

Her problems stem mainly from boys, and for most of her young life, she's truly boy-crazy. The daughter of hardworking parents, Tracy lives in Germantown, a middle-class neighborhood, and does well in school.

At the heart of this morality tale is Tracy Ellison, a young girl whose adolescence and teenage years are depicted largely as a monotonous soap opera.

The further twist is that it's set in a largely black neighborhood of Philadelphia, where whites exist only as an excuse for some silly Afrocentric theorizing. Tyree's debut is much longer than a YA novel, and far more vulgar, but the subject is pure teen: The ins and outs of dating matched up with a guide to fashion dos and don'ts.
