Lovely. Beautiful narrative voice which legit sounded like a middle schooler's thought process and way of expressing things. Great, complex characterization.

This story about Bryan tore at my heart throughout most of the book. Not wanting to be thought of as “soft” by friends, his sister or father, Bryan makes a lot of bad decisions thanks to a new friend, Mike. I really liked how the book ended as well. All that hype and for what? This is a great book for young readers, especially young men who are struggling to find who they are and not give into peer pressure, even though that can be extremely difficult depending on where you live, how you’re being raised, etc. 4.5 stars for me. #ProjectLIT #weneeddiversebooks

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a middle-grade fiction, let alone a fantastic middle-grade fiction. Thankfully, I was introduced to this little gem.

TIGHT is an insightful observation of peer pressure and how it affects one’s personal behaviors and decision-making. And though this book features a young protagonist, the themes and messages explored can be applied to all age groups.

Bryan is an excellent character. His dilemma in maintaining a friendship that causes him stress is a relatable experience that we’ve all had before and as I read his thoughts, I couldn’t help but sympathize as he tried to reason to himself and justify Mike’s erratic (and dangerous) behavior.

There comes a time when we all force ourselves to do something we aren’t entirely comfortable with doing in order to save face, be cool, or to just push ourselves to be spontaneous for no discernable reason, and this book does well to highlight these moments in our lives.

Not only does the author manage to illuminate these natural faults as part of a maturing process, but he also takes the time to explore the consequences of reacting to a situation in a harmful way, particularly in a physically violent way. There is value in verbally expressing oneself, and Maldonado wants readers to consider this, to consider that there is a way to be at peace with oneself and with others. And this can be achieved by being true, by listening to your conscience, by being negotiable, and by expressing your emotions so that they aren’t bottled up until you explode.

There are other wonderful aspects to this story. Maldonado spotlights adolescent life in the city or in low-income areas and gives a voice to the Latino/Black urban community. Incarceration of a parent is not a topic the author shies away from, neither is the topic of parental upset in a household, as well as bullying in several forms. But he softens these blows with heartwarming images of family bonds, depictions of healthy friendships, learning from mistakes, and the discovery of inner strength.

I can go on an on about what a wonderful source of discussion TIGHT brings to the table, but I think at this point you’d just have to read it for yourself. The only possible setback for some readers I can think of is that the language used is very colloquial and full of slang. It was a bit hard to get used to but I’d urge readers to take their time with it and after a couple chapters, they won’t notice a thing. The language, like the setting and the characters, gains a life all its own.

All in all, this is a fantastic book that can be read by all generations and would make for some really solid reading material for middle graders as well as high schoolers and teachers who want to know a bit more about life and its complexities in diverse communities.

Torrey Maldonado’s Tight is a true-to-life representation of the lives of some boys. This upper middle-grade novel, in the vein of Paula Chase‘s [b:Dough Boys|43131603|Dough Boys (So Done, #2)|Paula Chase|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544525970l/43131603._SY75_.jpg|66934698], highlights the humanity of all its characters — even Mike. It explores the search for personal identity and shows that kids need support and guidance.

Finally, this middle-grade book firmly disposes of the toxic ideas about masculinity popular within some cultures. I’d highly recommend this book to educators and parents alike! Plus, it’s under 200 pages!

Read my full review on my blog.

3.5 stars. Good look at toxic male friendships and how to navigate having "street cred" with being a kind friend/person; I agree with SLJ on the grades 4-7 rec. It will be most appealing to 6th graders, I think.

I received this as an eARC from Edelweiss.

Bryan is a generally good kid. He likes drawing and comics. Each day after school, he goes to his mom’s work and does his homework in his “own office.” Bryan’s mother works with at risk youth and struggling families, which is how she met Mike. Bryan’s mother pushes the two together, but this friendship may not be the greatest thing in Bryan’s life. Mike pressures Bryan to steal and break the law and while Bryan does this willingly, he is concerned that he will end up like his father who is in and out of prison.

I thought this was an interesting way to show that parents aren’t always right and that tweens have the ability to distinguish what relationships are positive and which aren’t. I could see myself giving this is a young child from an inner city environment because they could see themselves in this book. It is like the junior version of a Jason Reynolds novel.

A great book written from a kid's perspective, exploring how difficult standing up to peers can be while trying to maintain street cred. I found it a humbling experience to try to decipher some slang terms I'm not familiar with.

Love! This is such a great book that explores the careful balance the young people must make about doing what is right when confronted with bad influence. I really enjoyed this book and felt very connected to the main character, Bryan. I loved all the super hero talk. My students are using this book as an extension book group following, Ghost by Jason Reynolds.

Great example of an author trying to share some positive ideas, and food for thought for readers after finishing this. I listened to the audiobook, and it was definitely like Maldonado telling a story.

This is the second book in a row that I've listened to that was a contemporary story about a boy befriending someone older that they idolized at first, then grew to distrust. There is a type of suspense in that you are not sure what is going to happen, and if things will go so far that injury or even catastrophe will result. Both books have loving parents and siblings, and stress the importance of genuine friends.

Even though I am not a comic book fan, I know that this aspect of the story will create even more interest among readers, and can lead to some interesting discussions-- even fun arguments over the best superhero, superpower, etc.

This book is accessible to middle and upper elementary students; I realize that in real life, profanity would probably be much more prominent, but by omitting it, Maldonado has made this available for more readers.