When I Was the Greatest

Starred review from October 28, 2013
The “greatest” in the title doesn’t just refer to the scene in which 15-year-old Ali defends a friend with Tourette syndrome by throwing a winning punch at a party—it also hints at what an accomplishment Reynolds’s novel is. Set in the non-“Cosby” part of Brooklyn, in the neighborhood of Bed-Stuy, the story centers around the party incident and the evolving relationship between Ali, his best friend Noodles, and Noodles’s brother Needles (the one with “the syndrome”). But Reynolds (half of the team behind 2009’s My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.) thematically addresses much more—race and class divisions in New York, taking ownership of one’s actions, and standing up for what’s right—without ever sounding preachy. Reynolds also upends tired stereotypes—Ali lives with his sister and bighearted mother, but his sometimes-absentee father isn’t a deadbeat, rather “a pretty good dude who just made some messed-up decisions”—while leaving in enough sass and grit to keep the story believable. Snappy descriptions (the barbershop is the “black man’s country club”) and a hard-won ending round out a funny and rewarding read. Ages 12–up. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties.

November 1, 2013
A literary story of growing up in Brooklyn. Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for markers. He hangs out on the stoop with his two BFFs, brothers nicknamed by his sister: Noodles and Needles. Needles, the older, suffers from Tourette's syndrome, and Noodles and Ali look out for him. In the lead plotline, the three boys crash an illegal party in the basement of a nearby brownstone and then deal with the fallout. Action notwithstanding, the story actually reads more like a character study of Ali and his sister and friends and a tender homage to this seemingly dangerous neighborhood. Even though Reynolds thoughtfully (and most likely truthfully) depicts the neighborhood as one where guns and drug transactions are seen regularly, readers don't necessarily feel the danger due to the tender and deeply protective relationships of the characters, who are realistically if not exquisitely drawn. The plot, though compelling, takes back seat to them, and what unfolds is a moving and thought-provoking study of the connectivity among a family and friends that plays upon and defies readers' expectations. An author worth watching. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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Starred review from February 1, 2014

Gr 7-10-Ali lives with his mother, Doris, and kid sister, Jazz, in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn and spends all of his free time with best friends Noodles and Needles, brothers who live in a run-down brownstone next door. Needles was born with Tourette's syndrome, and after a particularly bad episode of tics, Doris gave him some knitting needles to focus his attention. The three teens hang out on the stoop and streets, living life and getting in just a touch of mischief. When their friend Tasha gets them into a party-and not just any party, an exclusive, adults-only party-trouble escalates. How will the trio deal with the fallout of that eventful night? Reynolds's debut oozes with authenticity-details about bodegas, barbershops, and local streets flesh out the setting-and builds with great tempo, starting in a slow groove and picking up to a swift beat. The main and secondary characters are well developed; their sweetness, sassiness, and even stupidity are endearing and relatable. This title is an easy sell to teens living in urban areas but will appeal to anyone looking for realistic protagonists in the daily grind, learning about themselves and one another. Reynolds is an author to watch.-Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2013
Grades 9-12 Sixteen-year-old Ali is a walking contradiction. He's a lauded boxer-in-training who's afraid of stepping into the ring; a straight-laced, head-down kind of kid on a bad block in Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood rife with drugs and violence. He's a pillar whose family structure has fractured only to create infrangible bonds of his own with friends and a little sister who rely on him alone for stability. But, most notably, he's a shockingly benevolent teenager who exudes ageless wit, charm, and grace among circumstances that seem like they wouldn't allow for such hope. With fresh, fast-paced dialogue, Reynolds' debut novel chronicles Ali's friendship with next-door brothers Needles and Noodles, flawed but unforgettable characters all their own, as the three prepare for the party of a lifetimeand pay the consequences for thrusting themselves into a more sordid encounter than any of them could have envisioned. When I Was the Greatest is urban fiction with heart, a meditation on the meaning of family, the power of friendship, and the value of loyalty.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Affable narrator Ali, his best friend Noodles, and Noodles's brother Needles live in Brooklyns tough Bed-Stuy neighborhood. Ali's thing is boxing; Noodles's is comic books; and Needles's is...knitting, as a way to keep his Tourette syndrome under control. The book's violent climax occurs at a party that the boys discover they're too young for. Reynolds demonstrates a gift for conversational tone and sly humor.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2014
Ali's thing is boxing; his best friend Noodles's is comic books; Noodles's brother Needles's is...knitting. If this all sounds Time Warp Trio-ish, think again: the three teens live in Brooklyn's tough Bed-Stuy neighborhood, and their pastimes are as much strategies of survival as they are personality quirks. Ali, affable and vulnerable, tells their story, and through him Reynolds demonstrates a gift for conversational tone and sly humor: "[I] took a glance down at the kicks I had on. Perfect. I mean, not a mark on them and not a lace twisted. Them bad boys were clean enough for a cop to harass me just for having them on." (Additional irony can be found in the fact that the shoes in question were in fact stolen--but by Ali's dad, a petty criminal ne'er-do-well who is nevertheless a loving father.) Ali is a good kid, but Noodles is angry about something; Needles knits, at the suggestion of Ali's mother, as a way to keep his Tourette syndrome under control, a strategy that gives the novel some humor (as when Noodles steals some black yarn for Needles to knit rather than the embarrassing purple he's been working with) but also its violent climax, at a party that all three boys discover they are too young for. In his "What Makes a Good YA Urban Novel?" column in the November/December 2013 Horn Book, teacher Randy Ribay asks for books that show that "people are people above and beyond their zip codes." Here's one. roger sutton

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)