Way Past Cool: A Novel

Boston Globe

A powerful, bold, memorable debut.

Los Angeles Times

A brilliant piece of work from a young writer with a big talent....Like Hubert Selby's Last Exit to Brooklyn or Warren Miller's great novel Harlem, Mowry's book is a report from the front lines.

San Francisco Chronicle

Sometimes shocking, sometimes inspiring, always engaging, and ulitimately hopeful....Way Past Cool speaks for itself, loudly and eloquently, revealing its author as...clearly a master of fiction.

Terry McMillan

A stellar literary debut that should be read by all of mainstream America.

Library Journal

Set in Oakland's mean streets, this novel is a vivid portrayal of gang life from the inside. It involves a group of young teens, the Friends, whose turf is threatened by a mysterious drive-by shooting. When the same thing happens to the Crew, a rival gang, the two groups band together, ultimately uncovering a plot by Deek, a drug dealer, to incite a gang war and move in on their territory. The gangs lay a trap for Deek, resulting in a bloody showdown in an abandoned car wash. While Mowry sympathetically portrays gang members as victims of the adult world's lack of concern, he clearly recognizes ``the street'' as a dead end. What little hope exists in the novel is conveyed through Ty, Deek's bodyguard, and Markita, single mother, as they struggle toward self-respect and a better life. This is a violent, yet gripping, communique from the urban battlefront. Highly recommended.-- Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.