TYLER JOHNSON WAS HERE

Marvin and his twin, Tyler, are anticipating a junk food binge after a convenience store run when they hear: Pop!Pop!Pop! JaQwan Kelly's narration turns from lighthearted to fearful, and he amps up tension when an aggressive white policeman draws a gun on the innocent black teens. This is only the first conflict Kelly dramatizes in a neighborhood that has "garden gnomes with bullet holes." He expresses Marvin's many forms of vulnerability, which change as quickly as that first scene. Marvin's worry about Tyler turns to fear when his brother goes missing, and then to anger and sadness when Tyler is killed by a policeman. Speedy emotional shifts mirror the story's fast pace as Kelly recounts Marvin's painful journey, marked by grief, outrage, and the realization of his true beliefs and needs. S.W © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2018]