Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
By: G. Neri
Lee and Low Books 2010
Coretta Scott King Book Award: Author Honor 2011

This book was heartbreaking in so many ways. The story is sad, but what is even worse is the frequency of how much this story happens. I live on the south-side of Chicago and every time my family and I sit down for dinner we hear the same story ever night on the news. Yummy was a "shortie" that lived in Roseland (south-side of Chicago) and it was basically Hell for all of the people that lived there. It was a tough neighborhood that was plagued with gangs that would recruit kids to do their work since they couldn't be charged for felonies. Yummy was only 11 years old and by then he already had done 23 crimes and was in "Juvie" more than he was out. To anybody that didn't know anything about him they would just think he was a bad kid, but on the inside he was still a sweet kid. He had manners, loved candy, would carry around his teddy bear, and watch "The Little Rascals" with his friend. So many bad influences took over Yummy though. His parents were in jail and would beat him with electrical cords so he had tons of scars once he finally got to live with his grandma. Eventually, Yummy joined a Gang, The Black Disciples, and was given a gun. From here everything went downhill. Yummy accidentally killed a girl in the neighborhood, and from this point we don't know how we feel about him.

For a while I was very torn on Yummy throughout the story. I couldn't believe the side of him that was a killer, and a criminal. He seemed so unphased by the things he was doing and that was scary. However, I remembered that he was still just a 11 year old boy. An 11 year old boy can not really make great decisions for themselves, they need guidance and support more than anything. Yummy had neither. I felt terrible for Yummy because he was born into this and was stuck in a corner. What really got to me was all of the scenes with Yummy carrying around his teddy bear. It really brought me back to thinking that as bad as a person he was, he was still just a kid. A great description of his character was explained around the end when they compared him to dynamite, he was constantly being pushed and he finally just blew up.

I really loved this book because I feel like it was enlightening to see the background to what happened to so many kids that are in this situation. I believe that without the graphic novel style this book would not be what it is. I felt like it needed to be told in this way so you could see what he was going through and the area he was so you really understood it. I don't think it would be as striking if it was just written into paragraphs. I also felt like this book gave light to the situation that Yummy is in. I hear about this all of the time, but possibly others may not be as aware of how hard life can be. This book enlightens everyone about the horrors that these children have to deal with in their own backyard.  It makes the news even sadder to watch when I see these stories now because I think of Yummy with his teddy bear and how much he just wanted to go home.