Coates describes here his childhood and adolescence in inner city Baltimore. He does not sugar coat this story or make himself better than he was. For many reasons, Coates did not respond to the opportunities given to him as a bright, well-read teen. Instead, he goofed around, failed courses and attended summer school.
But, that is not the important part of the story. What's important is the fact that no child should have to be afraid on his way to school or back home. Coates also delineates the fears he has, the very real fears, given that his classmates and at times his brother, are carrying guns and they use these guns against each other. While some of this is written tongue in cheek, the danger is real. The ultimate story is that using his brains, his ability with words and owing to his mother and father's persistence in his life, Coates got out of the inner-city. He is an acclaimed writer who continues to give back to his community. But, he also despairs for his community.
I will read anything Coates writes and I can't say that I enjoy it, because it is painful to read much of what he writes. But, I admire it, I am grateful for it and I hope he continues to write.
While this was abridged for young adults from an earlier version, some of it may still be difficult for young readers. That's okay, they should aspire to be able to read and understand Coates. it is worth it!

This book takes an empathetic approach and gives bite size approaches and allows you to have kindness and patience with yourself when dealing with life. This is so necessary for everyone to read in life. Highly recommend. Especially loved the reflection to true life to humanize my feelings and relate. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC kid of The Beautiful Struggle.

This is a beautiful rendering of the author’s childhood and teenage years in Baltimore. While the writing is gorgeous, the book does lag at times. The Beautiful Struggle is a YA adaptation of the memoir by the same name.

I felt like it will probably appeal to more adults than teens in my library and that’s ok! As long it’s read!

Ta Neshi Coates biography adapted and condensed for young adults is a beautiful moving story. An exceptional father son story. His father a Vietnam vet who was with the black panthers . A real life story that will bring inspiration to young and old

This is a must read, especially during these times! , The author chooses events, lessons learned and advice from from family to give the reader insight into what it was like to be a young black boy growing up in and around Baltimore. The use of authentic langauge and cultural references enhance the overall experiene and give the reader a sense of what it was like to walk in Ta-Nehisi Coates footsteps. I am sure many readers will relate to the book and see themselves in the characters .

Ta-Nehisi Coates is absolutely incredible again with this young adult adaptation of The Beautiful Struggle. I cannot wait to get this into the hands of my students. They will connect and they will love this book.

Coates' memoirs of the years growing up with his father and his ever-changing cast of siblings is a treat to read. The humor and the wit that Coates brings as he recalls the years growing up in Baltimore makes it a fast read. Steered toward a righteous life by his ex-Black Panther-turned-black-book-publisher father, Coates barely makes it out of high school and into college- but thrives once he arrives. Coates' ability to portray the streets and scenes of Maryland of the 80s is highly readable by anyone in any state. There were a few references I did not understand made me want to find out more.

Reading this book, adapted for young adults, made me wish I had read the original, written for adults. The writing is gorgeous and the author tells an important story. However, it is not an easy read. I'm an avid reader, always have been, and it's doubtful I would have put in the work to read something this challenging (on my own) when I was in high school.

As someone who is nearer the author's age than his target audience for this book, I found that the cultural references I understood were likely to mean nothing to a young reader, while many other references I had no idea why I don't know what he means. Is it because I am older than the target audience, because I grew up a littler earlier than he did, because of the neighborhood, or the education he got from his father? We'll never know.

I'm glad I read it but would probably not buy it for my teenage nephew. 3.5 stars.

An inspiring read adapted for a younger audience. This is such an important- and timely read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens/Delacourt Press for an advanced copy of this book. I found much of this book interesting, but it definitely has an academic feel to it. It would be great as part of a high school class where it can be analyzed, but I wouldn't recommend it to an average teen who is looking for a pleasure-read.

This book is intense. It should be required reading in high school. In some way it reminded me of I know Why The Caged Bird Sings. It really underscores the importance of even our slightest actions. The reverberation of Jim Crow continues today. Very highly recommend this book.

This is an inspiring memoir that has been re-written for the coming-of-age audience. In my opinion, this version would keep the interest of the older readers as well. A wonderfully honest memoir of family life. Life from the point of view of a young black boy whose father’s tough love and teachings seemingly go in one ear and out the other. Ta-Nehisi overall is a good boy, his father however expects more from his son knowing he is capable. His mother is there to support his triumphs and defend his integrity when he stumbles.

It’s touching, it’s realistic and “the struggle is beautiful” just as the title predicts.

This book is a beautiful memoir. I've read a few other books by Ta-Nehisi and his writing is beautiful. The writing in this is almost lyrical. His voice comes through so strongly.

Beyond the writing, its a great book. While I don't think I'm the intended audience, I really enjoyed his complex relationships with his family members. His dad and brother aren't perfect but you can tell he loves and respects them. Learning about how his environment growing up shaped him into who he is today. You can feel his appreciation for where he comes from bleed through in these pages.

I think this is a great memoir for young adults and really enjoyed this book.

I wish I can express how much this book meant to me. It is a beautiful opportunity to be able to read about his life and his relationship with his father.

It is a beautiful, raw coming of age story that expresses the struggles he has gone through, his love for the family....I cried.

I want to say more...but will leave you with this quote that perfectly sums up the book (in my opinion):

As a child, Coates says he '...sleepwalked through the world, hoping one day to wake up on a fantastic other side and realize that this had all been a dream."

I just reviewed The Beautiful Struggle (Adapted for Young Adults) by Ta-Nehisi Coates. #TheBeautifulStruggleAdaptedforYoungAdults #NetGalley

What a beautiful glimpse into the early years of Ta-Nehisi Coates. His writing is magical and transports the reader to his childhood home, in Baltimore in the 1980’s, where his parents try to prepare him for life and survival.

While Coates gives account of his boyhood friendships, brothers, and family, his father, and their relationship, seems to be the main focus.

I enjoyed reading the author’s depiction of his own life. This was a shortened, adapted version of an earlier work. I would have enjoyed learning even more about his life. I will likely read the original now as well as his works of fiction.

I gave this book 4 stars and highly recommend it to any fan of memoir.

This will be a great addition to my high school classroom library, as well as a book club pick for my college Intercultural Communication class.

It's so important for students to have books that serve as a window, and this book does exactly that for my students!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It is wonderful when authors write such profound pieces of literature, that we deem it necessary (and vital) that young children have their own adaptation.

Ta-Nehisi Coates memoir, The Beautiful Struggle has been adapted into a children’s book.

I enjoyed viewing the stories through an adapted lens, and the thoughts and murmurings regarding fathers was especially profound.

I highly recommend this book- grab it and add it to your classroom shelf, or gift it to your favorite teacher. We need more memoirs, real life accounts, and we need more Ta-Nehisi Coates on our classroom shelves.

The writing in this book is so gorgeous. I had to read every paragraph three times. Once, to soak up the musicality of the language. Twice, to understand the narrative. Three times to revel in the gorgeousness of it all. This one had me thinking about the strength of his mother and father and their unparalleled parenting skills. Also about how many brilliant students we don’t see because they don’t go through the motions of what a “good student” looks like. Sleeping through class? Not turning in assignments? What else is going on in their lives? I’m so glad Mr. Coates survived the American education system. He is a gift to us all.

The coming-of-age story of Ta-Nehisi Coates is sometimes vivid, and at other times muted. True to Coates's form, the vocabulary and syntax is often very advanced. But not always. Some of the pacing seems off. Uneven. Maybe it was overly edited? Some sections feels as if there were two different writers.

All in all, "The Beautiful Struggle" is a good book, and I enjoyed learning about Coates relationships with his brothers, parents and friends. But it's not what I expected. Maybe because it doesn't read like most young adult books do? (At least the ones I've read that target ages under 18). I get that Coates himself was an advanced reader of literature during his teens, but I'm unsure if this has a strong enough story to interest today's teens?

Special thanks to Delacorte Press for an eARC, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I have such conflicting feelings about this book. There were parts of it that were pure poetry and the words were beautiful. But, as a whole, I just didn't get into this book. I felt like it was a group of vignettes strung together to make a story. I know that life is messy and not clear cut, but I kept having trouble getting a clear picture of this family. Were they living in a rough neighborhood or not? Did Tanehisi find solace in academia and study or not? It was hard getting a clear picture of the narrator. There were portions of the book that had local slang and vernacular that I didn't understand. Is that my privilege talking or was it a barrier for other readers?

Overall, my expectations were not inline with this book. I saw the cover, the length and hoped that it would be a book that struggling readers would devour. I don't imagine struggling readers at my high school being able to sift through to get to the meat of the story.

I wanted to know more about the characters. What exactly was Big Bill up to? What contributed to the father's softening with his youngest son? I just wanted to know more about the internal workings of the world of this narrator.