Reading Street Lit

A few years ago I was completely unfamiliar with street lit. I had no idea it existed, and I guess I did not know anybody who read this kind of thing. This was before I started working in a library, and I wasn't having conversations about trends in urban fiction or what teenagers were reading. I first saw street lit being read among a group of teens at an old job. They did exactly what we talked about in class last night: one would read a book, and the others waited to read it next. I heard a couple of them say their mothers had read the book before them. I remember feeling like, what kind of books are these? At the time I thought it was kind of funny, but now I see the value that those books had for this group of people. They almost definitely would not have been reading much if these books were not available to them.

Not that many teens ask me for street lit titles at the branch where I work. I do get requests for that genre, but usually from adults. One woman was really surprised and dismayed when she came in asking for True to the Game II and I told her it was in the Y.A. section. She said something along the lines of, "That is definitely not a y.a. book; It's a very adult book." I explained to her that it was really popular with a teen audience, but I could tell she was shocked, and this was someone who was reading the book herself. Now I feel better equipped to explain teenagers' interest in the genre and also to recommend titles.

On a side note, I can't believe Quadir comes back from the dead and I have to read True to the Game II as soon as possible. I'm assuming he faked his death but how did he fake being cold and dead when Gena wouldn't leave his side in the hospital?? I understand why people are anxious to pick up the next book. For me, it might be more of a fun thing, but I now appreciate the value for someone who has never been a big reader. Being anxious to pick up a book is a feeling that a lot of teens haven't had before, and street lit gives that to them.