Homeboyz by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

From the Publisher

When Teddy Anderson's little sister Tina is gunned down randomly in a drive-by shooting, the gangstas who rule the streets in the Anderson family's rapidly deteriorating neighborhood dismiss the incident as just another case of RP, RT-wrong place, wrong time. According to gangsta logic, Tina doesn't even count as a statistic.
Teddy's family is devastated. Mrs. Anderson sinks into deep depression while Pops struggles to run both the household and his declining laundry business. The Andersons are shocked still further when Teddy is arrested and thrown in prison for attempted homicide after his elaborately laid plans for revenge against his sister's killer are foiled by the cops.
Teddy soon finds himself out of prison on house arrest, and in the capable hands of Officer Mariana Diaz, the smart, tough probation officer assigned to oversee his endless hours of community service. As part of the innovative rehabilitation program Diaz runs, Teddy is assigned to tutor Micah, a twelve-year-old orphan and would-be gansta.
As Teddy goes through the motions of complying with the terms of his probation, Diaz has no idea that he is using his genius-level computer hacker skills to plot his final vengeance and to defraud the state education system of hundreds of thousands of dollars. But even though Teddy thinks he knows it all, he fails to see how Micah's desperate need for love and trust just might have the power not only to pierce all Teddy's defenses, but to save his family.

VOYA

Seventeen-year-old Teddy Anderson is known for his moodiness and for his wizardry at computer hacking. When his little sister is accidentally killed during a gang-related shooting, Teddy assuages his grief by stalking her killers. His plan to avenge her death turns sour, however, when Teddy is arrested during his assault on the gang members. Now his grief-stricken family is further devastated because Teddy's promising future seems destroyed. He gets one chance at redemption via an experimental mentoring program that pairs him with a twelve-year-old boy named Micah. Micah's life has been one emotional disaster after another, and now he hovers on the brink of gang involvement. If Teddy can save Micah from the fate of gang warfare, he can escape imprisonment. At first Teddy resists the righteous path, brushing off Micah's predicament and plotting to finance his own escape. After realizing that Micah and Teddy's own shattered family members can heal each other, Teddy is able to accept a responsible role and reclaim his future. This third book in Sitomer's Hoopster trilogy also focuses on one of the Anderson siblings, and both Andre from The Hoopster (Hyperion, 2005/VOYA August 2005) and Tee-Ay from Hip-Hop High School (2006/VOYA April 2006) make appearances in this novel. There are a number of gritty scenes, including the opening sequence that describes a young girl's initiation into a gang. Although character development is thin and plot a bit incredible, teens who enjoy urban drama will be captivated by the steady flow of action.

Kirkus Reviews

When his sister is shot and killed in a gangland drive-by shooting, Teddy plots revenge, and the tension of this gritty and violent story lies in just how he will do it. Los Angeles gang leaders are like Pied Pipers of the inner city, luring people into their fold, and Sitomer explores the dynamics of the gangs-why they're attractive, how they operate and what societal factors contribute to their growth. Unfortunately, the well-meaning text too often sounds like an angry social worker expounding on the ills of society, to the detriment of the story itself. The character of Teddy is sometimes secondary to social analysis, and at other times he's too much the superhero to seem real-a consummate street fighter, a world-class computer hacker and a handsome, smart boy with a penchant for trouble. However, the fast-paced plot and lurking threat of violence will capture readers' attention, and older readers will find this a satisfying conclusion of the Hoopster trilogy. (Fiction. YA)

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