When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds (2014)

There are two groups Ali is apart of: Ali, Noodles, and Needles and Ali, Jazz, and Mom. The two groups aren’t exclusive but there’s only so much Jazz and Mom know about what Ali does with Noodles and Needles. Sometimes, it’s better not to ask. No one asks about Needles anyway. Everybody knows he has Tourette’s Syndrome and the he has his ticks but it’s all good to everyone except Noodles, his own brother. Although he loves him, Noodles blames Needles and his disability for the reason why their dad left. So, when they’re all invited to the hottest party on the block with the condition that Needles comes with, Noodles can’t do anything but give in. But, like everything, it doesn’t go as everyone plans at the party and this time it might not be Needles fault.

I got a chance to read When I Was The Greatest when it was my book club’s book of the month. Jason Reynolds has been an author on my radar for awhile now, especially with his new collaborative book All American Boys. I didn’t really have any idea of what to expect going into this novel except that something great was going to happen. Now that I’ve finished the book (in two days), I can’t say that I was disappointed but I wasn’t impressed either.

Diverse Young Adult literature. Let’s talk about it. Or rather, the lack of it. This year, I’ve been a lot more attentive to my reading patterns and the whole Young Adult scene in general, and I find it a bit difficult to find book with lead characters of color. Of course, probably one of reasons I’ve never noticed it before is that I’m a white, teenage girl which happens to be what Young Adult books consist of. Jason Reynolds, Renee Watson, Adam Silvera, the whole lot from We Need Diverse Books, and a handful of other authors are changing that.

There’s one major thing I didn’t know about this book beforehand and if I knew it I would’ve enjoyed it was more: there is no serious plot line. We were all discussing it in book club and we decided that it’s more of a snapshot into the lives of Ali, Noodles, and Needles. The book is fairly short, only about 250 pages, and it follows a week of the boy’s lives and all the shenanigans they get into. Yes, there is one “big moment” about the sticky situation they get into, but even that doesn’t happen until was towards the end of the book.

When I Was The Greatest is a book about disability done both wrong and right. For the positive, Jason Reynolds did a really good job portraying Needles. He didn’t try to tell Needles from the first person perspective since he himself doesn’t have a disability but wrote from a point of view he would have: from the outside. On the other hand, it bugged me how Needles’ disability was talked about. Everyone acted like they were too afraid to actually say he has Tourette’s and instead referred to it as his “syndrome”. Over and over again, his syndrome was talked about as something dirty and secret.

Walking away from this book, I don’t remember anything I particularly liked or that stood out to me. In a year, I probably won’t remember anything about When I Was The Greatest.  I discussed this in book club, and someone brought up the point that sometimes reading books are about being in the moment, regardless of what you walk away with. I completely agree with that, but I also like to feel something from the books I’ve read instead of feeling like I haven’t read anything.

Nevertheless, When I Was The Greatest offers a diverse story that offers a much needed perspective in today’s times.

3 Stars