The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Booth, Coe. Tyrell. Scholastic Press, 2010.

Tyrell is a Black teenager who grew up in the projects of The Bronx with his parents and younger brother, Troy. Tyrell’s father is currently incarcerated, not for the first time, and so he faces housing instability with his mother’s unemployed status. Tyrell spends most of his time with his girlfriend, Novisha, who he loves and wants to marry in the future. He dreams of working to support her while she studies in college.

Tyrell’s family seeks help from the Emergency Assistance Unit to obtain permanent housing and they are moved into the Bennett Motel. The motel is intensely dirty and cockroach-ridden, highlighting Tyrell’s desperation to earn enough money to rent a proper apartment. His mother frequently criticizes him for not providing for her the way his father used to before he was incarcerated for throwing illegal parties around the city. This point of contention is the main issue in Tyrell’s relationship with his mother because he resents her unwillingness to find a way to provide for her children rather than waiting for them to do it.

Tyrell begins spending more time with Jasmine, a girl living with her older sister at the motel, to take his mind off of his growing relationship problems and money woes. Jasmine is desperately searching for a person to love her and value her and begins to throw herself at Tyrell despite him already having a girlfriend. The pair is sexually active, and both of their feelings begin to grow stronger. Tyrell is protective of Jasmine and seeks to take care of her in the ways that he feels Novisha is pulling away from him and trying to focus on her studies and being independent.

As Tyrell and Novisha’s rocky relationship continues, he grows increasingly jealous of a boy named Jamal that he reads about in her journal. She initially tells him that a boy from school is bothering her, but Tyrell is suspicious that she might actually be interested in Jamal. Tyrell continues juggling Jasmine’s feeling and the preparation for his party all the while.

Tyrell is preoccupied with planning the party and not being caught and ending up in jail like his father. His financial pressures mount and culminate on the night of the party. Tyrell is a success and earns enough money to get out of the motel, but it comes at a high cost. His mother left Troy alone in the motel room for hours and he was taken away by children’s protective services agents. Tyrell wants to get his brother back, but he does not want to continue trying to fill a fatherly role for his brother. He loses contact with his mother when he returns to live in the projects with his new income and plans to continue planning parties to make ends meet and nurture a career as a DJ.