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    Drive-By
    Drive-By
    Drive-By
    Ebook69 pages56 minutes

    Drive-By

    By Lynne Ewing

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    "Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: Those who were dead and those who were going to die. Joining a gang doesn't make sense to Jimmy..."

    Jimmy is dead now—gunned down in front of his little sister, Mina, and his brother, Tito. And Tito is left wondering: Was Jimmy in a gang after all? Ice Breaker Joe and Lamar think so. They say Jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned, Tito may have to pay—with his life.

    Some people go to the crossroads, but Tito's crossroads laid themselves down in front of him. His brother Jimmy sprawls on the sidewalk at his feet. Shot in a drive by. Now a gang claims that Jimmy was their Ace Man. They say Tito must take his place and resolve some unfinished business. They give him a gun. "You need protection. It's not safe on the street." What path will be choose at the crossroads? He knows one leads to safety and one to death . . . but which is which?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperTeen
    Release dateSep 13, 2011
    ISBN9780062028334
    Drive-By
    Author

    Lynne Ewing

    Bestselling author Lynne Ewing began writing as a way to unwind from her job with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. She is the author of Drive-By, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age; Party Girl, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, an Amazon Editor's Choice, and a Teen People recommended read; and the bestselling Daughters of the Moon series, which was also an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. She lives in Washington, DC.

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    Reviews for Drive-By

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Tito, Mina, and Jimmy are walking near the library when a car pulls up. Jimmy goes over to talk to them, and, little does he know that they will be his last words. Jimmy is gunned down in front of Tito and Mina. Tito struggles with the difficulties of who to trust, who killed Jimmy, and basically what to do with his life now that his best friend betrays him and becomes one of the gangbangers that killed his brother.
    • 2/5
      Jimmy, the oldest son of a poor family living in LA, tries to make enough money to help his family after his father moves back to Tennessee. What Tito, Mina and his Mother don’t know is that the random, drive-by shooting of Jimmy is not so random after all. Ewing’s prose however, well intentioned is choppy, predictable and overly sentimental.If You Liked This, Try: Party Girl by Lynne Ewing, Annie’s Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, a Pregnant Teenager by Anonymous, It Happened to Nance: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary by Beatrice Sparks, Almost Lost: The True Story of an Anonymous Teenager’s Life on the Streets by Beatrice Sparks, Cut by Patricia McCormick.

    Book preview

    Drive-By - Lynne Ewing

    UNFRIENDLY FIRE

    I peeked around the building.

    A car stopped near Jimmy. The shadows and trees made it hard to see. Four guys slouched low in the car. I could barely see their heads. I thought maybe they were asking Jimmy for directions.

    Then gunshots exploded.

    White angry fire flashed from the backseat.

    Jimmy fell.

    1

    I don’t go out at night anymore.

    Sometimes I have to for Mom.

    Like the night Jimmy died.

    Jimmy was my brother. Mom laughed at all his dumb jokes. She called him funny bones.

    I’ve never known anyone who could make people laugh as much as Jimmy could.

    Mina, my little sister, giggled at Jimmy’s faces. Mina wants to be a princess when she grows up. She’s still at an age where she thinks that’s possible.

    I’m the serious one. Jimmy called me a worry toad.

    That made Mom laugh.

    They’re all good-looking. Not me. I don’t look like I belong in the same family. My nose is too big for my face. My eyes are too small for my nose. Mom says I have character, though. Zev across the street says that means I’m honest and dependable.

    The night Jimmy died, Jimmy and I were walking Mina home from a birthday party. Mina had tied her long black hair on one side in a ponytail. She thinks that’s what a princess does.

    Near the library, the wind started blowing. Leaves fell from the elm trees and scattered across the sidewalk. The library, dark and silent, had been closed for a long time. It looked haunted. Everyone said it was.

    So, of course, Jimmy decided to play the claw.

    I can’t control my hand, he yelled.

    He made his right hand into a claw.

    Help me, he cried.

    Mina screamed.

    Don’t do it, Jimmy, I said. We’re already late.

    Jimmy stumbled around, fighting his right hand. He used to scare me with that claw routine, too.

    He ran after Mina. He made it look like his hand was chasing Mina. He staggered after her, fighting his hand.

    She squealed and ran.

    I hated Jimmy’s claw routine more than anything. There was no way you could stop him when he started.

    That was the last thing I saw him do.

    Mina ran behind the library.

    Great work, Clawman, I said. We were supposed to be home an hour ago.

    That was my fault mostly. I couldn’t say no to a second piece of chocolate birthday cake.

    Don’t be such a worry toad, Jimmy said. Then he smiled.

    I shook my head. We shouldn’t be out this late.

    Tito, relax. Okay? Jimmy said.

    My real name is Timothy Thomas, but everyone calls me Tito.

    I left Jimmy alone on the sidewalk and ran after Mina.

    Behind the library, wind rushed through the trees, making shadows shift and change shape. Branches creaked and groaned.

    I found Mina right away. Without the claw chasing her, she didn’t think it was fun to run and scream. Besides, it was dark and scary behind the library.

    You got to stop running away from me, I said. Someday I won’t be able to find you.

    She didn’t answer. She didn’t think a brother should talk to his princess sister that way.

    We walked toward the front of the library, our shoes kicking up dead leaves.

    That’s when I heard music, hard and heavy loud music. The beat made my chest pound. I knew gangbangers were rolling nearby.

    Tires skidded.

    I peeked around the building.

    A car stopped near Jimmy. The shadows and trees made it hard to see. Four guys slouched low in the car. I could barely see their heads. I thought maybe they were asking Jimmy for directions.

    Then gunshots exploded.

    White angry fire flashed from the backseat.

    Mina grabbed her ears. When she feels really scared, she doesn’t scream and run. She freezes

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