Yummy : The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. by Greg Neri; illustrated by Randy DuBurke. Lee & Low Books, 2010. 94 pages.
Plot: This story is based on the true life and death of Robert “Yummy” Sandifer. Yummy is 11 years old when the story takes place in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago in the summer of 1994. Through the thoughts and narration of of Yummy’s classmate Roger, the tragic life and death of Yummy is revealed. Yummy got his nickname because he loved to eat sweets. He sat with his teddy bear and watched television in his granny's house. Yummy was the perfect candidate to be recruited by the Black Disciples, a violent gang in Chicago. Perfect in the sense that his dad is absent, his mother is abusive, he is a juvenile and he longs to belong. For his initiation into the gang, Yummy is given a gun and told to kill a rival gang member. Things go wrong and Yummy accidentally shoots and kills a 14 year old girl named Shavon Dean, a childhood friend of his. The neighborhood is shocked and the police begin an all out manhunt to find her killer which sends Yummy into hiding to evade arrest. The chase is too much and Yummy just wants to go home. The black Disciples have a different plan for him. Yummy has become a liability to the gang with so much police scrutiny, so they convince Yummy that “Monster” wants to make him a deputy. Yummy is led into a railroad tunnel and he never comes out.
Review/Personal thoughts: This is the second graphic novel I have read and it is incredibly powerful. The reader knows that the story is based on real life events. Neri has done an incredible job of researching the original events and blending them in with the fictional character Roger to give the reader a sense of the reasons and circumstances surrounding these murders and the gang life of inner cities. The illustrations are stark in black and white and do an exceptional job of providing visuals for this tragedy. The reader feels a contradiction between hating Yummy as a cold blooded killer and feeling compassion for this unfortunate child swept up in a cruel life. Social conditions, gangs, violence, family, death, and moral responsibility are all themes surprisingly captured in a “comic” book. I highly recommend this book.
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel
Reading Level: 3.4 Interest level: Ages 12 and up.
Awards: YALSA 2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teen
“PW's Best Books of the Year - Graphic Novels 2010”
Coretta Scott King Book Award 2011
YALSA 2011 Quick Picks for Reluctant for Young Adults
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