Harlem Hustle by Janet McDonald

From the Publisher

Hustle’s personal Harlem was sorely in need of a renaissance. For him, it was the place where a scared kid named Eric Samson had been ditched by druggy parents and dismissed by frustrated teachers.

Abandoned to the streets to raise himself, Eric Samson knows life won’t be easy, beginning with the choices he must make. The fast cash of the streets still tempts him, but the threat of getting locked up – again – is daunting. Maybe Eric’s way out is as Harlem Hustle, the rapper he dreams of being. At his side is Manley “Ride” Freeman, surrogate brother and best friend. And Jeannette Simpson, the college-bound “round-the-way” girl he hopes will be more than a friend. But does Eric have the strength to leave the familiar street life behind and the courage to reach for his dream?

In her companion to Brother Hood, Janet McDonald once again captures the rhythms of Harlem in this fast, funny story of a restless teenager who uses the power of words to rise above it all.

Children's Literature

Eric Samson, otherwise known as Harlem Hustle, was just arrested for shoplifting. Although he is released, he realizes that his luck with this enterprise might be running out, so he needs another way out of poverty. Armed with his rhymes, he dreams of becoming a famous rapper. His friend and (he hopes) girlfriend, Jeanette, dreams of college. The juxtaposition of their two worlds allows for McDonald to make a rather heavy-handed statement about the rap industry and the state of African-American youth. All too often, adults (such as Jeannette's grandmother) give long-winded speeches that will not capture the attention of any young adult who needs to understand the message. The street language looses any impact it might have or connection it may make with a reader when combined with rather ordinary prose. McDonald quite obviously has a message she wants to send to her readers, but her methods with either bore or insult the very teens she wants to reach.

VOYA

Although rap might not be this reviewer's favorite art form, she cannot deny that the title character, seventeen-year-old dropout Eric Samson, aka "Hustle," grows endearing as the novel develops. Earnest, energetic, ethically challenged, and ever-so nanve, Hustle meets with his probation officer (shoplifting problems), rides the subway, flirts, and entertains delusions of becoming a platinum-plated rap star in an industry populated by thuggish corruption. Initially Hustle's raps are misogynistic, derivative. Thanks to several significant adult figures, he finds himself more open to poetry, black history, and positive lyrics. McDonald's prose incorporates contemporary culture, celebration of city (including poignant reference to the Twin Towers), and an ear for dynamic, realistic, dialect dialogue-initially nearly as challenging to read as Joseph's speeches in Wuthering Heights-that is refreshingly unlittered with the usual expletives. Even names like Brain Dancers, Hoots, Fort Hardknox, Slangstarr, MC Ride, and Pranksta supply energy and movement. The book title operates on several levels. McDonald's messages regarding dialect adapting to purpose/audience, respect for women, and the significance of history are clear, perhaps heavy-handed at times; however, readers will enjoy witnessing the supposedly street-smart Hustle discover how little he really knows about the world and himself.

Alan Review

Harlem is full of energy, life, and diversity. Hustle embodies the spirit of Harlem as a young African American teen with the dream of making it big as a rapper. A smart homeboy, Hustle knows his way around Harlem, where to shoplift and who to get to know to make it in the biz. Hustle is discovered at a party and for a short time believes this is the break he needs to enter the world of hip hop. But he soon discovers the world of rappers in gold chains with music labels is as crooked as the streets of Harlem. McDonald's story is full of the vibrant life that is Harlem, complete with contemporary language of the hip hop culture that appeals to teens of all races and backgrounds. Hustle's story is not predictable in that he examines his old ideas of what makes good lyrics and studies poetry in order to improve his own word play. This contemporary novel provides the interest needed for teen-age boys to get hooked immediately.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-In this wonderful novel about the hip-hop lifestyle, both its savory and unsavory aspects, McDonald once again strikes gold. She takes readers on a journey with Eric "Hustle" Samson, 17, in his search for money and fame. Abandoned by his "druggy parents," not in school, on probation, taken in by a friend's family, and hustling for money by shoplifting, the teen dreams of becoming a successful rapper known as Harlem Hustle. True, he has talent, but what he doesn't have is a real sense of who he is. What he does have, though, is a couple of friends and some other people who care about him. The author nails the hip-hop lingo and the street slang, and her characters strike just the right attitude. Along the way, she throws in a cultural-history lesson or two and lets the story take off. Young adults will love this book.-Carol Jones Collins, Columbia High School, Maplewood, NJ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Eric Samson goes by Double H, or Harlem Hustle, and lives with the family of his best friend, Manley "Ride" Freeman. "A wretched child who was never given anything but away-first to relatives, then to neighbors," Double H's thang is rap. Trying to shoplift, he gets unwanted attention from store detectives and then is mistaken for a real rap star. Full of jive talk, rap lyrics and enough blue language to be realistic, McDonald captures the flavor of desperation mixed with bravado that translates into a gripping tale of the hood. Early on, Hustle gets into a flashy party and meets real rap stars, producers and fans. There's a naivete contrasting with his street smarts that captures Hustle's vulnerability as he tries to make a demo and move up. Jeannette, a friend who attends a hotshot prep school and works in publishing, provides a needed contrast of values-as does the incredibly wealthy home of preppy Spencer Adams, a young man learning the family recording industry from the inside. Elements of smartness spar with smart-alecky repartee in this fast-paced ride about a universal longing for excellence at something, and being recognized for it. (Fiction. YA)

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