Greg Neri

Born: Pasadena, CA

Occupation: Author

Genres: Young-adult

Notable works: Yummy, Chess Rumble

Greg Neri is an American author who goes by the pen name G. Neri, and is known for his work in young-adult fiction. He has written in free-verse (Chess Rumble), novelistic prose (Surf Mules, Ghetto Cowboy), and for graphic novels (Yummy). Neri has received multiple awards from the American Library Association and the International Reading Association among other honors. As a filmmaker, he wrote, produced, and directed the indie feature A Weekend with Barbara und Ingrid and the animated short A Picasso on the Beach.

Personal life and education

Greg Neri was raised in Los Angeles, CA. He moved to Santa Cruz, CA to attend the University of California at Santa Cruz. Initially pursuing a career as a filmmaker, he later became Head of Production for two award-winning interactive media agencies in Los Angeles. In 2001, he illustrated his first book for Scholastic, but turned to writing in 2005. He currently resides in Florida with wife and daughter.

Career

Chess Rumble

Neri’s 2007 debut novella, Chess Rumble (Lee and Low Books, 2007), is about an 11 year old inner city teen named Marcus who is one punch away from being kicked out of school. Angry at his sister's death and his absent father, when he is pushed to the brink by a bully, Marcus fights back with his fists. But when Marcus meets CM, a street-wise chess master, he is challenged to fight his battles on the chess board.

Inspired by inner-city school chess enrichment programs, Chess Rumble explores the ways this strategic game can empower teens with life skills.

Neri talked about discovering the world of urban chess mentors through his editor at Lee and Low Books. “I loved the idea of using chess strategy as a way to approach life. I had dealt with a few teens who had come from troubled pasts and had difficulty finding an outlet for their inner struggle. So the idea of pairing a kid like this with a chess mentor who did not back down came naturally.”

Neri hopes that readers will come away from Chess Rumble “think[ing] about their lives and the choices they make before they make them. I hope they are intrigued to play chess, and maybe start thinking about acting on, instead of reacting to, negative situations. Acting considers what can happen if you make one choice versus another. Reacting just responds impulsively to the problem instead of thinking ahead three steps and maybe making a better choice.”

Chess Rumble received high acclaim from critics and bloggers. School Library Journal said “This book will become a standby pick for reluctant readers.” The book was highly honored, being named a Notable Book by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. In 2010, Neri received the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award from the International Reading Association for his free-verse on Chess Rumble.

Surf Mules

Neri’s first novel Surf Mules (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2009), revolves around two California surfers who find themselves embroiled in a world of disorganized crime. Logan Tom and his lifelong buddy Z-boy inadvertently get sucked into the world of drug muling right out of high school. This leads them on a harrowing and funny journey across country which pushes their friendship to the limits. The novel ends tragically, but Logan Tom emerges as a survivor bent on finding his way through life.

Surf Mules received great reviews from the major journals. School Library Journal said "Neri's novel catches readers' interest on the very first page and propels them to the end in this intense, funny, and exciting read... it is a definite buy." Booklist added that Surf Mules is “Harrowing... Neri delivers a powerful story that doesn't flinch... Sometimes brutal, but always realistic, this will find an audience among teens looking for gritty contemporary fiction." And Publisher's Weekly chimed in, "The tortured but loving friendship between Logan and Z-boy proves poignant and heartbreaking. Logan's agonized wrestling with morally ambiguous choices and his flawed yet appealing family and friends should find a wide audience."

Neri says “My books are provocative by nature. They deal with subject matters many adults might feel uncomfortable talking about: Gangs, drugs, teen violence, sex, stalking, life in the inner city. I try to show these topics honestly without dogma or stigma attached. They show the truth as I have seen it and hopefully, they provoke discussion and thought. I hope readers get something real out of Logan's fictional journey to adulthood. His decisions are very real. The key for him and for us, is to learn from these choices, good and bad, and to keep moving forward.”

Yummy

His most acclaimed work to date, the graphic novel Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty (Lee and Low Books, 2010) is about Robert “Yummy” Sandifer, who was eleven years old in 1994 when he became a fugitive from justice after accidentally killing a neighbor girl. Neri creates a fictional narrator who watches what happens to Yummy and he seeks help from the gang he is trying to impress. Instead, they turn on him when he becomes a liability. The book asks hard questions: Was Yummy a thug who got what he deserved? Or was he just as much a victim as the killed he killed? As our hero says, “I tried to figure out who the real Yummy was. The one who stole my lunch money? Or the one who smiled when I shared my candy with him? I wondered if I grew up like him, would I have turned out the same?”

The book was named one of the Best Books of 2010 by Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. It also has received five starred reviews--from Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, School Library Journal, the Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books, and VOYA.

Kirkus Reviews described it by saying, “A haunting, ripped-from-the-headlines account of youth gang violence in Chicago provides the backdrop for a crucial mediation on right and wrong. A much-needed look at the terrifying perils of life on the margins that will have all readers pondering the heady question of moral responsibility." Booklist added it was "A harrowing portrait... Yummy will earn both the reader’s livid rage and deep sympathy, even as the social structure that created him is cast, once again, as America’s undeniable shame. This is a graphic novel that pushes an unsightly but hard to ignore socio-political truth out into the open."

Neri says about the story “Back in 1994 I was a filmmaker teaching workshops to kids in the inner-city schools of Los Angeles. When the Yummy story broke, a lot of discussions started popping up among the kids. Some felt Yummy was a straight-up thug who got what he deserved. Others felt he was a victim too. At the time, there was a gang war going on in the area and there had been several memorials for students who'd been killed. Many of the kids had siblings who were in gangs or had been affected by gangs. It was a loaded topic. I couldn't get the story out of my head.” He added “or any kids dealing with gangs or thinking about joining a gang, I just want to plant a seed of doubt, add another voice that says, “Think before you leap.” My telling some kids to stay out of gangs means nothing to them. But Yummy’s story is such a compelling wake-up call that I don’t have to say anything, or moralize on the issues. Readers can draw their own conclusions by seeing what happened to Yummy. There are no easy answers to be found, but hopefully the book will spark a lot of needed discussion.”

His next novel Ghetto Cowboy (Candlewick) is scheduled for release in September, 2011.

Writing approach

In some recent interviews, Neri was asked about what themes he writes about and for whom? His responses were as follows:

“I definitely write books for boys in urban landscapes. My characters are the neglected, the misunderstood. And I’m definitely drawn to unique worlds that most people don’t know about, be it inner city chess, ghetto cowboys, surf mules, or junior gangsters in the southside of Chicago. My theme, I guess, is about finding your way through the urban jungle by stepping through unexpected doors that open and change your life.”

“I’m trying to re-think the notion of what a book means to urban teens. Many teens can make it through high school without ever having read a book of fiction. But that’s because to them, books are big, full of words, and told in a voice that is alien to them. Most of these kids are now born into a more visual society, so I think playing with graphic novels and illustrations and using voices and characters that you don’t see often in literature is a big plus for reluctant readers in the city. I see my books as gateway books to Jane Austen.”

“Community has been very important in my journey as a writer. I would not be where I am today without them. Teachers and librarians have given me tons of love and support and keep asking for more, which makes me want to write more. And my readers, those urban teen boys who don’t like to read, inspire me to write for them when I see them getting turned onto reading…sometimes literally in front of my eyes. All these folks keep me going and I see them getting inspired by what I write, so we feed off each other for sure.”

Bibliography

Novels

1.Surf Mules (June 2009, ISBN-10: 0399250867)

2.Ghetto Cowboy (September 2011, ISBN: TBA)

Graphic Novels

1.Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty (August 2010, ISBN-13: 978-1584302674)

Free-verse novellas

1.Chess Rumble (December 2007, ISBN-13: 978-1584302797)

Easy Readers (as illustrator)

1.Hooray for Teeth (April 2001, ISBN-13: 978-0439206426)

Articles and short stories

1.Beginning the Journey to a Finished Novel(article)

2.The Run (short story)

3.How to Hook Urban Non-Readers (article)

4.Wahoo: the Incredible Adventures of Chief Wahoo McDaniel, Wrestling Superstar (short story)

External links

1. Author Website

2. Lee and Low Books