Harlem Hustle

"In this wonderful novel about the hip-hop lifestyle, both its savory and unsavory aspects, McDonald once again strikes gold. She takes readers on a journey with Eric Hustle Samson, 17, in his search for money and fame. Abandoned by his druggy parents, not in school, on probation, taken in by a friend's family, and hustling for money by shoplifting, the teen dreams of becoming a successful rapper known as Harlem Hustle. True, he has talent, but what he doesn't have is a real sense of who he is. What he does have, though, is a couple of friends and some other people who care about him. The author nails the hip-hop lingo and the street slang, and her characters strike just the right attitude. Along the way, she throws in a cultural-history lesson or two and lets the story take off. Young adults will love this book."—Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ, School Library Journal (starred review)

"Can a hardworking round-the-way girl from Brooklyn become good friends with a street-smart dropout from uptown? Jeannette Simpson and Eric Samson have every intention of finding out. They're not ruling out romance either, despite their different backgrounds. Jeannette attends an exclusive prep school and spends nights studying under her grandmother's watchful eye. Eric, a.k.a. 'Hustle,' has been on his own since he was a little kid. He has just given up a shoplifting career and now dreams of life as a rap superstar. The language in Harlem Hustle can be rough at times, but the author lightens things up with jokes and characters who talk like real people. The action moves from Eric's humble home to the posh parlors of the Upper East Side as he pursues his dream—and Jeannette. In time he learns that he doesn't have to be a gangsta to get the girl, and his rhymes change from haunted to hopeful: 'What if her smile was the trigga to why you dig her?/ what if a book was the trigga that made you think bigger?'"—Jabari Asim, The Washington Post's Book World

"'I'm on my own, I got nothin'. No family, no schoolin', no skills . . . This is probably my one shot, the one chance I might ever get in this messed up life.' Abandoned by his family and living with a friend in Harlem, Hustle has two talents—stealing and rapping—and since he has already done time for stealing, he is committed to becoming the next great rap artist. He gets noticed by Tony Motta, a high-profile Mafioso music producer whose threats of violence force Hustle to sell his best rap for a pittance and all but destroy his dream. Enter Spencer Adams Sr., the power behind the production company, who also manipulates Hustle under the guise of helping him. While Hustle navigates the streets and the music industry, he explores a tender romance with a girl whose grandmother despises all things ghetto . . . the novel is also filled with energy and rhythm. Hustle's reality, relayed in urban dialect, will appeal to teen readers, including the reluctant."—Holly Koelling, Booklist

"Filled with energy and rhythm. Hustle's reality, relayed in urban dialect, will appeal to teen readers, including the reluctant."—Booklist

"McDonald's prose incorporates dynamic, realistic, direct dialogue. Readers will enjoy witnessing the supposedly street-smart Hustle discover how little he really knows about the world and himself."—VOYA

"An inspiring and uplifting, not to mention funny, read."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books