1. Way Past Cool is very topical, using slang, references to music and television, and clothing that are typical for young adults in Oakland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As slang and fashions change, will audiences still be able to understand what the novel is talking about? Will it still seem relevant to the lives of inner-city youngsters?

2. Way Past Cool has many comments such as this by Lyon to Gordon that "ain't nobody gonna be happy nowheres till everybody happy everywheres, no matter what color they be." Explain why these assertions make or do not make the novel too preachy.

3. Ty spends much of the novel despising God, so why does he agree to go to church with Markita at the end of Way Past Cool? Why is Ty angry with God?

4. Is Way Past Cool a good way to learn about...