Poetry book about teen years, stolen kisses and all that is to come. Cute book for teens and adolescent love. ( )

Adoff addresses his poetry to modern, urban teens in a gritty, hip-hop style. He manages to create poetry from the universal concerns of love and loneliness, the specific teen concerns of acne and braces, and unpleasant realities like selling and taking drugs. The relentless self-loathing of adolescence is captured in poems such as "Listen to the Voice in Your Head" ("No one will ever love you / and the world will turn its great equatorial back on you, / and you will live in a swamp of defeat and self-pity" ), carefully keeping on the right side of the line between self-deprecating humor and adult zingers. William Cotton's photo collages use reality but, like the poems, give it a twist: the two together may renew the perspectives of both adult and teen readers.(Susan Dove Lempke Booklist, December 15, 1995 (Vol. 92, No. 8)) Won:
Best Books for Young Adults, 1996 YALSA

Adoff addresses his poetry to modern, urban teens in a gritty, hip-hop style. He manages to create poetry from the universal concerns of love and loneliness, the specific teen concerns of acne and braces, and unpleasant realities like selling and taking drugs. The relentless self-loathing of adolescence is captured in poems such as "Listen to the Voice in Your Head" ("No one will ever love you / and the world will turn its great equatorial back on you, / and you will live in a swamp of defeat and self-pity" ), carefully keeping on the right side of the line between self-deprecating humor and adult zingers. William Cotton's photo collages use reality but, like the poems, give it a twist: the two together may renew the perspectives of both adult and teen readers. Category: Older Readers. 1995, Lothrop, $14. Gr. 7-10.
(Susan Dove Lempke-Booklist, December 15, 1995 (Vol. 92, No. 8))
Won Best Books for Young Adults, 1996 ; American Library Association-YALSA