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Donna Grant, Virginia DeBerry St. Martin's, Jun 2004, 24.95, 370 pp. ISBN: 0312273096 In the Brooklyn projects Carmen struggles to survive the mean streets. Her father is dead, her mother vanished, and her older brother has “raised” her by abusing her. Hew ticket out of the slums is Columbia University, but that means two jobs and non-stop studying. In Franklin, New Jersey, upper middle class Regina lives the African-American equivalent to the Cleaver household though she is no Beaver. Her parents “Ward and June” have set life goals for her that are so strict her she is ready to revolt. In Baldwin hills, California, teenage star Jewel cannot hide from the fact that she is recognizable as a star on the TV show "Daddy's Girl. However, Jewel has made some decisions about the direction of her life. She plans to go to school to obtain a real education and to achieve that she needs to escape from her stage mother. In 1981, these three teens from totally different social classes meet in Morningside Heights and forge a friendship that survive drugs, secrets, illness, betrayal, and death. For each has found solace in the other two. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Kids growing up/acting up? Yes Kids: - struggling to earn a living to survive Ethnic/Regional/Religion Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Parents/lack of parents problem? GROUP of women story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast - California Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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