Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty is an acclaimed graphic novel by G. Neri with art by Randy Duburke, published by Lee and Low Books in August, 2010 (ISBN 978-1584302674). The story is about Robert “Yummy” Sandifer

Robert Sandifer

Robert "Yummy" Sandifer garnerednational attention in September 1994 after his murder by fellow gang members in Chicago, Illinois. He appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in September 1994....

, who was eleven years old in 1994 when he became a fugitive from justice after accidentally killing a neighbor girl. Neri creates a fictional narrator who watches what happens to Yummy when he seeks help from the gang he is trying to impress. Instead, they turn on him when he becomes too much of a liability to them. The book asks hard questions: Was Yummy a thug who got what he deserved? Or was he just as much a victim as the killed he killed? As our hero says, “I tried to figure out who the real Yummy was. The one who stole my lunch money? Or the one who smiled when I shared my candy with him? I wondered if I grew up like him, would I have turned out the same?”

Awards and Reviews

The book won a 2011 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award

Coretta Scott King Award

The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...

and was named one of the Best Books of 2010 by Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...

, Booklist

Booklist

Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...

, and Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus . Kirkus serves the book and literary trade sector, including libraries, publishers, literary and film agents, film and TV producers and booksellers. Kirkus Reviews is published on the first and 15th of each month...

. It also has received five starred reviews—from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, School Library Journal, the Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books, and VOYA.

List of Awards and honors

2011 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
2011 ALA Notable Book
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2010
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2010
Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books of 2010
2010 Cybil Award - Best YA Graphic Novel
2011 YALSA Top 10 Quick Picks
2011 ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens
Booklist's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth
School Library Journal Best Comics for 2010
CCBC Choices 2011
2011 IRA Notable Book for a Global Society
SLJ's Fuse #8: 100 Magnificent Children’s Books of 2010 List
PW Comic Weekly Fifth Annual Critics Poll List
Chicago Public Library - Best of the Best Book
Virginia Readers' Choice List for high school
2010 Best Books for Youths (Philadelphia Inquirer, Times Union)
Top 5 Graphic Novels of 2010 (Guys Lit Wire, Nexus Graphica)
Cynsational Books of 2010
2011 Glyph Award nomination - Story of the Year

Starred Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

described it by saying, “A haunting, ripped-from-the-headlines account of youth gang violence in Chicago provides the backdrop for a crucial mediation on right and wrong. A much-needed look at the terrifying perils of life on the margins that will have all readers pondering the heady question of moral responsibility." Booklist

Booklist

added it was "A harrowing portrait... Yummy will earn both the reader’s livid rage and deep sympathy, even as the social structure that created him is cast, once again, as America’s undeniable shame. This is a graphic novel that pushes an unsightly but hard to ignore socio-political truth out into the open." School Library Journal

School Library Journal

The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...

summed it all up: "Yummy [is] something entirely new. Gritty, real, willing to ask tough questions, and willing to trust that young readers will be able to reach their own conclusions. This is a story that needs to be told and it needs to be told to kids. Believe me, you’ve nothing like this in your collection."

Neri on Yummy

Neri says about the story “Back in 1994 I was a filmmaker teaching workshops to kids in the inner-city schools of Los Angeles. When the Yummy story broke, a lot of discussions started popping up among the kids. Some felt Yummy was a straight-up thug who got what he deserved. Others felt he was a victim too. At the time, there was a gang war going on in the area and there had been several memorials for students who'd been killed. Many of the kids had siblings who were in gangs or had been affected by gangs. It was a loaded topic. I couldn't get the story out of my head.” He added “My telling some kids to stay out of gangs means nothing to them. But Yummy’s story is such a compelling wake-up call that I don’t have to say anything, or moralize on the issues. Readers can draw their own conclusions by seeing what happened to Yummy. There are no easy answers to be found, but hopefully the book will spark a lot of needed discussion.”

Links

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