WWOC: Barbara Caridad Ferrer

Full name: Barbara Caridad Ferrer (Yes, the Caridad is really mine!)

Birth date: 8/25

Location: New York, NY

Website/blog: http://www.caridadferrer.com/

Genre: Contemporary/Multicultural Young Adult

WiP or most recently published work: When the Stars Go Blue (St. Martin's Griffin/November 2010)

Writing credits: Adiós to My Old Life (2006); It's Not About the Accent (2007)

How frequently do you update your site? I blog regularly and since the site is built on a blog platform, fairly frequently. It also contains my Twitter feed, so you could say that my site is constantly being updated.

Is your site designed for reader interaction? Definitely. Between email contact, my Twitter feed and the blog entries, I love hearing from and interacting with readers.

Post of note, something in particular you want readers to check out:

And People Seriously Wonder

Tell Me Again How This Isn't One Person Making A Decision For the Whole?

War of the Words


Top 5 reads you’re looking forward to reading in 2010?

The Girls from the Revolutionary Cantina- M. Padilla

Maybe This Time- Jennifer Crusie

The Babylonian Codex- C.S. Graham

Forget You- Jennifer Echols

The Sugar King of Havana- John Paul Rathbone

From your blog, I've noticed you are a big fan of the arts. What draws you to the world of music and dance? How does this influence your writing (if it has any influence at all)?

I've been both a reader/storyteller and a musician literally my entire life. I wouldn't begin to know how to exist without either. I've also dabbled in other arts, taking ballet as a child, being a competitive figure skater, and most recently, I've taken up photography to indulge my love of visual arts (I cannot draw to save my life- literally. I'm TERRIBLE.) I wish I could adequately describe the depth of emotion a beautiful piece of music or art or a dance performance can evoke in me. It's what I try to express within the written word and hopefully, if I've even come close, the reader will at least get a sense of the passion I have for the arts. It's so important, to me, to find the beauty in the world, especially as it grows increasingly dark around us. The arts are the purest expression of joy I can think of.

Please share what your newest release, When the Stars Go Blue, is about.

Basically, STARS is a modern retelling of the CARMEN story, first written as a short story by Prosper Mérimée, then adapted into the opera by George Bizet. (As well as a ballet, by Roland Petit.) The basic story is of the Gypsy, Carmen, who woos an inexperienced soldier, Don José, who basically renounces everything for her, then murders her when she rejects him for the bullfighter Escamillo. My version is a bit looser interpretation- my "Carmen" is Soledad Reyes, a driven dancer with dreams of becoming a professional, "Don José" is Jonathan Randall, an equally driven music prodigy who falls for Soledad, but whose has some longstanding personal demons to deal with, and finally, my "Escamillo" is Taz, a Spanish soccer player who's brash, cocky, and completely charming. My story plays out against the backdrop of competitive drum and bugle corps, of which Jonathan is a longtime member. He recruits Soledad to join the corps, because they're going to be performing Carmen and they need a dancer to portray the role of the gypsy-- Jonathan also has ulterior motives, because he's harbored a longtime crush on Soledad. The dual pull of the role of a lifetime, plus unrequited desire proves to be too tempting for Soledad to pass up, so she joins the corps and becomes involved with Jonathan. Of course, that's when Taz shows up, providing a distraction and making Soledad question everything she thinks she knows.

And in an eerie echo of the story they perform every night, tragedy strikes.

100 words or less how would you describe your work?

I have the hardest time describing my own work. Those who have read it use the words "lush" and "lyrical" and I have to say, I find that both humbling and incredibly flattering, since those are two things I really strive for in my writing. I want the reader to feel as completely immersed in the world I'm creating as I was when I was writing it.

100 words on less please share your thoughts on the writing life

The writing life is not one that's easy, but it's easily the most gratifying thing I've ever done. And it's really the perfect profession for me because it allows me to incorporate every passion and interest I have. It's sort of like acting, in that I get to be those people for as long as I'm writing the story. Writing is completely yours in a way that very few other professions can be.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of When the Stars Go Blue and everyone is in for such a treat! The writing is lush and sublime ;) The romance is absolutely enthralling and the love triangle is actually realistic (i.e. there is no obvious choice of who Carmen should choose until the very end). As for the ending, possibly one of the most dramatic (in a good way) and tense endings I've read in a long time. Ms. Ferrer does indeed completely immerse you in the world of her characters, you care deeply for them and get a good idea of the environment they are living in. Utterly fabulous! I adored Adios to My Old Life and It's Not About the Accent was a very interesting read. I highly highly recommend all of Ms. Ferrer's books.

Dear Greenwillow Books

Dear Greenwillow Books,

I understand that you are worried about the sales of Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon and the potential sales of its sequel, Fury of the Phoenix. Oh, I know that you are not worried that Asian-inspired YA fantasy will not sell. If that was your worry, then you would never have chosen to publish Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix in the first place.

The hardcover edition of Silver Phoenix has an Asian model on the cover. The paperback edition of Silver Phoenix and the hardcover edition of Fury of the Phoenix both use a Caucasian model on the cover. I take that to mean that you are worried that American readers will not buy books with Asians on the cover.




Whitewashing a book cover does injustice to the book because it misrepresents the book and misleads readers. Moreover, there is racism at work in the whitewashing of book covers because of the underlying assumption that Asian faces are "not good enough" to sell books, or that Asian faces will somehow "turn off" non-Asian readers and keep them from buying the book.

Honestly? Those assumptions HURT.

Here's an idea, Greenwillow: Worried about the sales of an Asian-inspired YA fantasy novel? Next time try to refrain from whitewashing the book cover, which is morally wrong. Try selling more copies of the book (with an Asian model on the cover of course, or no model on the cover at all) in Asia. There are ONE BILLION children and teenagers in Asia. Worried about having to translate the book? There's no need to worry! There are MILLIONS of Asian children and teenagers who speak, read, and write in English. And try selling more copies of the book to the millions of people who are part of the Asian diaspora all over the world.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Off to buy multiple copies of the hardcover edition of Silver Phoenix,

Tarie Sabido

Good Fortune

Good Fortune by Noni Carter 2010
Simon & Schuster

Good Fortune traces the journey of Ayanna Bahati, who is captured and taken from her African village and sold into slavery in America. She is renamed Sarah but she still has flashbacks of her life in Africa and the traumatic events of coming to America (she was seven at the time). Sarah is determined to escape to freedom especially when her "master's" son (Jeffrey) begins to pressure her and he looks like he will make her his mistress. Sarah would rather die than suffer that fate so she begins to plan on running away.

This is a stunning debut from a very talented young author (she's 18 and attends Harvard University). I was more than a little apprehensive about picking up this book because I haven't been in the mood to read yet another slave narrative. They are depressing and speak to a history that is incredibly hard to be proud of. While this novel is somewhat predictable and redundant in its facts about the horror of slavery, it has a very strong message to it concerning education. I think that in the author's goal to have the book be used as a teaching tool for children, her message overpowers the book in some parts. It puts a human face on the struggles of slaves; Sarah goes through so much and she is so determined to get an education. It made me think long and hard about how many of my fellow African American students (and it's not just us, but I'm focusing on us today) dismiss the educational opportunities they have, we waste them by not reaching to our full potential, we mess around in school (I'm guilty of doing that sometimes too!). I can honestly say this novel made me feel bad for complaining all the time about having to go to school, while I didn't stop completely I do try to complain less.

Something that really bothered me about this novel was that the language seemed to be too-flowery (does that make sense?) It was very formal and it was hard to believe that an uneducated slave would speak in such precise words. However, the author does have a great way with words, she describes scenes that leap off the pages. "Then, one night, as snow fell steadily, heaven must have decided to turn all the elements of nature against me. Down came icy rocks, hurled my way as if the skies were taunting me for the slowness of my pace. I dropped down and tried to shield myself, but they came crashing upon my back and shoulders. I fought to get up again, to seek shelter. My throat burned while the rest of me shook with cold. With the surrounding land mocking me as I stumbled over its bumpy surfaces and my own feet, I searched for refuge from heaven's assault." (pg. 186-187) At times Good Fortune seemed tedious, I think that some pages could have been cut out (it's 470 pages!) because many pages simply have to do with planning and waiting, planning escapes, waiting for the right time. I'm not going to go into much detail about what this novel covers about slavery because it covers much of the hardships; the beatings, the rape (it's not at all graphic though, merely hinted at), the death, the danger of escape, etc.

However, this novel is unique because it has a love story. The love story between Sarah and John helps lighten the horrific situation of slavery, they are young and in love and it's adorable. They face hardship, in large part because Jeffrey (the slave owner's son) wants to keep them apart and he holds the power. Their love is based on hope and trust and they wait. And wait. It's a bittersweet ending. Sarah herself carries the novel. She is incredibly naive, but she has a strong and persistent voice, she will become educated and she will one day marry John.

Good Fortune avoids the trap of being yet another depressing slave story due to the author's magical way with words, the determined main character and surrounding characters (her adopted brother, Daniel, her Aunt Mary, her friend Florence) and the tender love story. I think that at times the author tries too hard to get her message about the importance of education into the reader's head, but it's an important message that needs to be reiterated. I wish that the author had either eliminated Sarah's memories of Africa or more fully explained them because seeing them only though Sarah's hazy flashbacks and nightmares provides confusion for the reader. I will definitely be looking for future work by Noni Carter, her debut was incredibly well researched and showcases her talent with words. Do not let your fear of reading about slavery keep you from missing out on this story.

Disclosure: Received from Nathalie to give away as a prize in the POC Reading Challenge. Thank you so much Nathalie!

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Purple Hibiscus
Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
YA contemporary coming-of-age
Algonquin Books
reviewer: Ah Yuan

Summary:In the city of Enugu, Nigeria, fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother, Jaja, lead a privileged life. Their Papa is a wealthy and respected businessman; they live in a beautiful house; and they attend an exclusive missionary school. But, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, their home life is anything but harmonious. Her father, a fanatically religious man, has impossible expectations of his children and wife, and severely punishes them if they're less than perfect. Home is silent and suffocating.

When Kambili's loving and outspoken Aunty Ifeoma persuades her brother that the children should visit her in Nsukka, Kambili and Jaja take their first trip away from home. Once inside their Aunty Ifeoma's flat, they discover a whole new world. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins' laughter rings throughout the house. Jaja learns to garden and work with his hands, and Kambili secretly falls in love with a young charismatic priest.

When a military coup threatens to destroy the country and Kambili and Jaja return home changed by their newfound freedom, tension within the family escalates. And Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together after her mother commits a desperate act.~ from GoodReads.Com

The Review: I was been told to read this book years ago by someone with a reading taste I trust, but for some strange reason I kept on putting it off. Then a couple months ago I was reminded to read this book by the author’s brilliant speech “The Danger of a Single Story” (watch it, especially if you have even the tiniest interest in storytelling) and I was like, how did I not get around to reading her works yet? So I finally checked the book out of the library earlier this month and damn, what a haunting read. Beautiful, intense, and I was a fool for not having read this sooner.

This is a story revolving around the domestic abuse of the narrator’s father. And yet, this is not a story of melodrama angst and heartbreak. Yes, there is a lot of anguish and pain and sadness in this novel, but underneath these painful moments is a spark of joy, and laughter. The premise of the story is not that of a victim enduring abuse, but a girl who gets a chance to step away momentarily from a world in which her and the whole family is subjugated to the mood swings of the father, as Kambili forges a world for herself in which she can start laughing without having her father’s opinions pervading and influencing her every move. Her transformation from the fearful daughter desperate to please her father to a girl who can smile and laugh on her own whim was an extraordinary journey that I’m so happy to have had to pleasure of reading. Purple Hibiscus is the kind of novel that the reader won’t forget soon after reading.

The novel sticks really close to Kambili’s head, so I’m thinking that the potential reader’s enjoyment of the novel is very dependent on much you like or sympathize with Kambili. I personally thought Kambili was a lovely protagonist, and loved being inside her head. I love seeing how timid and quiet she was at first, and then how she grew from thereon out. We’re so in her head and her personal problems and concerns that the problems with the riots and censoring in contemporary Nigeria take a backseat, but I don’t think this is a detriment to the novel at all. Reading from Kambili’s perspective was like having a glimpse at her innermost thoughts, a peek at her private diary, and there’s something so honest about the narration that I just completely fell in love with. This novel does more than just capture an amazingly authentic teenage voice – it moves you with its sincerity and honesty.

I really enjoyed the character interactions in this novel as well. Kambili and Amaka’s rocky cousin relationship was interesting to watch, as they start to step away from their misunderstandings of one another. And the rest of the family interactions were great too. I really liked how family was so central to this novel. It was really interesting to see the contrast between Kambili’s family and her aunt’s family, from the obvious differences (abusive relationship vs. loving relationship etc) to much subtler ways, like how Kambili’s family household is very quiet, versus her aunt’s boisterous laughter that rings around her own household. There was also some very nice class differences explored in this novel, which is nice to see. But my absolutely favourite aspect of this novel was the achingly sweet budding romance between Kambili and Amandi, a priest. Their growing affection for each other felt so natural, and the author captures the emotions of teenage first love so well. If I must compare her portrayals of first love with another YA author, it’d be Jenny Han, but more The Summer I Turned Pretty-esque as oppose to Shug-like. We are convinced by their portrayal of first love because it’s very honest. Also, Adichie writes like a dream, and the way she selects her words to describe that feeling of first love is so perfect and beautifully original.

The afternoon played across my mind as I got out of the car in front of the flat. I had smiled, ran, laughed. My chest was filled with something like bath foam. Light. The lightness was so sweet i tasted it on my tongue, the sweetness of an overripe bright yellow cashew fruit. Pg. 180

Doesn’t that just make you want to pick up the book ASAP?! Even if my not-very-elegantly-phrased review is not convincing you, read it for the beautiful, lush prose, at the very least.

The Verdict: One of the most beautiful pieces of fictive narratives I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Painful, sweet, and a spark of hopeful joy – the reader will sink into Kambili’s mindset right away as she forges a life for herself. I’ve been told that as this was Adichie’s first novel, her later works are much better. Which makes me really excited because as her writing is already so amazing here, I can’t wait to see how she tops it in Half a Yellow Sun

Rating: 5/5
Enjoyment: 100%!

Title and Cover Discussion: One of the things I didn’t get to talk about in the review was the purple hibiscus motif, which was subtly woven into the story to lead us to some of the novel’s most memorable scenes. Anyhow, the title is brilliant and if you’re curious about how Adichie uses the purple hibiscus as a symbol, I say read it to find out. 8D As for the cover... I don’t know, I’m really sick of cut-off female faces, and on top of that, the black-and-white photograph doesn’t do it any favours. Another cover has the hibiscus in actual purple, but I don’t really want to rate a cover if I haven’t seen it with my own two eyes. (I find that seeing covers online and in real life is two very different experiences.) Soooooo I’m going to cheat on the cover ratings and drop them. I just don’t feel fair with faulting a cover when there’s another one out there that may be better. It just brings too much attention to the old cover, ya know? Feel free to share your thoughts on the cover, or anything you want.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Bleeding Violet
Dia Reeves
YA Rural/Town Fantasy
Page Count: 454
Simon Pulse
reviewer: Ah Yuan


The Summary: Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

The Review: Wow. So much love for this book, I don’t even know where to start! I read the excerpt for the first chapter about a month ago and was really excited about this new novel. (Also the whole bit about this being a novel written for NaNoWriMo. That's pretty cool too.) First of all, I think the reason why I enjoyed this novel so much was because of Hanna. She’s an awesome narrator and definitely my favourite character of the lot. Hanna is i-n-s-a-n-e, not in the oh-she’s-so-quirky-and-interesting but as in she has mental illness. I think Dia Reeves portrayed this aspect of Hanna extremely well, and it spiced up the whole extremely common premise of New Girl Moves to Small Town and Discovers Magical Beings, etc, making this novel stand out. I really liked getting into Hanna’s head, the off-kilter way she would react to things, and just other stuff about her like her purple dresses she sews herself, how the fact that she is biracial (Half-Black, Half-Fin) influences the way she sees herself and her ability to adapt to new situations, her confidence in her looks, and her habit of saying “Unbelievable”. (Er, I could just go on, but I think we all get the fact that I think Hanna is Awesome. =D)

Actually, I just really liked Reeves’ whole approach to this world she created in general, from Hanna’s reactions to seeing stuff (Hanna’s reactions the first few days were like, hmm, I thought I took my pills today, guess they haven’t kicked in yet. *walks past those bloodstained windows like she saw nothing*) to the portrayal of the fantastical in this world. The creatures are batshit scary and feel very real, things that will kill you if you walk down the wrong street. And how the people of the town are deeply influenced by their knowledge of these monsters that lurk their town, how it shapes them from their behavior to what they wear to just, their physical selves and their telltale scars. I bought into the world Reeves’ created completely, and really enjoyed reading about the fantastical side of this novel.

I get the feeling that the biggest character relationship that readers will get into is the Wyatt/Hanna romance. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love me some Wyatt, and the whole “You’re going to hurt him” stuff people keep going on to Hanna about only added to my enjoyment of this couple and their interactions. (Has that star-crossed taste to it, and I love me some star-crossed lovers.) I liked how they both weren’t quite normal, and how they fit together on more or less equal grounds in this relationship that isn’t exactly the healthiest of relationships. But the biggest character interaction that grabbed me by the heart and had me clenching my teeth with the tension and the heartbreaks was with Hanna and her mom, Rosalee. At the end of the day, I read this book for Hanna’s attempts to connect with her mother, and vice versa. I mean, say what you want about Wyatt/Hanna, but in terms of higher stakes and messed-up factor, Rosalee’s estranged relationship with her daughter’s got Wyatt and Hanna’s relationship beat. I loved watching how they pulled and pushed at each other, with Rosalee’s cold attempts to push her daughter away and Hanna’s fierce, fiery desperation to win a place as a daughter in her mother’s heart. They hurt each other and love each other in all the wrong ways and it’s such a broken, shattered, imperfect family but I desperately wanted them to stay together by the end of it. *

The book was a really fast fluid read, and I couldn’t put it down until I was finished every single last word of it. I was delighted by each and every turn the direction of the story went, and the story always manages to shock and put in twists that didn’t feel jarring or out of place. (I did think the Key stuff was a little overdone, but the Key gave me this really awesome mother-daughter interaction scene, so who am I to complain?) The writing was solid and serviceable. It didn’t stick out to me it jarring ways, but at the same time it didn’t wow or stand out for me either. But, honestly? With a cast like this and the crazy town of monster-infested Portero, who’s going to care? I had a blast reading this as Reeves took me for a roller coaster ride, and I enjoyed every second of it. Read it, read it, read it.

The Verdict: Dude, I travelled all the way downtown just so I could buy this on the release day. I had to walk 5 streetlights outside in the freezing cold because the subway shut down and by the time I got to the bookstore, bought it, and came back home, my legs were frozen solid. But was it worth it? DAMN STRAIGHT IT WAS. The year of 2010 just started but I can definitely tell that this is gonna be one of my Top Favourite Debuts of this year. Awesome premise, awesome characters, with one of the ruinous and moving mother-daughter interactions I’ve read in ages plus a nice dash of epic crazy, readers will be in for an amazing treat.

Rating: 4.5/5
Enjoyment: !!!100%!!!

Title and Cover Discussion: I really love the title! It sounds awesome, and I keep associating ‘Violet’ with ‘Violent’ in my mind and it totally fits with the very vicious battles that raged all throughout this novel, and the violence of the characters in general. The only thing is that, I think the violet is referring to Hanna’s dresses, but she never calls them ‘violet’, but ‘purple’. I kinda wished that Reeves went back and changed all the ‘purple’ words into ‘violet’ to have continuity with the title, but this is just a nitpick, really. Now, the COVER. Omfg so gorgeous. If the Simon & Schuster company ever decided to make a poster out of this cover I’d buy it in a heartbeat. I looooove the violet dresses in the background, the font, the colours, EVERYTHING. ♥ ♥ One of the best covers I’ve ever seen.

Title: A-
Cover: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*I was also amused by all the talk of the “Price fascination” when it came to Rosalee Price and her ability to draw in men to her side. Reminded me of Senjogahara. Those who’ve watched Bakemonogatari will know what I’m talking about.

New Crayons: What's New On Our Shelves

Remember when you were a kid and getting new crayons was a big deal? Getting new books holds the same kind of magic for some of us big kids. Every week on Sunday, I post what's new in our box. I think crayons is a pretty cool metaphor for multicultural lit. Every week we receive a book is a good week.

Color Online staff and I have had a good week. Check out our bounty:

Me-
Brown Eyes, Brown Skin by Cherly Willis Hudson and Bernette G. Ford, illustrated by George Ford. When Cheryl commented at RAWW, I recognized her name but couldn't remember why. Then I visited the link she provided, saw this book and I broke out in a wide grin. This was one of my youngest daughter's early books. Cheryl sent several children's books. Some will be listed others will be set aside for donations. Cheryl had very kind words to say about us. Of course, I asked her to join us here.

One Million Men and Me by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Peter Ambush. Kelly is an active member and supporter here. See her wwoc profile and do check out her work. She sent several titles including The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon. Thank you. Adding these to our Prize Bucket.


One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. Elyse at Harper Collins discovered Color Online via Mitali Perkins. I have been wanting to read this so you know I was glad to receive this unexpected gift. See Doret's review here
and Ari's at Reading In Color.














Ah Yuan-
All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
Sun Sword: Uncrowned King,Sun Sword: Shining Court and Sun Sword: Sea of Sorrows by Michelle (Sagara) West
8th Grade Superzero and A Wish After Midnight. Thanks to the awesome Zetta Elliott.

Doret-
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow

What did you get this week in the mail, at the bookstore or on trade?
Happy Reading.

Perfect Shot: Rigaud's Got Game

Perfect Shot
Debbie Rigaud
Simon & Schuster
2009
Reviewer: Doret

I love when a book gives exactly what it promises with good writing and no unnecessary tricks like out of the blue Vampires. Perfect Shot was such a joy to read. If I had known I was going to enjoy it has much as I did, I would've read it sooner.

15-year-old London is a volleyball star. She's working part time at an art store to raise money for volleyball summer camp. A guy (Brent) catches London's attention at the art store. She soons finds herself accidentally entering a modeling competition to catch Brent's attention, a photography intern.

London doesn't feel like she fits in with the other girls. Rigaud does a great job of developing and creating a very likable character in London. Yes, she's tall and beautiful but she's still unsure because of all the name calling in middle school. So its easy why London would feel insecure around the other contestants. Plus, London is more sporty than fashion. It's her best friend Pam that has the eye for fashion.

London's biggest competition is an old frenemy, Kelly. I loved the contest. Think, Next Top Model but online with believable challenges. The Perfect Shot was a whole lot of fun to read. I laughed out loud many times.

Perfect Shot is a part of Simon & Schuster's Romantic Comedy series. It's the first one that features Black characters. It's was so nice to read a light, fun and well written YA book with characters of color. Ages 11 up. Only $6.99

While reading Perfect Shot, I thought of Love at First Click by Elizabeth Chandler. Another great Sports & Boys (S&B) chick lit read.

There's also The Ex Games (snowboarding) by Jennifer Echols

Sports & Boys chick lit is a beautiful thing.

A Haitian Ghost : Ruined by Paula Morris

Ruined
Paula Morris
Point
2009

Rebecca Brown and her dad have always lived in NYC. Mr. Brown, travels on occasion for work. This time he will be gone too long for a neighbor to watch Rebecca. Rebecca is headed to New Orleans to live with a woman she has only meet once, Claudia and her twelve-year-old daughter, Aurelia. In order to get into the exclusive academy for her sophomore year, Rebecca must pretend she is Claudia's niece. Rebecca gets along very well with Aunt Claudia and Aurelia which is good since they live in a shotgun house and there isn't much room.

Rebecca doesn't care much for New Orleans. Everyone seems concerned with money, family ties, status and who knows who. At Rebecca's new school, the students from the most connected families are known simply as Them. The Gray's, Bowman's and Sutton's are the core families.
Helena Bowman and Marianne Sutton are the It girls at Mead Academy. Rebecca doesn't like or trust either. There's only one living person Rebecca enjoys spending time with Anton Gray. Both know their relationship would not be accepted so they do their best to keep it a secret. The only other friend Rebecca has is Lisette, a ghost. Lisette is around Rebecca's age, she died in 1853 under suspicious circumstances. Lisette has been haunting the cemetery, across from Aunt Claudia's house since her death. She can't go in peace until the truth comes out. When Lisette was alive she was a free person of color. She and her mother lived in Faubourg Treme. Rebecca spends much of her time in the cemetery talking to Lisette.

The author does a wonderful job of incorporating a lot of New Orleans rich history:

Rebecca decided to smuggle her homemade sandwich in to the library. She liked looking at the maps of Louisiana and the Caribbean, back when France and Spain and Britain were fighting over territory and power. It made her think of pirates and buccaneers, of plantation ladies and dashing explorers though, she knew, this was a naive and romantic view. Back in the days when Haiti was called Saint-Dominique, it was known as the Pearl of the Antilles, a place of incredible riches where the French produced sugar and coffer and rum for their entire empire. But this was only possible because of hundreds of thousands of slaves. And the brutal treatment of these people led to the slave rebellion and Haitian revolution, which was incredibly bloody and terrible. Rebecca's class had been story it in history. Anyone with the means to escape Haiti fled the fighting and thousands of these refugees came to New Orleans like Lisette's grandparents. With them they'd brought their music and their food and their religion, voodoo. According to her teacher they changed the the culture of New Orleans forever. And now, since the hurricane, people had moved to the city from Mexico and Central America, to work on rebuilding houses; the city would change again.

After I read the passage, I knew it was the one I would share, though I had many to choose from. I especially loved when Lisette gives Rebecca a tour of New Orleans. The two hold hands so Rebecca can see the many ghosts of the city. The ghosts speak many languages and are of many ethnic backgrounds. This was one of my favorite scenes in the book. It was a pleasure to visualize the two walking down the streets of New Orleans invisible to the living.

Sometimes, with a novel when one part of the story thrives with life the other part suffers. This didn't happen with Ruined. The author has written a beautiful story all around. I loved it.
I must thank Casey at Bookworm 4life for bringing this book to my attention. I have a thing for novels with ghost especially with a hint of a mystery. While Ruined was on my radar when I found out Lisette was Haitian I bumped it up on my reading queue. I am very happy I did. Every time a customer mentions New Orleans I am quick to put Ruined in their hands. Ages 14up.

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Doret knows YA. She's bookseller, reader and reviewer. When she's not helping here with lists and other features here at Color Online, Doret blogs at Happy Nappy Bookseller. Check her out.

Color Me Brown Links

So we get a new cover from Bloomsbury. Do we get an end to an ugly practice? We need to demonstrate that POC titles have wide appeal so blog brown, people. Several months ago we began a challenge to champion reading and blogging brown.

This year, I'm participating in Women Unbound, South Asian Authors, GLBT: The Challenge that Dare Not Speak It's Name, Social Justice and Young Adult Challenge. And thanks to Pam, we have the POC Challenge.

Now for our featured reviews:


Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. I reviewed this title at Black-Eyed Susan's.
Zetta questions why women willingly embrace restrictions placed on them by their religion and culture. Like Zetta, I’m very interested to learn how teen girls would interpret this story. There are great comments and observations at Fledgling. Do check them out.

I read this and like Doret, I see Jameela in the context of her circumstances and culture. I think the writer gives an honest and realistic, and in a modern setting by the way a view of how some Muslim women see themselves.

Ali writes "Best Kept Secrets" at Worducopia. In anticipation of first-time readers here, I'm cheating a bit and featuring links to posts that highlight multiple books. I want to take away the excuse that you don't know how to find good multicultural lit.
When the Black Girl Sings, by Bil Wright*. I loved the backdrop of transracial adoption and music in this one.

Award Winners (children titles) spotlighted at Fledgling. I know, not a review but these are exemplary titles that deserve checking out.
the honor award went to Tanita S. Davis for Mare’s War, which is a story that still lingers in my mind. Fellow WAGW panelist Kekla Magoon won the John Steptoe New Talent Award for The Rock and the River .

What have you read lately? What do you recommend? Send me CMB links at cora_litgroup@yahoo.com. Put CMB on the subject line.

Happy Reading!