Wednesday, December 9, 2009

#BookReview: Edith Jackson - Rosa Guy


Back in my Judy Blume/Paula Danziger/Carolyn Keene days, also known as 25 years ago, Rosa Guy was the first author I read that spoke to me as an African American young adult. Set in New York in the late 70s/early 80s, Edith Jackson is the third in a trilogy that includes Ruby and The Friends. Each book in the trilogy could stand alone, so there's no need to read the first two to understand the third.

The oldest of her deceased mother's five children, Edith is determined to keep her sisters together as they shuttle from one foster home to another. Recently settled in Peekskill, she believes she's found a good home for them. But when her sister Bessie starts sitting on their foster uncle's lap a little too long and her sister Minnie begins to spend time with a new friend, that happens to be white, Edith's world is thrown into turmoil.

This is a story of a young woman learning to live for herself instead of everyone around her and finding that she does indeed have a choice in her future. I loved this book when I was 12 and even more so now.

2 comments :

  1. I've seen books by this book around, but I've never been interested (said shamefacedly in a whisper) because *I didn't think books from the 70s/80s for YAs would be relevant to me today or as interesting*. Which is foolish, I know. This review encourages me to give thosee books a chance.

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  2. lol, it's ok. I didn't think it would still be relevant, but reading it made me realize that YA problems really haven't changed all that much. Today's teens are faced with some of the same issues those characters in the 70s/80s were, with a whole heap more added on. Let me know what you think of them. Another Rosa Guy book you might like is "Measure of Time".

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