Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri (Illustrated by Randy DuBurke)
Reviewed by: Chris Singer
About the author:
G. Neri is the ALA Notable author of Chess Rumble, Yummy, and Surf Mules. He has been a filmmaker, animator and new media producer and one of the founding members of The Truth anti-smoking campaign for teens. In 2010, he was the recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins/ International Reading Association Promising Poet Award. He lives on the Gulf coast of Florida with his wife and daughter and likes to troll for alligators.
About the illustrator:
Randy Duburke has been a professional illustrator for 20 years. He has done comic book art, animation, editorial illustration, book covers and childrens' book for the publishing houses and entertainment companies such as D.C. comics, Marvel comics, MacMillian books, Chronicle books, Scholastic books, Lee and Low books, The New York Times and M.T.V. animation.
He was awarded the 2003 Coretta Scott King/ John Steptoe award for best new talent/illustration for his first childrens' book 'The MoonRing.' He is currently devoting his time to writing and illustrating childrens' books and graphic novels.
About the book:
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty is a compelling dramatization based on events that occurred in Chicago in 1994. Eleven-year-old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull sometimes. Other times he was as sweet as the sugary treats he loved to eat. Was Yummy some sort of monster, or just another kid?
As Roger searches for the truth, he finds more and more questions. How did Yummy end up in so much trouble? Did he really kill someone? And why do all the answers seem to lead back to a gang—the same gang Roger's older brother belongs to?
My take on the book:
This is a stunning and spectacular read both visually and in the straightforward manner in which Neri tells the real life story of an 11-year-old killer, Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, through the eyes of his fictional classmate, "Roger." At first when I got this book from Lee and Low, I wasn't sure how it exactly fit into what we try and do here at Book Dads. However Yummy quite honestly is simply a must read for teens and adults. There's a tremendous amount of opportunity for discussion here as the reader must grapple with the question Neri seems to be asking us: Is it possible for an 11-year-old boy to be a cold-blooded murderer or was Yummy a victim of his environment and upbringing?
Despite the fantastic black and white illustrations accompanying Neri's prose, this isn't a black and white question and there's no easy answers. The only certainty for me is that this is a tale of a dual tragedy in not only the senseless death of 14-year-old Shavon Dean, but also in the tragedy of Yummy and other young boys and girls throughout our country who are forced to grow up too quickly and are ill prepared for life on the streets.
One of the panels which really struck me was one where Roger was asking himself some questions about Yummy. In it Roger says: "I tried to figure out who the real Yummy was. The one who stole my lunch money? Or the one who smiled when I shared my candy with him? I wondered if I grew up like him, would I have turned out the same?"
This is unlike any graphic novel I've ever read. In fact, I've never read anything quite like this. This is a powerful story and the graphic novel works as an excellent format for the telling. If given the opportunity to be exposed to it, I think this book can have a big impact on urban teens, many who might be struggling with some of the same issues in this book.
Read more about this real life story:
"Murder in Miniature," the original Time Magazine article on Yummy's life and death
Check out more extras about the book, author and illustrator on publisher, Lee and Low's site
