“The idea of voluntary segregation went against every value I had been taught. What did being born black have to do with excellence?”

For 100 pages thus far, this book is a pretty short read. I am not sure how i feel about it at this point, actually.  I really enjoy the pre-civil rights setting in Harlem, I think it is such a detrimental time period that needs to be looked at, and this book paints a decent image of what it may have been like.  I also enjoy the, so far, overall tone of the book.  Myers use of humor is pretty on point and has fair timing which definitely keeps me interested.

I also think he does a fair job of characterizing himself. Naturally, I do not read him as too much of a reliable implied-author because when writing of oneself, we often amend the historic past to how we viewed it, which may be slightly different than what actually happened. That being noted, I do believe certain dialogues between him and other characters, such as his adoptive parents, did happen; maybe just not quite how it was in this book.  I also enjoyed how his younger-self enjoyed things different than the kids around him, like his books.  Explaining how he puts them into a paper bag to hide them from other kids really spoke to me.  That era is similar to the era's after it, where kids are bullied for intelligence, or for simply enjoying a good read. 

His need to be an author and writer is powerful to me, as well.  I think a young boy his age, in that time era, and being a person of color, what a feat it must have been to even have that dream.  

I am curious to see where this book goes and what it's climax will be, despite my slight less interest in it in comparison to the others we have read in class. 

So far, I give it a C+