The Beautiful Struggle (Adapted for Young Adults) by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a deeply personal and poetic memoir that captures the complexities of growing up Black in America. Coates writes with such vivid imagery and emotional honesty that you feel immersed in his world, navigating the challenges of his adolescence alongside him.

The story revolves around his relationship with his father—a strict, principled man with an intense commitment to Black history and identity—and how their dynamic shaped his understanding of himself and the world. What I found particularly powerful was how Coates balances the personal and the universal. His reflections on family, identity, and resilience are relatable and offer a lens into experiences many of us might not fully understand.

This adaptation for young adults still retains the heart of Coates’ original work but feels more accessible, making it a great read for younger audiences without sacrificing its depth. I appreciated how it doesn't shy away from the difficulties of growing up or the raw realities of systemic racism. Instead, it challenges readers to confront these truths while embracing the beauty of perseverance and self-discovery.

This beautifully written, thought-provoking memoir left me reflecting on the power of family, identity, and storytelling. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an honest and inspiring read.

Coates is one of the all time greats of our age, it comes as no surprise that this book held attention while displaying a wonderful point and messaging. I'd expect nothing less.

A richly depicted and beautifully vulnerable exploration of Coates' upbringing and formative years in Baltimore. Coates' characteristic lyricism continued in this, though in a much more accessible manner appropriate to his younger audience in this adapted version. Coates' writing is golden, and this provided even more proof for me.

This was a great book for young adults, and I would recommend it to any of my book club members that have children. As Ta-Nehisi Coates is a big author in our group, it is great to have options to share with our young readers.

This graphic memoir was impactful, well-drawn, and definitely will find its audience soon enough since it is so well-done.

This father-son story, adapted from the brilliant Between the World and Me, explores how boys become men, and how the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, who he is today. His own father, Paul Coates had been committed to raising proud Black men equipped to deal with the racist society that was the turbulent city of Baltimore where they lived. Coates tells of his family struggles, at school, and with girls, as well as details the challenges of dealing with his demanding father, the influence of his mother, and the dynamics of his extended family, including his brother, who was on a very different path than Ta-Nehisi. I will always recommend writing by Coats; walking in his shoes is an eye-opening experience in empathy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Ta-Nehisi Coates' presents his beautiful writing in this book to a more broad audience as young adult readers can better understand his meaning and messages.I've read all of his books but have in the past been hesitant to recommend them to young students as it may be too complex or turn them off to Coates' writing. Young adults will be able to better understand his stories of family and school life and connect directly with them with this adapted edition.

This is such a necessary and important book to include library collections. The writing is profound and beautiful. It will show students how vastly different two lives can be growing up in the USA.

The Review

I found the author’s work to be so passionate and moving. The intimate way the author delved into his personal experiences and his life as a whole was in one breath very relatable, and in another breath very eye-opening, as he brought a truly unique perspective of what life was like as both a young black man and as the son of a Vietnam vet and Black Panther during a very turbulent time in our world’s history. The imagery and tone the author struck really brought the experiences the author delved into to life in a vivid way.

The author’s ability to translate this very adult memoir into a teachable lesson for younger readers, primarily YA readers, was amazing to read. The history and culture of that era and the hardships the author endured on both a cultural and personal level are things younger generations can definitely learn from. The personal struggles of his home life and his childhood will resonate with so many readers out there, and the artistry that has defined the author’s life and career is felt in every chapter.

The Verdict

Engaging, atmospheric, and beautifully written, author Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Beautiful Struggle: A Memoir” is a must-read nonfiction meets YA book. The contrast of struggle versus hope is a powerful theme that is felt throughout this reading, and readers will be able to find both important lessons on culture and history while also relating to the author’s life in one way or another.

Coates does a great job of adapting this for the younger reader without losing the brilliance of the original book.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a fantastic writer. I thoroughly enjoy the stories and education I receive from this work. This is an adaption for young adults based. The book was good. But having read the original, I feel that it was pared down almost too much. There are topics in this book that I feel lose it’s significance if you don’t have the full picture.

Having said that, I still enjoyed this version and can see it used in classrooms with guided discussions from a teacher.

Coates is a phenomenal writer, I enjoyed this adaption of the original for young adults. While not quite as good as the original, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and definitely think it should be required reading for this age group. (And the original for adults.)

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

This was originally a memoir by Ta-Nehisi Coates adapted for Young Adults.

The Beautiful Struggle is the story of Ta-Nehisi and how he became who he is and I do feel like there are messages in here that could really resonate with a younger audience. It did have great themes and the way that Coates writes about his experiences is in a way quite poetical.

However this version of the book is quite short, which I feel didn't help the story, and a lot of the vocabulary, as well as this also captures a different era of America, seemed quite difficult to grasp for me, so I don't know how a younger audience might understand this as well. This might also have to do with the fact that I'm not from America. However I'm just not sure if a teenager, who's interested in this story might be able to get through it and if it otherwise might be better to just read the original memoir The Beautiful Struggle. I haven't yet read that one yet, but I'm definitely interested to do that. I do feel like a lot of the themes that are explored are important and the way that Coates writes is remarkable.

This is a review of an arc from NetGalley.

I've recommended it to several students and purchased it for the library. WE are considering it as a course text for a history of race in america course. I'm currently clearing out all of the books that were published in 2019-21 from my title feedback view!

I unfortunately read this version of the book too far after reading the original one; I intend to, some day, read them both either back to back or together, and compare the writing. I do remember being just as engaged by and engrossed in the original version, but I do think that I would favor this version as a gift to an adult in my life who is trying to increase the quality of the reading material they expose themselves to. Deeply insightful and beautifully written, this version present complex ideas but in a way that was easier, for me at least, to grasp.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC digital copy. I have not been compensated for my opinion and this is an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this ARC digital copy before needing to switch to other books that were being archived. The book remains on my Goodreads "want to read" list, and I will update my review to reflect an updated opinion when I finish it at a later date..

I love that The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates has been adapted for young adults. I believe that this book will resonate with many young black men.

Ta-Nehisi Coates took his adult version and re-created it for young adults in The Beautiful Struggle. There are stunning quotes to keep that are so poetic and wonderful mentor texts to get students discussing and thinking critically. I do wonder if some of the passages and vocabulary would be difficult for students to dissect.

I wonder if it was a bit more powerful in its original form. I found it a bit lacking and ended up dnf'ing it. I am a big fan of Coates, and I find it surprising that this one didn't resonate with me.