"Being Bad will change the way you think about the social and academic worlds of Black boys. In a poignant and harrowing journey from systems of education to systems of criminal justice, the author follows her brother, Chris, who has been designated a "bad kid" by his school, a "person of interest" by the police, and a "gangster" by society. Readers first meet Chris in a Chicago jail, where he is being held in connection with a string of street robberies....

Now, in his second year at Carver High, Ken Reeves realizes he's become more than just a basketball coach. He's the person his players can turn to when things go wrong at home, or when things get tough out on the street.