"Adapted from the adult memoir by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Water Dancer and Between the World and Me, this father-son story explores how boys become men, and quite specifically, how Ta-Nehisi Coates became Ta-Nehisi Coates.

As a child, Ta-Nehisi Coates was seen by his father, Paul, as too sensitive and lacking focus. Paul Coates was a Vietnam vet who'd been part of the Black Panthers and was dedicated to reading and publishing the history of African civilization. When it came to his sons, he was committed to raising proud Black men equipped to deal with a racist society, during a turbulent period in the collapsing city of Baltimore where they lived.

Coates details with candor the challenges of dealing with his tough-love father, the influence of his mother, and the dynamics of his extended family."

What makes a great memoir is the universality of lived experiences, the novelistic narratives, and engaging characters. This memoir of one youth's journey during the 1980s and 1990s, has it all. I haven't read the original version of the memoir, but this one adapted for young adult readers is sure to engage. 

From the descriptions of the neighborhood, the family expectations and desires of Ta-Nehisi Coates himself, we feel the conflict on the pages. The reader can empathize with his parents and Ta-Nehisi" Examples of when he was punished:
"He swung like he (Dad) was afraid, like the world was closing in and cornering him like he was trying to save my life. ..The conference consisted of only one sentence that mattered—who would you rather do this: me or the police?...He was waiting for me to finally police myself."

Half of the first chapter may be hard for readers due to the slang used but stick with the narrative because this is an excellent memoir.

This is the story of a struggle against oneself. Coates struggles to be the man he knows he can be and his father wishes he was. A struggle against his father, who was Conscious, and knew that more would be expected from a son. He struggle against his mother who never gave up and a brother who was there but distant. 

Drums may have saved his life. 

The language and poetry of this novel is a perfect read for students who are ready to take that next step in narrative nonfiction that is truly beautiful and inspiring

Ta-Nahesi Coates’ wrote the original version of this memoir, Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood, in 2008, for adults. This adaptation is aimed at ages 12 and up, those formative years when younger minds begin to look toward the future, what they want theirs to look like, and how much energy they are willing to put forth to attain that future.

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 was clueless - I was the type of child who lost his hats and jackets on the first warm day of the year. Dad would lecture, and the words would fly straight past. It was like I heard them but could not translate.’ I thought what a relief this statement would be to all the other parents with children who walk through their days with their heads in the clouds, considering the man he has become, and the success Coates has achieved.

Having read his Between the World and Me, We Were Eight Years in Power and The Water Dancer I am glad that I had the opportunity to read this and learn more about his journey from child to man. His life as a child in the 80’s living in Baltimore with an imposing, authoritarian father, and half-siblings who were also cousins is inspiring. His father was also a publisher, and managed to juggle his life to not only provide for his children, but to spend time with all of them. A man that Coates says, they all knew ’was flawed, but still he retained the aura of a prophet.’

A beautifully shared, personal coming-of-age memoir that shares his struggles, his obvious love and appreciation for his mother and her belief in him, his love and appreciation for his father despite their oftentimes strained relationship.

Published: 12 Jan 2021

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press

I wanted to love this book.  I wanted it to be as wonderful as The Hate You Give or On The Come Up.  I LOVED those books.  This one was just SO difficult to read.  I couldn’t even get through the first chapter before I gave up on it.  I’m super bummed because I love this genre, but it just wasn’t for me.

Wow! I love this book.  
I will definitely recommend this to my co-teacher and see if she can use it with the ELA class.  I teacher science and math, but will definitely be recommending this to my students.  I hope my co-teacher can use it for her ELA/Social Studies classes.  

Very well written.  I give this book 5 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a book to read. This book will be on my re-read shelf. I know I will learn new things every time I do.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest read.

An inspirational tale of one man's journey to find out who he is and who he wants to be. This coming of age memoir allows young readers to identify with the many struggles that black youths come to terms with.

Beautiful writing! Beautiful read!  Any words written here will not do the work justice...highly recommend this book!
Thank you NetGalley for advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've been following the growing diversity in the YA memoir scene this year, and was happy to see Ta-Nehisi, a writer I use often in my classroom already, was set to publish a YA version of his memoir. Since this book focuses on his childhood up to his high school graduation, I thought this would be the perfect addition to my classroom library, or even my curriculum for American Lit. 

As always, Coates' prose is elegant and poetic. I normally don't bother writing down quotes in my book journal from YA novels -- most of what I read in YA isn't worth that much handwriting during a read. But this book has a lot of gems that could be great for getting kids thinking or talking about themes and current events. But as I read, I wondered if some of even my upper-level high school students would be able to understand some of the passages. Some of the vocabulary and syntax would prove challenging enough for many young adults to disengage with the story. 

His life story was engaging enough, but I wish he spent a little more time with his "character development". I felt that his father was well-developed, but I wasn't super connected with his voice or any of his other family members, mostly because the book was so short! But there are some passages that I'll return to, and maybe even use for some model writing activities or mentor sentences in class.

This is the young people’s version of Coates’ autobiography, which retells the story of his growing up in Baltimore up to college.  His father, Paul Coates, looms large in his story.  The former Vietnam Vet and Black Panther was “conscious” and worked to expand his children’s opportunities and world view.  

The language is poetic and precise and rather challenging, considering that it is the young person’s version.  But I hooked into the stories of him growing up and coping with small minded teachers and school administrators who struggled over his name and others who saw gifts and talents in him and I think that other readers will too.

Ta-Nehisi Coates' writing is stunning. The rhythm and pacing Coates uses allows for the his readers to vividly experience the life Coates has lived. Coates is blunt and honest- characteristics that people connect with. This bluntness exposes the readers to their own struggles about growing up, figuring out who they are, and pushing back on their parent's expectations just as Coates experienced in Baltimore. Everyone has struggles of their own but what is beautiful about Coates' writing is his ability to connect his struggles with the reader's struggles. 

As a teacher the one surprising aspect I found in this book was the language. This book was adapted for young readers and I found that some of the language would be challenging for some young adults. In addition to the language that might be a challenge I found that some of the metaphors and allusions would require outside knowledge for a young adult to understand situations in the memoir. I myself struggled with a few of them. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the Advanced Readers Copy.

Lyrical, powerful, and haunting, Coates’ memoir adapted for younger readers dives and hovers over his Baltimore childhood through teenage years, and the men and women who shaped him. Chief among these is his father, mother, brothers, and lessons learned on the street and in the halls of school. Born in 1976, Coates’ memoir bursts with the energy of his lifetime: the cultural revolution of music and pivotal influence of black artists and athletes, including the looming shadow of drugs and perceptions of white society.
His father, a man of Conscience, former Black Panther, and man determined to rescue his people’s history, carried high expectations for his children - especially his sons.

All journeys involve struggles, but a black boy in America - well, that’s different. And each individual is different, too, as the reader experiences when crammed into Coates’ house with his brothers, meeting his friends, finding out what happens. There are no bad people in Coates’ life - just people. Circumstances and rules, life and the struggle.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the Advanced Readers Copy.

I appreciate Ta-Nehisi Coates' knowledge and perspective and admire his writing ability, so I was really excited to read his memoir. Even better for teacher-me that there is a young adult version!

This memoir is Coates' journey up until college, and it's a really interesting read, full of struggles and switchbacks. I love that the author so willingly shares young Coates' mistakes, his bravado, his lack of drive/focus. Young people need to see that success and maturity are hard earned and built on fumbles and failures. Coates admits to those. He also admits to some lucky breaks, which we all hope to get. Coates is quick to show the love and support around him, too, which helps strengthen the ideas that we aren't doing it alone... and we don't have to do it alone.

Good messages all around in this interesting life's telling.

I will say that I was surprised that this is considered a young adult version of Coates' memoir. I found the language beautiful but often challenging. The cultural and historic allusions sometimes took me a moment to catch and I'm sure I missed some. Same with the vernacular. Some is dated and I understand because of my age, some is vernacular that my students may know but it's also not common language or references used in many young adult books that I'm familiar with. The language won't be accessible to some students who would really value the story and its messages.

I had read the original of this book, so maybe that is why I am so disenchanted by this version. 
However,  if I look at it with the eyes of someone who has never read this before, it would be considered a wonderful read.  The orignal was beautiful as well.

For those who love Coates, this is a good book for young adults. I still, however, feel that Between the World and Me is his best work, and for older young adults, a better read. I have a hard time when I feel like authors who are very great writers try to make things an easier read for younger people. Still, if I had nothing to compare the book to, it would be worthwhile. And teens need to read more books by Black men anyhow, so this is a good way to diversify your bookshelf.

Really loved this memoir. Coates' writing is phenomenal and I felt immersed in the stories he shared from growing up. Recommend for teens and adults.

I was gifted this digital advanced readers copy though NetGalley for my full, honest opinion. 

This book took me a while to get through. And honestly I WANTED to love it. However, it just didn’t do it for me. As it is marketed for young adults, I found this VERY difficult to read. I was constantly looking up words and becoming more and more frustrated with the vocabulary used. I think that the memoir itself is very powerful, but in looking at it through the lens of being YA, I just don’t see it as being very accessible to most young adults.

This is the story of a struggle against oneself. Coates struggles to be the man he knows he can be and his father wishes he was. A struggle against his father, who was Conscious, and knew that more would be expected from a son. He struggle against his mother who never gave up and a brother who was there but distant. 

Drums may have saved his life. 

The language and poetry of this novel will be a far reach for most of my 7th and 8th graders, but a perfect read for students who are ready to take that next step in narrative nonfiction that is truly beautiful and inspiring. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54453152-the-beautiful-struggle

The Beautiful Struggle (Adapted for Young Adults) is well written and engaging. It is a very complex read that builds text analysis skills as well as vocabulary. Knowing high-schoolers, I can see how the personal growth, coming of age, and father-son relationship will resonate with the young adult reader.

This book was engaging from the start and would likely be fantastic for a high school audience. The honesty and truth came out in the story with each word. I felt like he was allowing me into his childhood and by doing so I gain a better understanding of not only his specific situation but of kids who also had a similar background.

The original book is so lovely, but I feel a lot of magic is lost in this novel. Still accessible for students, but an awkward level where it is too complex for emerging readers and too reductive for confident readers.