(3) K-3 Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. In this laudatory biography, each double-page spread covers one event in Douglass's life, such as his determination to learn to read, his work as a caulker while still enslaved, his escape to freedom, and his advocacy for voting rights. The strongest segments concern his early life. Cooper's powerful portraits consistently place Douglass in the foreground of historical settings. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(4) YA Adapted by Guy A. Sims. Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile. A graphic novel adaptation of Myers's Printz-winning classic about sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon's murder trial following a botched robbery. Sims's dialogue-heavy text (some of it printed very small) ably distills Myers's plot; the visualizing-his-life-as-a-movie aspect can be confusing without familiarity with Myers's original. Anyabwile's panel illustrations do an excellent job capturing Steve's fractured identity (and his culpability) and heightening suspense about the trial's outcome.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) YA Myers's posthumously published novel imagines the life of legendary African American dancer William Henry Lane (approx. 1825–1854), better known as Juba, who toured Great Britain with minstrel group The Serenaders. Myers confronts head-on the racial realities of the pre–Emancipation Proclamation era. Appended are an epilogue clarifying fact from fiction and a note about Myers's research methods written by wife Constance Myers. Timeline.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(2) YA In 2035 sixteen-year-old math whiz Dahlia Grillo joins a resistance group, hoping to make a difference in the world. The Central Eight (C-8) companies rule everything; favelos (the poor) roam the towns; and terrorists and mercenaries fight for a place in the new order. This angry, posthumously published story demonstrates Myers's acute social conscience. Dahlia's an appealing protagonist who raises troubling questions about her world.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(1) YA When Josiah "Woody" Wedgwood enlists in the army, he harbors only vague ideas about the nature of war. But when he lands on the beach during the invasion of Normandy, the reality of battle hits him. Myers delivers both brutal battle scenes and wartime musings vividly through Woody's matter-of-fact observations as his ragged battalion fights its way through France.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(3) 4-6 Zander and his Cruiser friends have an important decision to make when one of their own takes a photograph that could implicate a classmate in a crime. In this fourth reluctant-reader-friendly installment, the Cruisers continue to realistically navigate Harlem's Da Vinci Academy and tackle relatable issues there and at home. Newspaper articles and poems written by the characters end each chapter.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) YA Darius, an aspiring writer, and Twig, his star-runner best friend, both want more than Harlem can offer. But even as they begin to experience success in their respective endeavors, violence, bullies, and opportunistic adults threaten their dreams. Myers's usual fire seems replaced by cynicism, but the boys' friendship is well developed and their desire to succeed despite obstacles is admirable and relatable.

Reviewer: Randy Ribay

(3) YA "Writing is not mysterious. There are tools that I use to help me get to the end of a book." No sentimentalist, Myers advises young writers on how to get started and--even more difficult--how to keep going and finish. His approach is practical, encouraging extensive outlining and, for a novel, a "six-box model for fiction." Autobiographical anecdotes make the advice concrete. Bib.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(2) YA Sixteen-year-old Paul takes a summer job at a Harlem soup kitchen, run by eighty-four-year-old Elijah, who insists Paul contemplate social contract theory. Paul is also mentoring seventeen-year-old single-mom Keisha, determined to build a future for herself through basketball. Readers will be persuaded by Myers's main argument--that you can't hope to improve the system unless you engage with it.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(3) 4-6 The Cruisers are excited when one of their own, LaShonda, receives a prestigious costume design scholarship. The scholarship comes at a price, but the Cruisers use their ingenuity to ensure that LaShonda does not have to compromise what's most important to her. As usual, Myers does not shy away from real issues in this successful third installment.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Harper. Though things were good on Monkey Island, Oswego Pete lures everyone toward finding "the Easy Life, where a monkey don't have to work hard for nothing." They set out, only to encounter tail-eating sharks and boring "Hip-Hop Hippos." While the story's allegory is strong, disjointed delivery and an odd ending mar the message. Illustrations of personality-rich primates enliven the tale.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(2) YA Myers's adaptation of Bizet's opera, written as a play with occasional arias, is set in contemporary Spanish Harlem: Carmen works in a wig factory, José's a cop, Micaela dreams of being a teacher, toreador Escamillo is a rapper-turned-mogul. The libretto is dramatic and passionate, spiced with funny repartee. An excellent note by Myers is appended, along with melody lines for the songs.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2011

(3) 4-6 In the second Cruisers book, the kids are asked to help a classmate who is suspected of using drugs. Sidney, a chess star at their elite school in Harlem, is not a stereotypical drug user, and Zander and his Cruiser friends get glimpses of how intense the pressure to succeed can be. School essays by the kids are interspersed throughout the reluctant-reader-friendly text.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Christopher Myers. Father and son team up for this reflection on United States history. The promise and potential of America are explored with a quotation (credited in the notes), poem, and mural-like painting on each spread (the art notes cite page numbers not included on spreads). The backmatter is essential for understanding the content and will make this useful in classrooms.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith

(3) YA Myers and teen author Workman create a story told in alternating voices between a boy in trouble and the police officer investigating his case. Workman narrates the whirl of emotions of a teenager protecting a friend, dealing with his father's death, and playing for a soccer championship. Myers successfully crafts the adult perspective of the officer digging deeper for the truth.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(2) YA Fourteen-year-old Reese stole prescription pads and sold them to a drug dealer. Now he's in a Bronx juvenile detention facility, trying to make the right choices to earn an early release. But Reese has a host of things working against him. Myers returns to a familiar milieu to riff on favorite themes: hard luck, second chances, overcoming adversity, living with purpose and determination.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2010

(3) YA The "Cruisers," a group of friends at a gifted and talented middle school in Harlem, are assigned the task of negotiating peace in a school-wide historical re-enactment of the Civil War--before the war starts. Protagonist Zander's breezy narration lends accessibility to Myers's consistently solid writing and thought-provoking themes.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alix Delinois. "I am the greatest fighter in the world. I am the greatest poet in the world! I am the greatest! I am the greatest!" Myers begins this exuberant picture book when Muhammad Ali was still known as Cassius Clay and includes plenty of quotations from the celebrated athlete. Delinois's painterly illustrations express the famous boxer's energy as well as the political upheaval around him. Timeline.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(2) YA On the run after a drug deal turns into a cop shooting, Lil J encounters enigmatic Kelly. Like Scrooge's ghostly visitors, Kelly shows Lil J scenes from his past, present, and future. Myers communicates powerfully the effects of drugs, violence, poverty, and despair, driving home his message that it takes a conscious and vigilant effort to overcome relentless adversity.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2009

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Christopher Myers. "I looked in the mirror / and what did I see? / A real handsome dude / looking just like me." The poem-text has swagger and bounce as the narrator celebrates everything that makes him who he is. Collage illustrations present Matisse-like cutouts of human figures in hot, strong colors against almost abstractly cropped photos that suggest a world brimming with riches.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2009