Everyone knows that middle school is the worst. Not only are these kids thrown into a new environment with new teachers and a bunch of new kids, they’re also dealing with the onset of puberty and all those hormones. Into this traumatic situation, Graham-Felsen places his protagonist, David Greenfeld. It is 1992 and David is starting sixth grade at the Martin Luther King Jr. School in Boston. The problem is, not only is David mostly on his own, but he’s also one of the few white kids there, and to make things worse, he’s also half Jewish. Somehow, David becomes friends with Marlon Wellings, a kid who lives in the “projects” and has the same ambitions to get out of King and into “Latin,” the comprehensive school that has more graduates getting into Harvard than any other.

It was interesting to note that the blurb on the publisher’s website for this book says this book is, “Infectiously funny about the highs and lows of adolescence, ...” Then further down the page I found that Publishers Weekly called this book “subtly humorous.” Okay, so, to start with, funny and humorous are probably the last adjectives I would ever use to describe this book. In fact, not only did I find this book to be extremely serious, this is probably one of the most difficult books to read I’ve ever experienced. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its quirks or lighthearted passages, but there are some very grim messages that Graham-Felsen is highlighting here, which should not be ignored or taken lightly.

To explain the part about finding this a difficult book to read, I have two reasons for this. The first is the easy one, and that was the language that Graham-Felsen used here. What made it difficult for me was how much slang and jargon that Graham-Felsen included in the text. In fact, I found it to be so extreme in places, and in many instances found myself at a loss to understand what the author was trying to convey. This had a very jarring effect on the first half of the novel, making it feel like I was watching a home movie, filmed by someone with intermittent Parkinson’s. Just when I thought I was getting into the flow of the text, another slew of slang words would come up to shake that up. I initially found this unnerving, but as the book progressed, it just made me feel old. Ultimately, I did my best to ignore them, and succeeded in that some of the time, but I felt that in general Graham-Felsen over did it with the slang.

The other difficult thing about this book was the essential message I believe Graham-Felsen was trying to convey here. Aside from the usual problems of being a sixth-grader, one thing that Graham-Felson notes here is what his protagonist calls “the force.” This isn’t a Star Wars reference, per se, but rather that underlying feeling that David gets regarding being white in a mostly non-white environment. Graham-Felsen notes that his protagonist felt this “force” growing ever since the Rodney King/South Central riots that followed the acquittal of the police in the death of Rodney King. What this “force” is, then, is the incursion of racial fear, anger and hatred within both the white and the non-white populations, coupled with increased violence. It is as if Graham-Felsen is trying to point to the Rodney King ruling as the turning point that led to the very divisive atmosphere that the US is living through right now. It doesn’t matter if this theory is right or wrong, because watching David try to work through being at the center of this “force” – both internally and externally – is why this is rightfully called a coming-of-age story.

The question is, does David succeed? Of course, you’ll have to read the book to find out, and even then, you’ll probably need to decide for yourself, since Graham-Felsen doesn’t hand you the answers on a silver platter, and that’s a good thing. All of this is to say that while this isn’t an easy book to read, and while I didn’t find it at all humorous, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. In fact, one of the cleverest things about this book is how Graham-Felsen uses the rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets, and their team colors as a metaphor for racial identity and tensions. This is one reason why I found this a very powerfully effective story, which is highly relevant, particularly for today’s younger audiences, but also for adults. I’m certainly going to recommend it, but the language and style here is the main reason I can’t give it higher than four out of five stars.

One of the best things about reading is the opportunity books provide you to expand your horizons and learn about new cultures, different experiences, and what it is like for others outside your sociological/economic/gender/race sphere of influence. Sometimes, this is a side benefit of reading a certain novel. At other times, it appears to be the purpose of the book. Sam Graham-Felsen's Green, is more of the latter than the former as it explores growing up as a minority white teenager in a predominantly black neighborhood in 1992 Boston.

When reflecting on Green, I cannot overcome the feeling of discomfort I have after reading it. Some of my discomfort is due to Dave. His adoption of teenage black culture is understandable given how much he does not want to stand out at his new middle school, and yet it makes for some truly uncomfortable scenes. Everything about Dave screams poseur. His choice of vernacular, his choice of dress, and his "preference" for girls of color may help him avoid notice but they do nothing to help make him fit into the school and surrounding neighborhood. In fact, his choices only prove how different he is and make for some truly cringe-worthy scenes.

Dave's character made me think a lot about cultural appropriation. In theory, since Dave is a minority student at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School as one of two white students, his use of the black vernacular and style of dress should not be cultural appropriation. He is not a member of the dominant culture adopting elements of the minority culture. At least on the surface he is not. Yet, I cannot help but think that is exactly what Mr. Graham-Felsen is having Dave do. After all, the story is about the difference in opportunities and justice that race brings. Dave may be a minority student at King, but as a white male in a very white male world he has more opportunities for advancement than anyone else he knows. His adoption of the black culture as a method of survival strikes me as crass because it only seems to highlight the differences and therefore the difference in opportunities between him and everyone else.

Thankfully, the addition of Marlon to Dave's life provides some of the desperately-needed sanity the reader craves. It is Marlon who tries to make Dave embrace his identity through their shared love of the Celtics. Similarly, it is Marlon who drives Dave to success in school. The tragedy of the situation is the fact that every push Marlon gives Dave towards the path to Harvard, his own path grows murkier and steeper - a fact of which everyone but Dave is aware. Even though Dave might attend a black school and live in a black neighborhood, he has no idea what life is like for his fellow students and Marlon most of all. The growing awareness he has that Marlon and he are being forced onto separate paths is painful and awkward and unfortunately all too true.

If Dave got me thinking about cultural appropriation, Marlon's story had me thinking about the appropriateness of a highly educated white man writing a story about a poverty-stricken black teenager living in the Boston projects. Mr. Graham-Felsen is everything Marlon is not in terms of color of skin, opportunities afforded him, and success. His very life ensures he cannot accurately portray Marlon because there is no real way for him to truly understand what it means to not be able to afford private school or summer theater classes and what that might mean for any child's future. This again leads me back to the idea of cultural appropriation, for now we have to remember that Mr. Graham-Felsen is writing Dave as a white man. Dave is nothing but his estimation of how a black teen from 1992 acted and talked. It is not quite like putting on blackface, but I cannot help but feel Green is a lot closer to that than it is to an enlightening story of race and injustice.

I cannot say that Green helped me learn more about the 1990s black culture. After all, it is Mr. Graham-Felsen's own (presumably) researched opinion about black culture and therefore it can never be a true picture of it. Nor did I learn anything new about race and injustice and opportunities from the novel. The ending is all but a foregone conclusion, and the realizations Dave (finally) understands are nothing more than confirmations of things most people already know. The story is a tough one, as is any story in which there is clearly a winner and a loser in the life lottery, and it is always good to remember that others have far more difficult paths to success than you might have had. Still, Dave's utter lack of empathy makes Green a difficult novel to read let alone enjoy. Mr. Graham-Felsen's novel is a great reminder that life is not fair for many reasons, and that is never an easy idea to stomach.

Maybe it would have helped to have been a boy in order to appreciate this coming of age story. Set in Boston in 1992, this book is about David Greenfeld who is a 6th grader and one of only two white boys in a middle school where he is an uncool outsider with the wrong sneakers. He forms a friendship with Marlon Wellings who lives in the projects in David's neighborhood. David's parents are hippies who made professional decisions unlike those of their Harvard classmates. This is why David wound up in this particular public school.

I liked the relationship between David and Marlon. The book also gave glimpses of important issues like the impact of racial and economic differences. My favorite scene was a class visit to a city councilman's office. He went to Harvard with David's parents and gave the students a realistic and necessary lesson about systemic racism. However, I really didn't care for the somewhat whiny and masturbation-obsessed David. I might have liked Marlon's story more, but he was not the focus of the book. I wasn't interested in spending time with these boys and their activities. The constant and repetitive slang became tedious. All in all, while this book wasn't bad I can't say that I really enjoyed the experience.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

It’s 1992, and twelve-year-old Dave Greenfeld desperately wants to go to private school, but his progressive parents believe in public school so there he is, one of three white kids at his predominantly African American high school. His attempt to fit in through fashion fails miserably when his new clothes are stolen, leaving him to run home in his underwear. He doesn’t even want to mention he is Jewish and adopts the nickname “Green” which gives us the title for Sam Graham-Felsen’s new book.

This is a coming-of-age story that tries to do more, to examine privilege and racism through the prism of Dave’s friendship with Marlon, through this important school year which focuses heavily on preparing students for the critical exam that determines whether they can attend Latin or not, the elite Boston school that feeds into Harvard and adult success. Both Dave and his friend Marlon are desperate to go to Latin, Dave mostly to get away from the bullies. Marlon is studious, Dave is anything but, far more interested in TV, games, and anything but reading.

Their friendship is quite wonderful, full of the fun and games and silliness that a childhood friendship should be. Through their friendship, Dave becomes aware of how racism works, how Marlon is suspect when he is not. The story is often humorous. Like many teenage boys, Dave is beset by inconvenient erections and figures out “tactics” for dealing with them. His use of that word throughout is hilarious.



Green is an enjoyable book. I liked Marlon and Dave and loved their friendship. However, it is burdened with additional storylines that weaken its main theme. If the goal is exploring privilege and systemic racism, or the force as Dave thinks of it, then adding Dave’s brother Benno is unnecessary. If it’s about coming-of-age, then the meeting with the councilman who explains systemic racism and the night in the Arboretum is unnecessary. Green is a fun story that is overloaded with multiple ideas that confound each other in terms of making a consistent argument. After all, in the end, it is not racism that is the greatest challenge and hurdle that Marlon faces. It is cowardice, not racism, that is Dave’s greatest failing.

I liked Green, but I think it does not meet its own obvious ambitions.

I received an e-galley of Green from the publisher through NetGalley.

Green at Penguin Random House
Sam Graham-Felsen author site

3.5/5 stars!

Every once in a while, I choose or wish for a book on NetGalley solely due to the description and GREEN was one of those books.

12 year old David Greenfeld, aka Green, is nearly the only white boy in Martin Luther King Middle School in the early 90's. As such, he is subject to harassment, and not only because of his color. He's Jewish, even though his family doesn't practice, he doesn't have the right clothes or shoes, and he has few friends.

Marlon, a black teen that lives nearby, comes to Dave's aid when he's bullied and they become fast friends. Bonding over Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, (the curse of Coke!), and playing basketball, (or nasketball), the two are nearly inseparable.

Mar and Dave's friendship occurs during a tough time in Boston and in our country. Amidst the tumultuous race riots and the rise, (and fall) of Boston Celtic Reggie Lewis, (the importance of sports teams in Boston cannot be underestimated), these boys face racist bullies and the threat of bodily violence every day. Coming of age is never easy, no matter the era in which it takes place. Dave is trying hard to better himself, find his inner self, (Is it Christian? Is it Jewish?) and survive the day to day without the right clothes or shoes. Will his relationship with Marlon survive too? You'll have to read this to find out!

While I enjoyed GREEN, I had some problems with it. I know the language had to be of the time and setting for the tale to ring true, but I'm not quite sure that it did. To be honest, at times it seems that the author was trying too hard to make the slang real. Every single time clothes were described it was "so and so rocked this or that", every time they went somewhere they "rolled." It irritated me a little but your mileage may vary.

Another problem I had with the story is the lack of information about some of the characters and their backgrounds. Green's brother Benno, for instance, hadn't spoken to anyone in over a year and had other issues as well. I would have liked to have known more about that. Also, Green's Jewish grandfather, (Cramps instead of Gramps, because he was grouchy), had a lot of background that was only briefly glimpsed in this tale. I would have liked to have known more details about that and about the effects they had on Dave's father.

Lastly, as the mother of a young man I know that masturbation is a big part of a boy's coming of age. I just don't need to know the details. I know it happens, I know the hormones are raging, I get it. I just want to give the head's up to others that this occurs. A lot! (This was the era of Baywatch, after all.)

GREEN was a good coming of age story and I wonder how much of it was autobiographical because most of it did ring true. (As much as it could to a middle age white woman, anyway.) Bullying, religion, racism, having the right clothes and shoes-these are all things that are still problems to this day. It's how we deal with these issues that defines us. David Greenfeld was not the perfect boy and certainly not the perfect friend, but I couldn't help but root for him anyway. I think you will too.

Recommended!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

I wanted to like this book, but I had a hard time finding the characters credible. I am certain the storyline could be quite credible, but I felt a distance from the author. Things felt forced. I enjoyed what the author was portraying, and I think YA readers willful more compelled by the novel than I was.

I feel that the topics dealt with in Green are very relevant and important..race, bullying, religion, education, family, adolescence. However, I felt that the language and story felt forced. I worked with this age group for many years and had a difficult time with the way this story was presented.

DNF--I don't connect with this MC at all, and the whole book is just him whining about how he is the only white kid at a black school and how mean everyone is to him. No thanks

Well done coming of age story that would be an excellent read for the YA market, although I enjoyed it as an adult despite having absolutely nothing in common with these boys. Dave and Mar are not unique characters but Graham-Felssen uses them effectively to explore race and privilege in 1992 Boston. What's important about this is that it gives us a view that we haven't often seen and it will make you think about how this sort of interaction might have shaped their later actions. Nicely written and entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This story which takes place in 1992 Boston is narrated by David (“Green”) Greenfield, 12, a new middle school kid at a school which only has two white kids - him and one other. He adjusts by trying to look and sound and act black, much to the amused contempt of the black kids, who alternate between ignoring him and bullying him.

He finally makes a good friend in one of his black classmates, Marlon Wellings, who lives in the projects near Dave’s house. But they each still have problems, and there is a huge chasm between their life circumstances. The author explores these issue as the boys’ friendship is put to the challenge of surviving in the wider society.

Ultimately though, some plot threads were dropped (what was going on with Dave’s brother?) and some were just annoying, like Dave’s constant use of “gangsta” patois. The pace was slow, and there wasn’t much development of the characters of Dave’s awful parents.

I can’t say I enjoyed this book.

This is a coming of age story set in 1992. It is about two boys who became friends. One is white and one is black. Dave who is white meets Marlon at Martin Luther King middle school which is predominantly black. Dave's hippie parents sent him there because of their strong belief in public school. The author's use of slang that each generation seems to always have makes the story very realistic. I don't particularly like the ending but it is a unique book that is definitely worth reading.

I have to start by saying this is outside my norm. That being said, I am glad I read it. We follow Green in the 6th grade at the King, an inner city Boston public school where he is one of two white students. The friendship with Mar, a black fellow student, is central to the story. How does race, "the Force," effect these two boys, their friendship and opportunities. The most striking thing is the language of Green, which is a young Boston kid in the 90s. A true dialect which was both easy to read and rich in character. Again, way out of the norm for me, but Green totally won me over. In the end, it boils down to a coming of age of a boy trying to find his place in the world. Highly recommend.

I am not quite sure yet what to make of this book. It tells a very interesting and unique story, but I just couldn't relate to it. This could be because I am not the person the story is meant for, but it made it hard to truly enjoy the story. I found the characters acted much older than their 12-year-old selves and that made it hard for me to relate.

I enjoyed this look into the world of Boston in the early 90's; into race relations, basketball, and learning to fit in, but there was just something missing from the story for me.

3.5 stars, rounded up
David Greenfeld is one of two white kids at MLK Middle School in 1992 Boston. Poor soul with his blond hair and blue eyes sticks out like a sore thumb. At least the other white kid is good at basketball. The beginning of the book threw me, with this white kid talking black kid lingo. It took me awhile to adjust to the language. He wants to fit in and that is just not going to happen. And his chances of getting into Boston Latin aren’t very high either.

1992 was the year of the Rodney King riots and race relations have changed. “It was like the smoke of those riots spread all across the continent, all the way to Boston…”

Turns out this novel is based on the author’s own youth. I was glad to have learned that as it answered one of the questions I had as to how realistic the story was and more particularly, the vocabulary. It tackles all the issues -race, class, religion and adolescence. Bullying is a given in this milieu. Nothing gets whitewashed, no pun intended.

I can’t say I really enjoyed this book, but I appreciated its honesty and the issues it raised. The best parts dealt with the friendship between Marlon and Green. This is not an easy friendship to maintain. It’s a very sad book on many levels.

This would make a great selection for a book club. There’s lots of meat here to discuss.

My thanks to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this novel.

This was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into the book at all. Someone else's cup of tea for sure.

I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars.

"I am the white boy at the Martin Luther King Middle. Well, one of two. Kev, my oldest friend and the biggest dick I know, is the other. But if you had to pick just one, it'd be me. There are a few other white kids in the system (unless you count Boston Latin as a public school, which you shouldn't), and I pretty much know all of them."

Dave Greenfeld (aka "Green") is starting the sixth grade in Boston in 1992. His "hippie parents" have no interest in the latest fashion trends or really any of the status symbols that would ease his transition into middle school—they'd rather buy his clothes at thrift shops, and don't see the need to spend money on fancy sneakers, even if no one else would be caught dead in year-old Filas. He wishes his parents would just send him to private school, like they do his troubled younger brother, Benno.

Middle school starts pretty much the same way elementary school ended for Dave—the girls pretty much ignore him, and he gets bullied by kids of all races. Even Kev, his oldest friend, would rather avoid him and hang out with the cooler kids. Avoiding bullies and being friendless seems to be Dave's destiny, unless he aces the placement test that will guarantee him a spot at Boston Latin, the best public high school in the city. If you get into Latin, you're going to college, guaranteed.

One day, Dave is surprised when one of his fellow classmates, Marlon Wellings, stands up for him. Marlon lives with his grandmother in the public housing projects down the street from Dave's house. But Marlon is far from the stereotypical "projects kid": he is driven by his ambition to get into Latin, he steers clear of those who want to draw him into their gangs or their trouble, and he's obsessed with the Boston Celtics, especially his favorite player, Larry Bird.

Mar and Dave become fast friends, and they spend their time hanging out at Dave's house, watching vintage Celtics games (Mar has them all on videotape), playing "nasketball," a game Dave made up involving a trampoline, and listening to Mar's obsession with doing well on the Latin placement test. Dave envies Mar's devotion to his church (Dave was raised a "secular Jew," although his family doesn't observe any religion, which is a frustration to his paternal grandfather, whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust), his fascination with going to Harvard some day, and the way he doesn't seem to let anything bother him, yet Dave knows he has issues of his own.

But when Mar is not around, Dave is still being bullied, and confronting the violence that breeds in the urban community in which he lives, as well as among his own classmates. He becomes more and more desperate for his parents to put him in private school because he doesn't think he'll be able to do well enough on the Latin placement test to escape his school, but his parents would rather just report Dave's problems to the principal, making him even more a target. He's afraid to stand up for himself, let alone his friends, like Mar.

As Mar begins experiencing problems of his own, problems he doesn't want to discuss with Dave, Dave realizes that there are differences between the two of them that they keep running into. He never really thought he was actually luckier than his friend, and doesn't quite understand the struggles that Mar faces, snap judgments from people that don't even know him. But little by little, those differences strain their relationship, causing both of them to act in ways they never imagined they would.

Green is an insightful, thought-provoking coming-of-age novel which deals with some significant issues without being overly heavy-handed. Sam Graham-Felsen, in his debut novel, provides interesting, and at times poignant, commentary about racial and cultural differences, and how they can strain a friendship. He has also created a fascinating, flawed narrator in Dave, who at times seems much older than his age, and at times reminds you that you're listening to life filtered through the eyes of a sixth-grader.

I enjoyed this book but thought the pacing was a little slow, and the same things seemed to happen a few times before the plot advanced. There were a few plot threads that never really got resolved, particularly why Benno refused to speak for more than a year, and there were veiled references to tragedies within Dave's father's family that never were addressed. Why allude to things that you're not willing to wrap them up?

One warning: there's a good amount of attention given to Dave's burgeoning hormones and his increasing obsession with masturbation, so this could make you uncomfortable.

Much like the main character himself, Green is imperfect but tremendously engaging. Sam Graham-Felsen has created a refreshing new narrator with a fascinating and moving perspective on growing up in the midst of racial and cultural tensions. It's a surprisingly timely book, even though it takes place in 1992.

NetGalley and Random House provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

This is a story of a young Caucasian boy , David Greenfield, who is in the throes of puberty. He attends a mostly black population school where he is bullied.,and it appears to be reverse discrimination.
He anxiously awaits the day he can leave and get into "a good" high school.
The language in this book is hard to understand as well as offensive at times.,though I understand the author's need to describe the school, student's and living areas to create the complete scenes for the reader to understand.
I liked the concept of the book, but it was difficult to follow at times.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this book. I found myself refering to an online urban dictionary several times to figure out word meanings. And I found myself wondering if the language was typical for inner city schools in the early 1990s. Many of the things Dave faces are typical coming of age issues - fitting in, bullying, blooming interest in girls, and dealing with family issues. These would most likely spark interesting classroom discussions, but, because of the language, I would not use Green in a school setting.

Green is definitely going to elicit a broad range of reactions. It takes on a fraught topic, and does so without providing easy answers. But despite a few reservations, I found myself fully emotionally engaged -- even tears at times. David is 12 years old, describes his parents as old school hippies, and is one of the only white kids in his middle school in Boston in the early 1990s. He has a hard time finding his place, keeps begging his parents to send him to private school, and ends up becoming friends with Marlon, who is black, very religious and being brought up by his grandmother in a housing project. What had me fully emotionally engaged was David's relationship with his family, and his friendship with Marlon. Although at times mature beyond their years, both boys clearly have one foot in childhood and another foot in the turmoil of adolescence. It's hard not to think that Graham-Felton's first novel is at least somewhat autobiographical because it felt like he had a good grasp of the multilayered complexities of racial, religious and economic differences. Despite David's discomfort and some of the bullying David experiences, there is no question that Marlon and the other low income African American kids hold the short end of the stick in terms of life's long term advantages. The one thing that irked me a bit is that I wasn't sure that the language used by David and others was authentic -- when he refers to his "crib" and "fam", it felt a bit over the top. But I may be wrong -- it just didn't ring true. But, again, these are superficial issues. Reading Green was a powerful experience. I'll be interested to see how it's received when it comes out in January. And I'd be happy to read this author's next book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.