never too much

Rating:
Summary: Never Too Much (Review) 4 1/2 Stars)
Review: Jaeyel Imes takes you through a realistic journey a teenage father, a sexually confused youth, an incarcerated brotha and a boy with suicidal thoughts. Imes is more focus on Never Too Much by subtly linking the four major characters through minor characters and events. Imes also keeps it real by showing the reactions to the young men's decision from all sides. The bonus story included in this published version of the work adds more dimensions and sheds more light on some of the minor characters in the book.

When you read The Rhyme, The Story N Me and Never Too Much, you can easily see where Imes has grown as a writer. Where as TRTSNM is more entertainment and keeps the reader imagination flowing with indirect hints; Never Too Much is more straight forward and unapologetic in its attempts to show the world the problems young African American men face.

This book is perfect for book clubs, church groups and the barber shops where real problems are discussed and then debated on to find a solution that is workable for everybody. But do keep an open mind because if you don't, you are bound to miss the gems that are sure to make this book a classic.

Mh2002

Rating:
Summary: On My Own
Review: Never Too Much is a gritty tale of the lives of several young, urban, African Americans. The story follows the lives of teens that have more than a handful of life's challenges. Barel has attempted suicide before and is struggling to fight the urge to try again. Davon is experimenting sexually and trying to come to terms with his true sexual identity. Rahliem is paying for his past mistakes while trying to hold his family together. Jalail is a teenage parent working to take care of his child and his baby's mother. Throughout the course of the book, each of these characters deal with adversity and drama while trying to survive.

With tighter editing this book has the potential to be much more than a 3 star book. Imes does an excellent job capturing the voice of teens and young adults and as a result, the dialogue was realistic. Each of the primary characters is rotated as narrators in the book, and as a result each has a strong voice. Never Too Much is a short book, but it covers several different story lines. I think the book would have been more powerful if the author had focused attention on a couple of these story lines and developed them more or made the book a little longer. Still, I found the book to be a quick and pleasant read. I look forward to watching the continued growth of this author and would definitely read more of his work in the future.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

Rating:
Summary: On My Own
Review: Never Too Much is a gritty tale of the lives of several young, urban, African Americans. The story follows the lives of teens that have more than a handful of life's challenges. Barel has attempted suicide before and is struggling to fight the urge to try again. Davon is experimenting sexually and trying to come to terms with his true sexual identity. Rahliem is paying for his past mistakes while trying to hold his family together. Jalail is a teenage parent working to take care of his child and his baby's mother. Throughout the course of the book, each of these characters deal with adversity and drama while trying to survive.

With tighter editing this book has the potential to be much more than a 3 star book. Imes does an excellent job capturing the voice of teens and young adults and as a result, the dialogue was realistic. Each of the primary characters is rotated as narrators in the book, and as a result each has a strong voice. Never Too Much is a short book, but it covers several different story lines. I think the book would have been more powerful if the author had focused attention on a couple of these story lines and developed them more or made the book a little longer. Still, I found the book to be a quick and pleasant read. I look forward to watching the continued growth of this author and would definitely read more of his work in the future.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

Rating:
Summary: Who's watching these Kids...
Review: Never too much tells the raw and gritty story of teenage boys merely
surviving. Jalail becomes a father for the first time at age 16 and
then a second time 3 weeks before his 17th birthday. His girlfriend,
Anjanetta is 14 when she becomes a mother. Amazing huh; well life
doesn't get better for their friends.

Davon is 15,believes he is gay and struggles daily with the hatred
from his parents; Barel is unable to tolerate the verbal abuse from
his father or the feeling of loneliness any longer. So he comes up
with a master plan to take a gun and shoot himself. Rahliem is
Davon's brother and protector, he is fighting for his life in
the "big house." I am not sure how these males will overcome any of
their issues when they were not given what they need to do that,
however you will find yourself rooting for them.

I had some difficulties with this book, and one of them was the
story; I could not imagine these children running things. Their
demeanor was not that of tough guys nor were they hoodlums, they were
written as ordinary teenagers with far out issues. One question for the author, who raised these children, where is the history?

Jaeyel Imes has a wonderful writing style and I plan to keep my ears open for this author's future work. If you are between the ages of 15-20 I believe you will find this book exciting