poverty." Y.A. Salimu almost feels too grown-up in this YA memoir as his compelling story occasionally shifts from gripping novel to raw ego, putting the reader right there in the city with him. Salimu's story is tough to listen to at times, but ROARS of laughter await anyone brave enough to walk in this man's shoes. Readers expecting a sad Oliver Twist tale will instead find a confident, talented protagonist who continually defies low expectations and inspires those around him. While there is language, sexual themes, and a full blown rape scene (did he really have to include the police report?) all of these are necessary and never done for shock factor. Underprivileged Overachiever is SHOCKING , but there are a butt-load of lessons to be learned here.