Book Review

Flygirl
Sherri L. Smith
copyright 2009
number of pages: 256

World War II is raging across the globe and Ida Mae Jones is doing everything she can on the homefront to support the war effort. With her brother, Thomas, off fighting in the Pacific, Ida Mae wants nothing more than to see the boys come home safely.

Donating bacon grease and nylon stockings is not enough. Ida Mae cannot just sit at home when she knows that so many are dying overseas. When she sees an article in the newspaper announcing a new army initiative - WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) - she knows that she has found her calling. Like the Russians, Uncle Sam is finally letting women do more.

Flying has always been a passion for Ida Mae, since the first time her daddy took her up in his "Jenny," a Curtiss JN-4. She might not have a license, due to a sexist flight instructor, but Ida Mae is an experienced pilot. In fact, she feels more at home in the sky than on the ground. Her father flew to dust crops, and now Ida Mae wants to fly in the army.

There is just one problem. WASP is a program for white women, and Ida Mae is colored.

With her light skin and brown hair, she just might be able to pass for a white woman. To pursue her dream of becoming a WASP, Ida Mae must deny her identity and face unimaginable dangers. Graduating from the rigorous training in Sweetwater, Texas, to become a full-fledged WASP will be no easy task.

Can one colored girl prove to herself and the world that the sky really is the limit?

Sherri L. Smith smoothly incorporates extensive historical research to paint a bold and extraordinary portrait of the courageous women of the WASP. Like her idols, Jackie Cochran and Nancy Love, Ida Mae is a plucky, adventurous heroine, defying race and gender barriers to surpass even her own expectations. Smith is honest in portraying the often rough and unfair treatment that women of WASP endured, the unappreciated sacrifices that these women made all in the name of a country that did not see them as equals to men.

Ida Mae herself says it best - "We don't get any medals for the things we do. We don't get a parade when we go home." Even without the fanfare and celebrations that they deserved, the WASP played an essential role in winning World War II.

And for Ida Mae? "It's all the reward we need."

Review submitted by Amber Gibson

Book Review

The Men of Brewster Place
Gloria Naylor
copyright 1999
number of pages: 208

In re-reading the book The Men of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor, I was moved again by the stories. I feel this book is as good, if not better than The Women of Brewster Place. In this book she tells us what happens to the men who were a part of the women who lived on Brewster Place. Through the most unlikely voice of Ben, the making of men is heard, the pain of men is felt and the struggles and defeat of men is pictured in our minds.

Through Ben, the quiet maintenance man, Ms Naylor makes The Men of Brewster Place come alive. Ben running from his past in a bottle of wine; he recounts how he got to Brewster Place. He recounts the stories of the other men like music. Some are like listening to the blues played on a piano and others are like a sad sax player crying tears of pain.

There is Brother Jerome; a man who never developed past age three in his mind; but plays the blues of every man living on Brewster Place on the piano as long as there was light. Although he couldn't express himself verbally, Brother Jerome could make a grown man cry tears like a woman.

Basil, who broke his mother's heart, comes back as someone you would not expect. The boy-man is now ready to make amends but is too late. However, even with his mother gone, with the help of two fatherless boys can he make up for all the hurt he caused in the past?

Then there is Eugene, you know Ceil's husband. Eugene is a man torn between to worlds. How can he love Ceil and love men too? Moreland T. Woods the good-looking womanizing preacher has more than women on his mind. He has big dreams and needs his church and the deacon board to make them happen. He is determined to get what he wants at any cost.

C.C. Baker the gangster is again in the mix. He chose money, power and respect over the love of family. Finally Abshu grew up in Brewster Place. When his family is split up and he is placed in foster care it leaves him wanting love and fulfillment. Abshu decides to fight for the injustice of the poor.

Did you think it was all over when the women torn the wall down. It was just the beginning. Brewster Place didn't just change the women it also changed the men. This book is a must read. The story is rich with characters you thought you loved or you thought you hated.



Review submitted by Sonya Holland

Potpourri: Literature & Women Studies

Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must include your e-mail to be eligible to win.
Quiz #5

Who is she?

July 9, 1936- June 14,2002. Harlem, New York City

Academic Posts

1989 - 2002
University of California at Berkeley.
Professor of African American Studies
Founder and Director: Poetry for the People

Published 28 books of poetry, essays, and fiction. She was a regular columnist for The Progressive and a prolific writer whose articles appeared in The Village Voice, The New York Times, Ms., Essence, the American Poetry Review, The Nation, and many other periodicals.

Book Review

The Awakening
L.A. Banks
4/5 stars
copyright 2004
number of pages: 258

For those of you who are unfamiliar with L.A. Banks she writes the tell of a master vampire hunter (I hate the term huntress) and her band of guardians. The cast is multi-culture and come from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, which is different from some of the other paranormal books that I have read. The main character, Damali Richards, is a young black woman coming in to her hunting abilities while trying to deal with a strong attract with a drug dealer, Carlos Rivera.

I was really hesitant to read the first book in the series, Minion and found it to be really slow and uninteresting in the beginning but it picked up in the end. This book did not have the same problem. I was hooked from the start. I like how Banks provided a little bit of a reminder of what happened in the first book (not that I needed it). But even that had me hooked.

In The Awakening, Banks continues to build on the world that she has created, and it is very complex. Which is good and bad. It is good because it keeps the story moving forward and allows the reader to see the rules and guidelines that govern almost everything, good and evil. It is bad because it causes her to sit up situations that explain what is going on and why, that takes sometimes and subtracts from the action vibe that the story has.

I find most of Banks' characters to be captivating, even the bad guys. You want to know their story and what is going to happen to them. She gives you little glimpses of pieces throughout the novel (probably so that you will read the next one), but just enough to keep the story rolling and your curiosity perked.

I enjoy Banks' writing and don't find that it is very difficult to read. It doesn't take much thought, its like watching an very good action more. You don't think you just absorbed the sences that she is sitting up for you. The only problem with her writing that I have is her use of slang not only in dialog but also in her sentence structure. It service the purpose of keeping with the stories settings but it also not only dates the story but her. I find some of the terms and actions of the characters to be out of date.

Pros: Action and character development, complex fictional concepts
Cons: Slang terms, complex fictional concepts

Overall Recommendation: Read It but read the first book in the series first for background information

Black History Month Writers' Contest

In honor of Black History Month, Color Online is proud to host a contest celebrating the contributions of black women writers. Submit a book review or biography sketch of a black woman writer you admire. We’re looking for YA writers, adult fiction and nonfiction writers alike. Writers may be contemporary or historical figures.

Submissions must be a minimum of 300 words not to exceed 750. Send your work in the body of your email to cora_litgroup@yahoo.com. Subject line should read: Black History Month Writers’ Contest. Include your full name, and contact information above your review. Deadline for submissions is February 25th. Winners will be announced February 28th. If we choose to publish your entry, you will be contacted prior to publication. You can view our blog at coloronline.blogspot.com

Selected submissions will be published throughout the month of February. Readers are encouraged to leave comments throughout the month. A panel of judges will select the final winners. First prize- $15 Amazon gift certificate and a free book from Color Online, Second prize- $10 gift card and book and third prize- book from Color Online.

To encourage participation and to give contributors an idea of those writers we enjoy, we are providing a list of writers. To see the full listing, visit our blog at coloronline.blogspot.com. You are not required to use the list. Short list:

YA

Jacqueline Woodson
Sharon Draper
Lori Aurelius Williams
Rita Williams-Garcia
Sharon G. Flake
Angela Johnson

Adult Fiction and Poetry

Audre Lorde
Camille Dungy
Tracy K. Smith
Jessica Care Moore
Black Artemis
Toni Cade Bambara
Octavia E. Butler

Nonfiction

June Jordan
Pearl Cleage
Nancy Amanda Redd

Potpourri: Literature & Women's Studies

Answer the quiz and your name will be entered in a monthly drawing. Post your reply to the comment box. Must include your e-mail to be eligible to win.

Quiz #20

In this Butler novel, in the middle of settling into a new home and a new marriage, a young writer is is thrown into her family's past. Repeatedly, she must save the life of a man whom she comes to loathe in order that she might live. What is the title of the novel?