City Beat

Urban Fiction For Teens

These books can be found in the Juvenile, Teen, and/or Adult collections of the San Francisco Public Library. Please check the online catalog for location, or ask a librarian for help.

• A Little Piece of Sky by Nicole Bailey-Williams
  After the murder of her alcoholic mother, Song Byrd must confront her past abuse and the incarceration of her brother.
  
  
• Tyrell by Coe Booth
  With his family at a homeless shelter and his father in jail, should Tyrell risk going the way his father has gone?
  
  
• Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown
  This classic novel is a fictional account of the author’s street life in Harlem.
  
  
• Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
  Can Natasha’s love for Antonio survive after he is sent to prison for killing his father?
  
  
• Drama High: The Fight by L. Devine
  At a predominately white high school, can Jayd get through junior year drama free?
  
  
• Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper
  Can Julio’s and Romiette’s inter-racial relationship survive the pressures of their urban neighborhood?
  
  
• Bang! by Sharon Flake
  Traumatized by the violent killing of her younger brother, Kee-Lee begins a healing process that goes terribly wrong.
  
  
• Money Hungry by Sharon Flake
  Raspberry knows she can make the money that will keep her from having to return to life on the streets.
  
  
• Who am I Without Him? Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives by Sharon Flake
  Urban teen girls confront the difficulties of relationships with boys.
  
  
• Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
  An open-mic poetry slam brings teens together in the Bronx as they share their experiences about growing up in the ghetto.
  
  
• Imani in Young Love and Deception by Jackie Hardrick
  Imani must deal with the pressures of being “the girl from the hood” at a mostly white suburban high school.
  
  
• The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
  Bobby must face the challenges of being a single father.
  
  
• Teenage Bluez by A. Jones
  This book is a collection of stories about urban teens facing challenges of drugs and violence.
  
  
• Bluford Series by Paul Langan
  Set in urban America, this ten volume series follows the lives of African-American teens at Bluford High School.
  
  
• The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
  A high school dropout escapes the streets by learning how to box.
  
  
• Chill Wind by Janet McDonald
  Now that Aisha has received a termination-of-welfare-benefits notice, how can she support herself and her two young children in New York City?
  
  
• Harlem Hustle by Janet McDonald
  Eric “Hustle” Samson knows how to make it on the streets, but his dream of rap stardom is making him think twice.
  
  
• Too Beautiful for Words by Monique W. Morris
  Can Peaches break away from life on the streets as a prostitute?
  
  

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• Autobiography of my Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
  After the shooting death of his best friend, Jesse finds an escape from the ghetto in his sketchbook.
  
  
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers
  Steve writes a film script about his life and his trial for a botched robbery and murder of a store owner.
  
  
• Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
  Slam is counting on basketball as his ticket out of the ghetto.
  
  
• Street Love by Walter Dean Myers
  Does first love spell disaster for Damien and Junice? Read this free-verse story and find out.
  
  
• Imani All Mine by Connie Porter
  Tasha, 15, struggles with school and raising her baby in a neighborhood filled with violence.
  
  
• Push by Sapphire
  Precious fights to reclaim her life after suffering years of sexual abuse by her parents.
  
  
• Hip-Hop High School by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
  Theresa finds an escape from the bad times of high school in the sounds of hip-hop.
  
  
• The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
  After being attacked in a hate crime, Andre questions everything he once believed in.
  
  
• The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
  Winter learns a brutal lesson about life after living with her drug dealer father and materialistic mother.
  
  
• The Dying Ground by Nichelle D. Tramble
  Maceo searches for the killer of his best friend on the drug filled streets of his Oakland neighborhood.
  
  
• Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree
  Good girl no more, Tracey begins to live life with a sense of adventure.
  
  
• Ballad of a Ghetto Poet by A.J. White
  Chico finds that poetry is his only escape from the inner-city neighborhood in which he lives.
  
  
• When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune by Lori Aurelia Williams
  Living in a poor section of Houston, Shayla tries to understand the problems that shape the life of her new neighbor.
  
  

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