Tuesday, February 28, 2017

A Right to Be Hostile

A Right to Be Hostile by Aaron McGruder  Book: 255 pages

A Right to Be HostileTwo young black boys and their grandfather move from the South side of Chicago to the suburbs and hilarity ensues. This book had me laughing and really the only reason it's so funny is that all the leftist diatribe is coming from a school-aged boy. If these lines were spoken by a grown man this would just be a political comic, but coming from a boy of maybe 10 it is hilarious. I'm not sure why it's funny when children talk like adults, but it's a formula that works. Huey (named after Huey P. Newton of course) is a revolutionary whose goal it is to take down the capitalist, racist regime known as the American government. His views on society, entertainment and especially politics are unwavering. This comic is controversial and it's easy to see why, but it is also easy to see why it's so popular. Huey's younger brother Riley wants to be "gangsta" complete with cars, money, girls (even though he doesn't want them to touch him!), and the fear of the people around him. Grandad adds his own special quality to the picture, being a traditionalist and thinking Huey really needs to calm himself down and act like other kids his age and Riley needs to do better in school and be less disrespectful. Along the way they meet some interesting characters that also add to the humor. Caesar is my favorite, he is basically the straight-man to Huey's insanity, agreeing with him on some things but calling him insane on others. I would recommend this book for those who are not easily offended because it does have some views with which certain people would strongly disagree.  

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