Let Me Hear a Rhyme - Tiffany D. Jackson

Bank Street Books of the Year 

Tiffany D. Jackson knocks it out of the park again! This was such a cool and unique book. I had seen this one sitting on shelves in libraries and bookstores, but hadn't bothered to check it out until now. It was such a cool book to read with all the different rap references and lyrics. And with it being a historical book, it's specifically the late 1990s when the East Coast/West Coast rivalry was at it's peak. I also think that the reality of one of the characters being murdered is something that would hit home for a lot of students, especially those from rougher areas. I also love idea of having one of the characters be dead, but still be a part of the story by having their lyrics and music be apart of the story. It was also really cool to see a lot of the actual rap lyrics written by Malik "Malik-16" Sharif. While the period isn't my personal favorite for rap, I appreciate it enough to find real enjoyment in this book.

This is one of those books that I would recommend to a lot of my students who are reluctant readers (teenage boys), who think that reading is for nerds (teenage boys), and are trying to make it big off of a rap career (yet again, teenage boys). I think that they would appreciate the references and lyrics, and probably also learn about the  history of rap in the United States. I feel like I could get a lot of my students interested in this book by just explaining the history of the East v. West rivalry and how similar it was recent conflicts in the rap community (*cough-cough* Kendrick and Drake *cough-cough*).

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