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Bad Boy: A Memoir

by Walter Dean Myers

Growing up between Harlem’s streets and books

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Awards & Recognition

  • Author recognition

    New York Times bestselling author

    The source describes Walter Dean Myers as a New York Times bestselling author.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Growing up between Harlem’s streets and books

Walter Dean Myers looks back on his childhood in 1940s Harlem, where a quick temper and readiness to fight sat alongside a deep appetite for reading. Books offered a private refuge: he carried library books home in brown paper bags to avoid teasing. The memoir also traces his early ambition to write and the period when a successful future seemed less attainable, drawing him toward both the streets and the books that comforted him. Together, these details frame a coming-of-age account of how family, school, community, and personal aspirations shape a young person’s sense of possibility.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in autobiographical accounts of growing up.
  • Readers curious about childhood and community life in 1940s Harlem.
  • Readers interested in the role of books and writing in a young person’s life.

Themes

Coming of ageReading and writingFamily, school, and communityIdentity and aspiration

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A classic memoir that's gripping, funny, and ultimately unforgettable from the bestselling former National Ambassador of Books for Young People. A strong choice for summer reading--an engaging and powerful autobiographical exploration of growing up a so-called "bad boy" in Harlem in the 1940s.

As a boy, Myers was quick-tempered and physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read voraciously--he would check out books from the library and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a writer (and he eventually succeeded).

But as his hope for a successful future diminished, the values he had been taught at home, in school, and in his community seemed worthless, and he turned to the streets and to his books for comfort.

Don't miss this memoir by New York Times bestselling author Walter Dean Myers, one of the most important voices of our time.

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