Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
Hard times in 1960s Harlem do not squelch the ambitions of Grimes's (Growin'; Raining Laughter) doughty protagonist, nor inhibit Jazmin from penning her eloquent ideas. Readers will be drawn into Jazmin's neighborhood, where they meet the characters who have made an impact on the teen with "coke-bottle spectacles" and "chicken-legs": Jazmin's mother, institutionalized for alcoholism; her protective sister, CeCe; her best friend, Destinee; and Crew, a professional gambler who is sweet on Cece (he secretly sees to it that the pair can pay their bills). In this slender volume, Grimes depicts both the humor and tenacity of an adolescent who spent most of her childhood in foster homes and is determined to make something of herself. Jazmin's poems, sprinkled among her journal entries, crystallize her emotions from joy and reverence ("The library/ is no place to kneel/ but this cathedral of books/ feels holy") to sorrow (e.g., "The homes/ are just fine./ It's the people/ who are broken"). Her prose expresses a more detailed account of her fears (contending with rats, potential rapists and school bullies) and hopes (laughing with CeCe, celebrating holidays and observing signs of her mother's recovery). An articulate, admirable heroine, Jazmin leaps over life's hurdles with agility and integrity. Ages 12-up. (June)
Children's Literature
- Michelle H. Martin
Jazmin Shelby, so named because of her late father's love of jazz, lives with her older sister CeCe in a downtown apartment between a laundromat and the Garden of Eden Bar and Grill. Jazmin feels fortunate to live with CeCe, since they both spent most of their formative years in foster homes and in the homes of numerous relatives. Because Jazmin aspires to be a writer, she begins each chapter of this book (which is also each entry of her journal) with an original poem about the trials and joys of being a black female adolescent, growing up in the shadow of a drug-addicted mother. Jazmin's reflections on her father's untimely death help her both to come to terms with loss and to grow past the anger that she has toward her mom for abandoning them. Grimes' depiction of this outspoken and thought-provoking character offers a refreshing look into the mind of a teenager who is worth spending time with.
VOYA
- Laura L. Lent
Jazmin, a fourteen-year-old girl living in Harlem with her sister, Ce-Ce, has found an outlet for her emotions: she writes about everything she sees, hears, and experiences in her daily life. Recorded in her notebook as prose or poetry, Jazmin sits on the stoop of her apartment in the heart of the ghetto providing readers with an introspective look at the sights, sounds, dangers, and desires that await her. Jazmin holds back nothing. Her writings are so passionate that readers will visualize life as she does. Readers feel her anguish over the loss of their father; her frustration with her mother's dependency upon alcohol; her terror when a man grabs her late one night as she returns from a neighborhood bar after buying cigarettes for her sister; her joy when she is able to write; her reverence for books; her fervent hope for a successful future; and her absolute conviction that her dreams are attainable if she fights for them. Grimes's exciting and fast-paced book challenges readers to look at life in the 1960s as it was (and probably still is) for an adolescent black girl. Jazmin's intelligence is apparent and her thirst for knowledge is real; however, like many others in similar situations, she must overcome her environment and the prejudices that surround her. Adolescents will readily relate to the problems that Jazmin, like all teens, must face. Because of Jazmin's writing and determination to succeed in life despite the challenges that confront her, readers are left with a sense of hope. Jazmin is a survivor, as we all should be. This novel is a must-read book for adolescents and for those of us who may have forgotten what adolescence is all about--coming into our own. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being better written, Broad general YA appeal, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).
School Library Journal
Gr 6-10-With exuberance, passion, perception, and wit, 14-year-old Jazmin Shelby fills her notebook with glimpses of her life, neighborhood, family, and dreams in Harlem in the 1960s. Rescued from a series of foster homes and makeshift living arrangements by her older sister, CeCe, Jazmin draws strength and wisdom from her devoted sibling when their alcoholic mother is institutionalized. Jazmin is an observer and a thinker. From her apartment stoop, she savors the rhythm and blues that drifts out of the Garden of Eden Bar & Grill next door and watches customers come and go. At school, she avoids a fight by locking herself in the bathroom and scribbling her anger in verse. When a high-school guidance counselor suggests pursuing a vocational career, Jazmin clings to her aspirations of being a writer and demands a college-prep schedule. Despite her "second hand" appearance, the girl's goals are high and her attitude is positive. The sadness in her life comes from watching her gentle father die after a car crash and being unable to connect with her troubled, aloof mother. However, Jazmin is resilient. Her lyrical journal is a treasure of sensory observations, intellectual questioning, and moral decision-making. Secondary readers will delight in her candor and imagination. Her gritty determination to survive and succeed is inspiring and heartwarming.-Gerry Larson, Durham Magnet Center, Durham, NC
Kirkus Reviews
There's a poetic soul taking notes up on Amsterdam Avenue in New York City, and her name is Jazmin Shelby, the star witness to the hard lives and high hopes in a novel from Grimes (Come Sunday, 1996, etc.). Jazmin has her sights set on college, but meanwhile she keeps her eyes open, noticing all the comings and goings of her 1960s neighborhood from her front stoop. She records everything in her notebook, including a running commentary on her family, feelings, friendships, hopes, and disappointments. Her father has been dead a year, and her mother—a mentally unstable alcoholic—is hospitalized; Jazmin's life has included shuttling between relatives and foster homes, living in rat-infested tenements, and avoiding the everyday violence of the streets. Older sister CeCe is a source of strength, who, along with some supportive neighbors and teachers, have helped Jazmin hang on to her goals and resist the pitfalls of drugs, alcohol, and sexual activity. Peppering the first-person narration with poems from Jazmin's journal, Grimes paints a vivid picture of her character's surroundings. Especially effective are Jazmin's witty descriptions of neighbors and local characters; just as compelling is Jazmin's interior landscape, in which a wiser, more reflective voice hints at the young woman—and writer—she'll become. (Fiction. 10-12)
