A Step From Heaven

A Step From Heaven
An Na
YA
Front Street Imprint
2001

A Step From Heaven was my first read by an author also new to me. I appreciate Na's writing style here because it gives the reader a sense of how a child processes her relationship with her family and her environment, and how she processes life as an immigrant. We experience the process of assimilation through the eyes of a child; we witness how she and her family learn a new language and how they adapt to American culture whose values and behaviors seem very different from their own. Na provides the reader with an intimate look at how limiting and frustrating a language barrier can be. I like how the author uses choice Korean words and phonetic spellings to illustrate how Young and her family hears American words.

The subtle changes in Young Ju's voice and the impressions she relates as she matures are believable. All of these elements create a character who is endearing and strike me as authentic. And while the story encompasses a great deal of time, I think Na does an admirable job. I'm looking forward to reading The Fold.

Around The Globe: Poetry & Nonfiction

Fiction found here.

Triangular Road: A Memoir by Paule Marshall
My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban: A Young Woman's Story by
Latifa- Afghanistan (YA)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (autobiography)
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (memoir)
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (memoir)
Our Dead Behind Us- Audre Lorde (Poetry)
I Put A Spell On You- Nina Simone (memoir)
My Wicked Ways-Sandra Cisneros (poetry)
When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago (memoir)
Things I Have To Tell You- edited by Betsy Franco (poetry/essays)
The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde- (essays)
Some of Us Did Not Die by June Jordan- (essays)
Never in a Hurry: Essays on People and Places by Naomi Shihab Nye
The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reid
American Chica by Marie Arana (memoir)
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Have a suggestions? Leave us a comment.

Around The Globe- Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month and March 8th is International Women's Day. To kick off our month-long celebration, we're launching our Around the Globe Challenge.

We are asking you to read a work by a woman of color from around the globe. Send us your review and if we publish it, we'll enter your name in a drawing for a book from our Prize Bucket. We're providing a list to give you options, but the list compromises a fraction of the work that can be read.

*Nonfiction and poetry found here.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie-Nigeria (YA)
Born Confused by-Tanuja Desai Hidier- America (YA)
Bliss by O.Z. Livaneli- Turkey (YA)
Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell- Belize (YA)
Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim- America (YA)
In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez- Dominican Republic (YA)
Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid- Antigua (YA)
Every Time A Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams Garcia- America (YA)
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Oritz Cofer- San Juan (YA)
Angel by Merle Collins- Grenada (YA)
Sadika's Way by Hina Haq- Pakistan (YA)
No Laughter Here by Rita Williams Garcia-America (YA)
Cybele's Secret by Juliet Mariller - Turkey (YA)
Sold by Patricia McCormick - Nepal (YA)
The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu- Nigeria (YA)
A Stone In My Hand by Cathryn Clinton- Palenstine (YA)
The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam - Cambodia (YA)
Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah- Australia (YA)
Bound - Donna Jo Napoli - China (YA)
A Step From Heaven by An Na- America (YA)
Out of Bounds by Beverly Naidoo - South Africa (YA)
Tracks by Louise Erdrich- America
Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - China
FreeFall by Anna Levine - Israel
Chu Ju's House by Gloria Whelan - China (YA)
When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park - Korea (YA)
Who by Fire by Diana Spechler-Israel
Secret Keeper by Matilia Perkins- India (YA)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie- Nigeria
Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karen Mueller- Japan
In Another Place by, Not Here by Dionne Brand- Carribean
The Girl From The Coast by Pramoedya- Java
Kinky Gazpacho by Lori-Tharps- Spain
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat- Dominican Republic
Pillars of Salt by Fadia Faqir- Jordan
The Cry of the Dove by Fadia Faqir- Jordan
The Girl From The Coast by Pramoedya Ananta Toer- Indonesia
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai- Kenya
Mosquito by Roma Teane- Sri Lanka
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris- Saudi Arabia
Ladies' Lunch by Glida Cordero-Fernando- Phillipines
Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu- Japan
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende- Chile
The Kabul Beauty School the Art of Perms, friendship and Freedom by Deborah Rodriguez with Ohlson, Kristin- Afghanistan
Last Full Moon- Gilda-Cordero fernando- Philippines
Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice- America
Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri-America
Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith by Gina Nahai -Tehran
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy- India
Beloved by Toni Morrison-America
Baby no-eyes by Patricia Grace- New Zealand
Dogside Story by Patricia Grace- NZ
Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman Seeks the On by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed
Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukuiyama- China

Have a suggestions? Leave us a comment.

It's Raining Books: Congratulations, Winners!

We had a pretty busy month. Please join us in congratulating our following winners:

November Blues Giveaway winner-Shalonda
Link Promotion winner- Deb
Potpourri Winner- Sara

We appreciate all of our readers who participated in our contests this month. If you didn't win, don't fret. Potpourri is a monthly contest. In March we're launching our Around The Globe Challenge. It will run March through the remainder of the year. At the end of March, June, September and December, we will randomly pick a winner among participants. More details coming.

In honor of Women's History Month, we're launching The Sewing Circle. Provided we have 4 or more participants each month, we'll randomly draw a winner for this activity. The Sewing Circle is the adult equilivant of Shades of Love.

Lastly we're creating a treasure trove for our literary collectors- The Literary Chest. For every 5th review published, you will have the option of selecting a prize from this collection (or prize bucket, your choice). The LC will contain vintage books, the kind collectors and true biblophiles want on their shelves. Here, we'll offer classic women's literature.

And we have one more bonus for our frequent reviewers: you will enjoy book loan privileges from our exclusive book loan program. Find selections at our Shelfari virtual shelf. Every book listed under "own" is available. We will ship requests media rate. You may keep the book up to 30 days after receiving it. Two stipulations: You are required to return the book at your expense (media rate is fine) with delivery confirmation and the book must be returned in the same condition you received it. If you fail to return a book without notice, you'll loan privileges will be revoked permanently.