Tag: Coming of Age

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – Pretty Privilege Book 1 by S.R. Graham

Title: Pretty Privilege
Author: S.R. Graham
Publisher: S.R. Graham
Published: April 14, 2023
Page: 137

Eighteen-year-old Zuri Natrice Hall is sick of being treated like a caged bird. Constantly complimented on her beauty, paraded across beauty pageant stages, commercial sets, and in the streets of Myrtle Beach, Zuri musters up the courage to accept her win as Miss High School USA, a victory she knew she had in the bag before the contest was over.

Cringing on the inside, Zuri fake smiles through the speech she is forced to give and conjures up the fake tears she is expected to produce. In real life, Zuri despises being paraded around like a trophy. She hates the pageants and yearns to pursue her own dream of being a movie director.

But her mother is not having it.

Dr. Delilah Elise and Mayor Stephen Hall are their town’s Michelle and Barrack Obama, and Zuri, their only daughter of four, is their beautiful princess. Having abandoned her dreams of becoming the first woman in her family to become a doctor, Mrs. Hall expects Zuri to carry on the family legacy of dominating pageants and becoming Miss USA.

Everything Zuri does not want.

Finally, she sets out for college, hoping to live on her own terms. She is finally out of the cage and allowed to embrace her full, authentic self while navigating college life.

When Zuri catches the eye of rich and spoiled Dexter Malone at a party, she has no idea how complicated things will get. She eventually falls in love with the nerdy boy Calvin, but Dexter is determined to make her his no matter the cost.

Books about Black families tend to surround the burden of poverty and racism in some capacity. Rarely do we get to witness the Black family simply living life. I appreciated that about this book. Zuri’s parents successfully contribute to their household and community, are financially stable, and are happily married while raising their four children.

However, Zuri still has to make her own decisions and live life outside of her parents. And like most of us at Zuri’s age, her lessons will be learned the hard way.

The only thing stopping this from being a five-star is it’s a bit erotic for a young adult novel. Not that these kids ain’t out here doing the nasty in real life, but the details seemed a bit much for this kind of book.

Nevertheless, Pretty Privilege is a wonderful coming-of-age story that fans of young adult novels will love. It introduces some critical topics for parents and young adults, such as allowing your children to become their own person. It is also an eye-opener for young people to be careful when they do leave the nest and go out into this loveless world. Everyone is not your friend or has your best interest.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 4/5
Characterization: 4/5
Authenticity / Believable: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/ 5 stars

Grab Pretty Privilege From Amazon Here.

Pretty Privilege eBook Cover

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Stay tuned for our next dope read. Next up:

I See You HBCU!

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*Books are read in the order they are received.

 

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – Crossroads: Women Coming of Age in Today’s Uganda Edited by Christopher Conte

Title: Crossroads: Women Coming of Age in Today’s Uganda

Editor: Christopher Conte

Print Length: 180 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1507680228

Publication Date: August 30, 2015

ASIN: B014QBPALM

Crossroads is a fascinating anthology comprising autobiographical essays by several Ugandan women. I loved the opportunity to learn more about the Ugandan culture, the upbringing of African women, and how it is different (and in many ways similar) to the upbringing of Black women here in America. Rarely do we hear of what these women endure so it was refreshing to read about it. All of the stories have a common coming-of-age theme where the women discuss their experiences coming into womanhood among the customs and traditions of their country. We learn about their childhoods, sex, marriage, career, and livelihood.

All of the stories were compelling, but a few really stuck out for me more than the others. I enjoyed the opening story, for instance, about the meaning of names and the cashier mistreating the woman because of her name. I can relate to having a unique name myself and I am often asked the same questions that Nakisanze Segawa was asked.

Two stories had the biggest impact on me above all the others. The young women taken from their University without a word, abused and forcibly imprisoned was heartbreaking. I also found the customs surrounding the Ssengas both fascinating and odd.

By custom Ssenga’s are paternal aunts who assume special responsibilities and help to guide the women, their “nieces” in the ways of society. They teach the women how to behave, submit to a man, how to display class and grace, they monitor their manners and their ways around the house.

Ssengas teach young women about their bodies, hygiene, and sex, preparing them to be good wives. I love the concept of having someone there to mentor young women and to ensure they grow to be respectable wives and mothers. The fact that the Ssengas take over this role and not the mother is interesting to me. I found myself wondering if it would help for young women in the States, especially young Black women without mothers, to have this kind of guidance and support instead of having to figure things out on their own or in the street.

I enjoyed least the extent to which the teachings of the Ssengas went. It’s one thing to teach young women about their bodies and how to be wives, but the extent to which these women are obligated to serve their husbands is, in my opinion, oppressive. Some of the behaviors were utterly offensive and unwarranted. I support the idea of submitting. I think that men are the spiritually appointed head of the home and that wives should submit to their husbands as the Bible commands.

However, I dislike how submission is abused, manipulated, and twisted to support abusive behavior. Not only do women in America have an inaccurate concept of submission but so do women in other countries. Submission is not slavery; a man’s authority over his wife does not exempt him from certain duties and responsibilities or allow him to be abusive. Men are to love their wives as their own bodies, and a wife supports and respects her husband.

If done properly, submission and authority can work well but if not done correctly, can easily become oppressive for both parties.

Some great qualities are promoted in Uganda that many women across the globe can benefit from, but there are some things that we may find strange if we didn’t grow up that way.

This book sparks great conversation about the lives of women and is relevant considering the social and political climate of our time.

In what way does earning degrees and having an education balance with being good wives? Do the women defy tradition or follow it?

Movement / Strength: 5/5

Entertainment Factor: 5 /5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Crossroads: Women Coming of Age in Today’s Uganda is available now on Amazon

About the Editor

Christopher Conte is an American journalist who spent fifteen years as a reporter and editor for the Wall Street Journal before beginning a freelance career. He has traveled extensively throughout Africa, eastern Europe, and Asia, as a consultant for the World Bank’s International Finance Group. Conte has also worked as a trainer and mentor to journalists in Uganda, and other locations throughout Africa and Asia.

Movie Night Friday – Cooley High

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Welcome back to another Movie Night Friday. It’s obvious you guys don’t like the movies I like but nonetheless lol, here’s another EC Fav: Cooley High.

Cooley High is a classic! First, its set in my home town of Chicago and I have a cousin whose name is on the bathroom wall in one of the scenes. In fact, everyone from Chicago probably has a relative who was in this movie. That’s because while the starring actors were pros, the extras were recruited right from the projects. Yup, many of these kids lived right over there in the Cabrini Green Projects.

Now, what is the movie about anyway?

Richard “Cochise” Morris (Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs), a local basketball hero, and Leroy “Preach” Jackson (Glynn Turman), who dreams of a career in writing, are likable Chicago high school students in 1960s Chicago. They’re into hanging out with friends, pretty girls and the Motown sounds so popular during the era. Each wants to make it big in his own way, but not everybody they meet is looking out for them, as they learn when a seemingly harmless outing goes awry.- Google

A simple film, Cooley High captured our hearts because of its realness. Though I wasn’t born in 1975 when it released, I too once lived in the projects on the city streets of the Chi. I too can remember growing up poor with a single mom. Movies like this are relatable and showcase the realness and often the struggle of inner city youth. The history behind the movie is also interesting:

The story behind “Cooley High” is even more dramatic than the comedy-drama that unspooled on the screen. It’s the story of Kenneth Williams, who, like protagonist Preach, left Chicago’s Cabrini-Green projects with dreams of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter. Having dropped out of high school, he hitchhiked from the Windy City to Hollywood with $5 in his pocket and no connections, and for a while he supported himself selling drugs. But the aspiring writer, who renamed himself Eric Monte, also befriended actor Mike Evans, who’d been cast as neighbor Lionel Jefferson on the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family.” Through Evans, Monte pitched the show’s producer, Norman Lear, a script introducing the characters of Lionel’s parents, George and Louise Jefferson. Lear bought the script and eventually spun off George, Weezy, and Lionel into their own hit sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” but Monte was neither hired as a staff writer nor given credit or residuals for “The Jeffersons,” which ran from 1975 to 1985.

– http://www.moviefone.com/2015/06/25/cooley-high-most-influential-movie/

Monte and Evans would go on to produce the sitcom hit Good Times.

Movie Trailer:

Since the movie is 41 years old, it was hard to find a Trailer that was clear enough and also interesting enough (Didn’t want to show scenes that made it look like a boring movie! It definitely is not). The one I found isn’t a trailer but just an excerpt from the movie. The only other option was from the old VHS and I didn’t enjoy that trailer. It wasn’t showing any interesting parts.

And that’s it for Movie Night Friday.

MNF2

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – The Mistreatment of Zora Langston by Lisa W. Tetting

Title: The Mistreatment of Zora Langston (Paperback)
Author: Lisa W. Tetting
Website: https://rebirthoflisa.wordpress.com/
ISBN 13: 9780996142908
Published: March 15, 2015
Publisher: Lisa W. Tetting
Pages: 158 pages
Genre: Coming of Age, Young Adult, Drama, Fiction

The Mistreatment of Zora Langston is a coming-of-age novel surrounding the abuse experienced by nine-year-old Zora Langston. 

Set in Goldsboro, North Carolina, there is so much to relate to and learn in this powerful testimony of abuse, betrayal, and the ability to still love and be loved through it. Ironically, the cause of her father’s death becomes the epitome of tragedy for Zora in more ways than one. His enemies become hers, and when it seems things are getting better everywhere she turns, they only worsen. 

Zora is not given a chance to mourn her father before her mother’s boyfriend moves in. Instead of her shining example of womanhood, her mother despises her existence. Her sister burns with intense jealousy, and her brother’s nonchalant attitude further illuminates Zora’s invisibility. 

As a result of continual physical and emotional abuse, Zora is sent to live with her Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim and, for the first time, gets to experience what it means to be happy and to have a family. I was excited to see her get excited at those little things that children love.

What makes this a moving piece is that it is told from the eyes of a nine-year-old. I did not expect Zora to endure what she did, and the abuse she encountered was shocking. Children tend to be very open and honest even amid grown-up experiences, and Zora is no different. She approaches the situations of her youth with the same level of naïveté as most children. Yet, while Zora’s perspective is rightly childlike, the tragedies she endured strengthen her. Thus, her reaction to the situations surrounding her is in many ways also mature, surprising the adults around her, who are often taken aback.

What I found especially educational is how the author incorporated the life lessons of Zora’s dad and the parenting of her Aunt and Uncle into the tragedies of her life and how those lessons were used to strengthen Zora in the moments she needed them most. Despite her hardships, Zora could still hold on to a level of innocence deserving of a nine-year-old. “I usually wore a swim cap…but that made me look like an alien” (Tetting, 102) is just one of the many sayings of little Miss Zora that made me laugh out loud. I could have sworn I thought the same thing at her age!

The Mistreatment of Zora Langston is a book of shocking revelations and raw emotion. As adults, we have much to learn from children like Zora. It is not just a book about her; we also get to see how adults view situations. 

Debut Author Lisa Tetting proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that “it’s not the love that hurts; its the denial of love.”

Ratings:
Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 4/5
Characterization: 5/5
Authenticity / Believable: 5/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Recommendation: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/5

The Mistreatment of Zora Langston is available now on Amazon!

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