Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty Spiral-Bound | August 1, 2010
G. Neri, Randy Duburke (Illustrated by)
★★★☆☆+ from 1,001 to 10,000 ratings
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
A graphic novel based on the life and death of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year-old gang member from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang members.
Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books, Kirkus Reviews
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, American Library Association (ALA)
Editor's Choice, Booklist
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Notable Books for a Global Society, International Literacy Association (ILA)
100 Magnificent Children's Books, Fuse #8 Production, SLJ
Best Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Cybils Award Winner - Graphic Novel Category, The Cybils
Glyph Award Nominee, The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC)
Eisner Award Nomination, Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Once Upon a World Children's Book Award, The Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance Library and Archives
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, American Library Association (ALA)
Storytelling World Award, Storytelling World
Street Literature Book Award, Emerging Classic Winner, Street Literature Book Award Medal Committee
Ten Best Nexus Graphica Books, The SF Site
Top 10 List, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels, Booklist
A graphic novel based on the life and death of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year-old gang member from Chicago's Southside who was killed by his own gang members.
Eleven-year-old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death, but first he has to make sense of Yummy's life. Yummy could be as tough as a pit bull sometimes. Other times he was as sweet as the sugary treats he loved to eat. Was Yummy some sort of monster, or just another kid?
As Roger searches for the truth, he finds more and more questions. How did Yummy end up in so much trouble? Did he really kill someone? And why do all the answers seem to lead back to a gang-the same gang Roger's older brother belongs to?
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty is a compelling dramatization based on events that occurred in Chicago in 1994. This gritty exploration of youth gang life will force readers to question their own understandings of good and bad, 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." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Tightly researched and sharply written. . . this is a graphic novel that pushes an unsightly but hard to ignore socio-political truth out into the open." -- Booklist, starred review
* Framing the story through the eyes and voice of a fictional character, 11-year-old Roger, offers a bittersweet sense of authenticity while upholding an objective point of view. . . the exploration of "both sides of the story" is unflinchingly offered. -- School Library Journal, starred review
* "Yummy's story, which became a national media flashpoint, may seem like ancient history to prospective readers born years after the murders. . . But author's notes and an appended bibliography. . . assure readers this is the real deal." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
* "Teens who enjoy standalone graphic novels will be drawn to the compelling story and art, and moved by the tragic unfolding of events. This novel would also be an excellent resource for a classroom discussion on gang violence." -- VOYA, starred review
"Neri's straightforward, unadorned prose is the perfect complement to DuBurke's stark black-and-white inks; great slabs of shadow and masterfully rendered faces breathe real, tragic life into the players. Like Roger, in the end readers are left with troubling questions and, perhaps, one powerful answer: that they can choose to do everything in their power to ensure that no one shares Yummy's terrible fate." -- Publishers Weekly
Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books, Kirkus Reviews
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, American Library Association (ALA)
Editor's Choice, Booklist
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Notable Books for a Global Society, International Literacy Association (ILA)
100 Magnificent Children's Books, Fuse #8 Production, SLJ
Best Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly
Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Cybils Award Winner - Graphic Novel Category, The Cybils
Glyph Award Nominee, The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC)
Eisner Award Nomination, Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Once Upon a World Children's Book Award, The Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance Library and Archives
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, American Library Association (ALA)
Storytelling World Award, Storytelling World
Street Literature Book Award, Emerging Classic Winner, Street Literature Book Award Medal Committee
Ten Best Nexus Graphica Books, The SF Site
Top 10 List, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, American Library Association (ALA)
Top Ten Great Graphic Novels, Booklist
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award Program, Indiana Library Federation
Louisiana Teen Readers' Choice Title List, State Library of Louisiana
Maverick Graphic Novel List, Texas Library Association (TLA)
Virginia Readers' Choice, Virginia State Reading Association
G. Neri is the Eisner-nominated, Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty, which CNN and Flavorwire hailed as one of the top 25 essential graphic novels of all-time. He has written thirteen books for young people, including Ghetto Cowboy, which was made into the movie Concrete Cowboy, starring Idris Elba, debuting at #1 on Netflix. His books have been translated into multiple languages in more than 25 countries. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from SUNY for his literary output. Mr. Neri lives on the Gulf coast of Florida. For more information, visit gneri.com.