cover image Air Down Here

Air Down Here

Gil C. Alicea, Gil C. Alicia, Carmine DeSena. Chronicle Books, $14.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-0-8118-1048-7

With the typical dictated ``essay'' in this collection of 115 occupying a page or less, this thin book consists not so much of ``tales'' but of the short-attention-span observations of a teenager growing up in the 'hood. DeSena, a humor writer, became a pal of young Gil--he doesn't explain how--and decided to record Gil's reflections. Gil is a lively kid, speaking a mild street vernacular (``Some parents be fooling around''), and he reports on his dangerous school (most kids carry weapons), his ambition to become a famous hoopster and his struggle to deal with his mother's illness and, ultimately, with her death. He has acquired wisdom (``I have learned that even the most horrible things change'') and perspective (``I think to be having sex, you should be an age not in your teens''). Still, though this book may be accessible and interesting to teenagers, other efforts in journalism and memoir tell us much more about ghetto teens. Photos. (Oct.)