''Flyy Girl'' is young adult/new adult literature and an

urban fiction Urban fiction, also known as street lit or street fiction, is a literary genre set in a city landscape; however, the genre is as much defined by the socio-economic realities and culture of its characters as the urban setting. The tone for urban ...

book written by Omar Tyree. The book was originally published by Mars Productions in 1993 and republished by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

for adults in 1996. The novel is regarded to be the genesis of the modern urban-fiction/street-lit movement that would later gain momentum in 1999 with the publication of

Sister Souljah Lisa Williamson (born 1964), known as Sister Souljah, is an American author, activist, rapper, and film producer. She gained significant attention in 1992, when Bill Clinton, running as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for President o ...

's ''

The Coldest Winter Ever ''The Coldest Winter Ever'' is a 1999 novel by Sister Souljah published by Simon and Schuster. The novel has a prequel and a sequel. Plot summary The story is set in Brooklyn, New York. The main character is Winter Santiaga, the teenaged daugh ...

''.

Summary

Flyy Girl is an African-American coming-of-age story that follows Tracy Ellison from her sixth-birthday party in 1977 to her 17th birthday. Tracy grows up in the middle-class Philadelphia suburb of Germantown. The daughter of a dietitian and pharmacist, Tracy is beautiful, intelligent, and armed with self-esteem and a sassy mouth. Tracy is also boy crazy, which leads to sex in the indulgent, hip-hop 1980s and the effects of the cocaine economy plaguing black communities.

Sequels

Tyree wrote two sequels to ''Flyy Girl'': ''For the Love of Money'' (2001) and ''Boss Lady'' (2006). Both were published by Simon & Schuster.

Film adaptation

In July 2013,

Lionsgate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Founded by ...

CodeBlack Films Codeblack Films is an American entertainment company. Codeblack focuses on films targeting African-American audiences. History Codeblack Enterprises was founded by Jeff Clanagan in 2005, who became CEO of the company. Originally focused on dire ...

had acquired the rights to ''Flyy Girl'' with hopes of transforming the novel into a feature film. In February 2015, CodeBlack Films announced that ''

Dear White People ''Dear White People'' is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several black ...

'' producer Effie Brown was hired to produce a film adaptation of the novel. Brown and her company, Duly Noted Inc., will oversee the film's development alongside Codeblack Films' Jeff Clanagan and Quincy Newell. On June 17, 2015, it was announced that

Sanaa Lathan Sanaa McCoy Lathan (; born September 19, 1971) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. Her career began after she appeared in the shows ''In the House'', '' Family Matters'', ''NYPD Bl ...

would star in and executive produce the film adaptation of Omar Tyree's trilogy that starts with ''Flyy Girl''. Lathan will portray Tracy Ellison, a successful businesswoman and workaholic who believes that money is always the key to happiness.

Geoffrey S. Fletcher Geoffrey Shawn Fletcher (born October 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter and film director. Fletcher is best known for being the screenwriter of '' Precious'', for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the ...

was hired to write the script.

References

{{reflist 1993 books Urban fiction African-American literature English-language novels