"It Ain't All for Nothin'" by Walter Dean Myers follows the journey of a young African American boy named Billy who navigates the challenges of growing up in a tough urban environment. Set against the backdrop of a struggling neighborhood, the story explores themes of family, resilience, and the search for identity. Billy's experiences with his family, friends, and community shape his understanding of what it means to fight for one's dreams. Through his struggles and triumphs, he learns valuable lessons about hope, perseverance, and the importance of staying true to oneself amidst life's obstacles. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is aimed at children at US 8th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 13 years.

There are 240 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2009 by Amistad Press .

Walter Dean Myers is an award-winning writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for young people. His many titles include the Newbery Honor Books Scorpions and Somewhere in the Darkness, and the Caldecott Honor Book Harlem in collaboration with his son Christopher, who also worked with him on Monster. Walter Dean Myers grew up in Harlem and now lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.