Safe Passage

By Greg Neri and David Brame, Lee & Low Books, 2024

Greg Neri describes his work as “teen fiction for the real world.” On his website, he states, “I’m like a mash-up DJ of a writer: I sample real life and remix it into story.” His most recent travel memoir, My Antarctica (2024), illustrated by Corban Wilkin, is a nonfiction graphic novel touted as a “true adventure in the land of mummified seals, space robots, and so much more.” Neri is a recipient of the Michael L. Printz and Coretta Scott King Awards and has authored more than 14 books for youth, including Concrete Cowboy (formerly titled Ghetto Cowboy) and Yummy the Last Days of South Side Shorty, Chess Rumble, and Grand Theft Horse. Concrete Cowboy and Yummy have been adapted as films.

In Safe Passage (2024), Greg Neri and David Brame take readers on a visual escapade through a day in the life of Darius, his half-sister Cissy, and Charles, a.k.a. Booger, Darius’s shallow and misguided friend. Early on, readers learn that Darius and Cissy’s mother has died, leaving the family grappling with food insecurity and the looming threat of eviction after Darius’s father loses his job in the school system. Neri remains true to his ethos of sampling real life, weaving in the realities of Chicago Public School closures and the aftermath of children navigating gang violence both in and out of school.

Darius and Cissy’s father, an army veteran, strives to maintain a positive outlook despite their daily challenges. Alongside other veterans and neighborhood fathers, he helps local kids safely get to and from school, creating safe passages to protect them from gang influence and gun violence. He also enforces a set of rules that the kids reference to guide them as they navigate one near-fatal escapade after another when Booger instigates the idea of skipping school to collect free money from a Brinks truck that has crashed in the Lakeshore area, “making it rain” cash throughout the neighborhood. This is another likely reference to the real world as a Brinks incident occurred on the New Jersey highway in 2018, ($189,000 remains missing).

Without revealing too much of the plot, the youth skip school to get their share—Cissy, an uninvited participant, serves as Darius’s conscience throughout the ordeal. Darius is initially reluctant but is motivated by the possibility of saving his family’s home. Their adventure leads to run-ins with gang members, a kidnapping, references to drugs, and an unfortunate hideout in a trap house after Booger’s desire to appear “paid and fly” backfires, forcing the trio to run for their lives.

What works: Young readers who enjoy real-world narratives will appreciate the visual vibe and language throughout the story.  Grief and violence loom large, and at each page turn, David Brame’s black-and-white sketches capture the tone, facial expressions, and geographical nuances, providing a cinematic quality that immerses readers like an episode of *The Chi*. The adventurous day unfolds on the anniversary of Darius’s mother’s death, adding layers of emotional complexity. The title, Safe Passage, takes on additional meaning that is revealed in the story’s finale, offering a poignant conclusion.

Pass it OR Grab It? While the plot spirals out of control at times, the underlying message of staying true to what—and who—you love makes Safe Passage a compelling read worth a place on the shelves.