Ta-Nehisi Coates knocks it out of the park with this newly adapted for young adults version of his memoir. As a mom of boys, I loved sharing this with my teen boys and talking about Ta-Nehisi's transition from boy to man. This is a personal, deep look at the realities of his family dynamics, tough-love father and the realities of being a Black Man in America.

This is a must read for any adult and teen.

The Beautiful Struggle - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Originally published for adults, this memoir is rewritten for young adults.

While I think I personally would like to read the original memoir, this is a beautifully written coming of age memoir. I will also say that you could definitely tell that this edition has been readapted, because it didn’t flow quite as well as I was hoping it would.

This memoir truly shows the love between the father-son relationship, despite the hardships and it being strained at some points.

I look forward to reading the original memoir in the future!

The Beautiful Struggle is a good read for anyone looking to learn more about Ta-Nehisi Coates and growing up black in America.

I love that Coates did a 2.0 for younger readers. As Black men in our country continue to be under siege, it is important for Black young men to understand what they are up against and how to best prepare oneself for adulthood, as well as how to best live through the teen years. The books shows how Black men, although different, are very much the same.

I enjoyed reading about the author’s childhood but I did feel it was a little all over the place at times. I think I’ll try the full version of this at some point to see if that’s a bit better but I did like getting a peek at what it was like in Baltimore during the years he was growing up

I love Coates' writing style, and I loved this book, but there were times when I wasn't sure what was going on, so I imagine younger readers may struggle with Costes' poetic style.

The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Posted on April 28, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

In case you were wondering, I am going to stretch a little bit and say that this week’s review is another category of book. This week is a memoir but it is a YA memoir. Am I cheating a bit? No. YA is different from adult especially when the author has re-issued the book specifically for YA.

In 2008, acclaimed author, Ta-Nehisi Coates gave the world his story, The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood. A description of the book was “An exceptional father-son story about the reality that tests us, the myths that sustain us, and the love that saves us.” And in 2021, he adapted the memoir for a YA audience. I was given a copy of his adaptation for review. (The usual, and unbiased review.)


The Beautiful Struggle tells Ta-Nehisi Coates’ story centering on his junior high and high school years. His parents were a major influence particularly his father Paul. Paul Coates was a Viet Nam vet and former Maryland State Coordinator of the Blank Panther Party. His father founded and directed the Black Classic Press, which specializes in republishing obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. His printing press was in their home and the books were all around the house. Ta-Nehisi Coates tells of his fears and fights on the streets of Baltimore through his school years there. He was not a good student and was just trying to find his way. But he did have a strong guiding hand at home.

I am not the intended audience for this book. There were times that I had no idea what the terms in the book meant BUT I could infer the meaning from the context. After all, I could not be further from a young man growing up in the battleground streets of Baltimore during the crack epidemic. I did start and stop reading this book several times. But I was always drawn back to it and I did finish it. There was a lot in the story that I didn’t understand. In doing research for this review, the story comes into better light. In an interview, Mr. Coates talked about how this was the book that he would have wanted to see when he was his younger self, that where you are at 16 is not a verdict on the rest of your life. He also said that for him to look at the book at this point in his life, he is much more understanding and would have been nicer to his younger self.

So, the question is, do I recommend the book? Overall, I do recommend the book. There is much to be gained from learning about people outside your personal world. There is much to be gained from learning about the opposite sex and their fears and mistakes. There is always much to be gained about broadening your worldview. Before I wrote this, I watched an interview with Mr. Coates that was from 2015 after his bestselling, award-winning book Between the World and Me came out. I found it very interesting to hear him talk about his views and how they are formed from his study of history. (https://www.c-span.org/video/?328842-1/ta-nehisi-coates-discusses-between-world-me)

Thanks for reading.

Love this impactful and important read. It is adapted in such a great way for YA read. I will read this one alongside both of my kids.

Ta'Nehisi Coates tells of his life in Baltimore growing up with his family in the ghetto. His father, a Vietnam vet, had been a member of the Black Panthers and ran his own publishing business in his basement, printing everything he could find about African history and the history of Black people. He raised his children with strict discipline, while living his own life his way (he had children by four women). He encouraged the children to get knowledge by reading what most people did not know existed. Ta-Nehisi barely made it through school. While very bright, he had trouble with his classes. Somehow he made it into Howard University and from there he became a writer.

This memoir sheds light on how boys become men and how Ta-Nehisi Coates became who he is today.

"...I had no idea how close I was, would always be, to the edge, how easily boys like me were erased in absurd, impractical ways."

A beautiful, powerful adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s memoir for a young adult audience. Lyrical, poetic, haunting, and captivating. Ta-Nehisi paints a tale of his childhood and teen years, about a boy who doesn't realize the cumulative effects of his choices and the parents who persist in helping him find a path to a safe, secure future. We all know the outcome - the awards, accolades, the impact of his work. I have not read The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons and an Unlikely Road to Manhood, so I cannot compare the texts. This may be more suited for older teens, but nonetheless - readers will be inspired by his parents' grit, the teacher who finally told him he was special, and the boy who found his way to Mecca.

I feel like this book wasn’t written for me. While I’m not one to prescribe a gender to anything usually, this feels like a book written for boys. Namely boys and their fathers. Specifically Black boys and their fathers. Ta-Nehisi and his father have a unique relationship and I think this book is an interesting exploration of what fatherhood truly means. I’ll be honest, I didn’t get much out of this. But the writing was pretty.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is such an amazing writer. He writes like it’s poetry. This is a written adaptation of his story for teens and children. I honestly didn’t even realize it was YA. He describes his life in Baltimore. He also talks about how his father valued hard work and education. He talks about the difficulties of growing up in the area he did. He talks about bullying and fighting and crime. All this made him into the person he is today, and that is truly amazing.

A memoir of Ta-Nehisi's childhood and young adult years, rewritten for young adults. This felt very of a time to me.

I have liked the books I’ve read by Ta-Nehisi Coates, so I was excited for a chance to read his YA adapted memoir. He is a great writer, but I think that’s the reason some of this book went over my head. He’s too smart for me.

This memoir is a coming-of-age memoir, describing his childhood in Baltimore. He was one of 7 children fathered by a member of the Black Panther party to 4 different women. That in and of itself would, no doubt, have brought some interesting familial relationships.

We follow his life as he grows, graduating from Woodlawn and having to decide what to do after graduating- go to the college of his parents’ choosing, or make his own path.

(Listeners of the Serial podcast will recognize his high school as the one Adnan Syed went to.)

Thank you to NetGalley for an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was tough for me to get through. It was adapted for young adults but the content was definitely higher level and it was not what I was expecting for a YA adaptation. While a few of our students have enjoyed Coates's other books, I'm not sure they would enjoy this one.

Earlier this year I read and loved Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel The Water Dancer so when Net Galley and Delacorte Press offered me the opportunity to read his memoir newly adapted for young adults I jumped at the chance.

The Beautiful Struggle is a gripping read. Coates’ writing style is hypnotic. He paints an engrossing picture of his childhood in Baltimore during the 80s and 90s. His family story is fascinating - both heartwarming and heartrending. I was moved by his depiction of falling in love with writing. You can really see the influence music had on his style.

The way Coates explores his coming-of-age is masterful. I haven’t read the original memoir, but to me this version was strong enough to stand on its own feet. The language at times was hard to follow, but it created a music of its own. The Beautiful Struggle demanded my full attention and I was rewarded for dedicating my time to untangling its pages.

Coates does it again. This is a spectacularly written adaptation of his story for teens and children. In it, he describes life in an area of Baltimore that is subdivided randomly into different gang control. He describes the importance his father placed on hard work and education. He describes the lure of the gang solidarity for safety and support in the neighborhood and at school. He describes bullying and fighting and crime. He describes gang violence as expected in order to establish who is on top. There are so many important lessons here that it could easily be required reading for high schoolers.
One of the most important points is that it clearly shows how imperfectly we respond to what life throws our way, good or bad and how with the right amount of hard work, we can become more than expected.
Highly recommend!
#TheBeautifulStruggleAdaptedforYoungAdults #NetGalley #RandomHouseChildrens #DelacortePress

Coates’ work is quite possibly the most important out there right now. His prose lifts the soul but also lays bare the inequities and injustice experienced every day by people of color. I am so appreciative the Coates and others are releasing their uplifting, brutally honest words in multiple formats that are accessible to all sorts of readers.

This book should be read by every teen out there, and by every person working with, teaching, mentoring, and loving a teen or person of color.

Teen Librarians, BUY THIS BOOK!

This adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates for teens and young adults is powerful, descriptive, and moving. It's a great look at the things under the surface of Ta-Nehisi Coates. I highly recommend it.

What a wonderful story. I loved the reflection back on his childhood but also mainly his relationship with his father. I loved the lyrical quality of the writing - that most times it described the scene and let you imagine it and how it all played out. It's well done, the feeling of danger encroaching on a childhood that was carefree but also careful. The lessons taught by father but also by the neighborhood, friends and the brothers he had. I really liked this one.