Excellence Without Excuse: The Black Student's Guide to Academic Excellence

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up-This guide for African-American college-bound students is packed with practical and insightful information for achieving academic success. Although it is geared toward those students in predominantly white institutions, much of what is said can be applied to teens in historically black institutions and somewhat to other racial and ethnic groups. The primary focus here is to equip students with the savvy and networking skills to maneuver themselves through the academic maze of higher education. Cherry addresses such issues as Black English, social contacts with whites, relationships with professors, goal setting, and institutional racism. His plan of action emphasizes hard work, academic excellence (maintaining at least a B average), staying focused, and eliminating negative habits. Most of the time, his advice, which is largely based on his own experience, is direct and sound. At other times, however, he goes off on tangents and delivers lectures on the current state of society. The last chapter is particularly muddled, as the author uses it to vent his frustrations on certain issues and to philosophize about others. An extensive bibliography of about 30 pages on the history and culture of Africans and African-Americans may be somewhat overwhelming considering the subject of this book.-Jeanette Lambert, Nashville Metropolitan Schools, TN