I read When I was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds in order to help a student who is writing an essay on this novel.

Firstly, I didn't like it very much. I'm not a fan of books written for teenagers about violence, guns, and gangs. The only one I've truly liked was The Hate U Give. So I wasn't coming at this book with an unbiased position. I was ready to dislike it, which probably affected my opinion on it.

The novel is about Ali, a fifteen-year old black boy who lives in a beat-up area of Brooklyn. He goes to school, is learning to box, and keeps an eye out for his younger sister while his mother works two jobs. The sister, Jazz, seems far more mature than her older brother. The book follows Ali while he learns about the foundations of family and friendship.

Not a great read, but a teenager might find the story tempting and interesting. ( )

This was my first Jason Reynolds' book and I liked it well enough to make me want to read more. I liked the characters and complex relationships. The ending was maybe not what I expected but that's okay. It wasn't bad, just not what I expected. Although there is some language I'd recommend it to YA readers, especially male YA readers ( )

This is a solid realistic fiction story told from a teen boy's perspective. I am annoyed by the gun on the cover because it is entirely misleading and could prevent people from purchasing the book or promoting it to kids. The story is about friendship and family, and it's told well, with plenty of real-life complications and messy relationships. ( )

When I Was the Greatest is a good book, but it isn’t a great book. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the story or with the writing, just that there isn’t that special something that makes it memorable. If anything, its length threw me off. Considering more recent novels of similar storylines, I expected something bigger and more vivid. I don’t feel that reading the book was a waste of time, but if you asked me in two years what I remember about When I Was the Greatest, I’m not sure I would be able to tell you. It just wasn’t memorable.

Well, mostly unmemorable. One of the three principal characters, Needles, was memorable. Needles is a young Black man with Tourette’s syndrome. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had a character with Tourette’s syndrome and it was interesting to see that representation. I’m not sure how good the representation was – Needles was a supporting character with limited dialogue but a central purpose. I enjoyed the fact this character existed, the story behind his name, and the important impact he had on Ali and Noodles.

When I Was the Greatest is a story about a young Black man who lives with his mom and his little sister in a poor part of New York City and his father is mostly absent but still cares. It’s about being in the wrong place at the wrong time and making the right decision and still having to deal with the negative consequences. And it’s simplest form, it’s a storyline we’ve seen before. I would be a little bit more harsh if this book had only come out in 2022, but at the time of publication it was a less common story and more important for representation. These days, I think there are better choices out there with more complex characters and settings, but When I Was the Greatest is an easy read for less advanced YA readers. There are important themes and questions and it’s a generally good book to have in one’s library or classroom collection.

While When I Was the Greatest would not be my first recommendation for a book by Jason Reynolds, it’s not bad, and if it catches your eye it’s certainly worth reading. It is a quick read with a variety of diverse characters and written by a Black author. It’s always good to support diverse authors and normalize having books with a variety of representation available for all readers, so in that way, I recommend it. But if you’re looking for some thing a bit riveting and unexpected, this might not be the best choice. It’s good enough, but it’s not the greatest. ( )

Excellent story, excellent storytelling. Important author in terms of gathering a variety of American perspectives (in this case, Black, lower socio-economic, teen) while still exploring universal themes of family, friendship, and navigating adolescence. Loved it. I will be reading more of Reynolds' books. ( )