Annotation:
The acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers weaves an updated Romeo & Juliet-esque tail of forbidden romance by means of verse.
Justification for Nomination:
Damien, a youth in Harlem with a promising future; falls in love with Junice. Junice is not the average young lady, however since her mother was just sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling drugs, and she and her sister move in with their grandmother.
Damien and Junice fall in love, and begin dating each other. Damien’s mother thinks he should pursue his childhood friend Roxanne, and his friend Kevin tries to talk him out of his “infatuation” with Junice. Junice’s mother feels betrayed that her daughter isn’t trying to get her out of prison and instead is focusing on her relationship with Damien. The ending is more cheerful than Romeo & Juliet, in that they end up together, however the reader can be lead to believe that the future will not be easy.
Myers’ characters use poetic verse throughout the novel, this is done extremely well. I can almost feel the words flowing off of the page the words are so smooth. The characters feelings are dealt with through verse, as are their conversations with one another. Each character also has a different style of flow which works to convey that character’s mood. Junice’s rhymes feel unsure, while Damien’s spew forth confidence that his love for Junice is real. Junice’s social worker’s lines don’t really flow and come off as cold and uncaring.
The reason that this book deserves a nomination is because it has teens dealing with their very real feelings. Their uncertainty for the future. Damien’s idealism is so strong, it could only come from a teenager; while his disagreement with his mother’s view of Junice is ripe for testing the adult boundaries. Junice’s uncertainty about living with her grandmother, and Damien’s intentions is also conveyed. Junice is also embarrassed that she lives in the bad part of town, and that her mother is in prison, and wonders how this will affect Damien’s feelings for her. Damien’s passion for Junice puts him at odds with his mother, and gets him into a fight with a local thug.
We also have the teens stepping into the role of grownup, and not being able to go back. Junice ends up raising her younger sister because her grandmother is senile. She also tends to do the grocery shopping for the family. In many ways, Junice is more adult than most of the grownups in the story. Damien too steps up into an adult role by pursuing the runaway Junice to the Greyhound stop enroute to Memphis (from Harlem). He steps into the role by promising to provide for, and protect Junice, and her sister. Both Damien and Junice are more grown up than their parents, who offer cheap excuses, and immature viewpoints. Their parents are oblivious to the whole situation of the kids.
This book is also great because the teens in the story are so alive, and real. This is a story about African-American teens trying to get by through all of the crap society throws at them, and turn out alright. Teens will also identify how both sets of parents are out of touch with the situations of the protagonists.
Suggestions for improvement: I give the author credit for not ending on a bleak note. Although Damien, and Junice end up together, I don’t see a happy future for them, only one paved with bitterness and resentment.
Genre: Poetry/Verse
The acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers weaves an updated Romeo & Juliet-esque tail of forbidden romance by means of verse.
Justification for Nomination:
Damien, a youth in Harlem with a promising future; falls in love with Junice. Junice is not the average young lady, however since her mother was just sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling drugs, and she and her sister move in with their grandmother.
Damien and Junice fall in love, and begin dating each other. Damien’s mother thinks he should pursue his childhood friend Roxanne, and his friend Kevin tries to talk him out of his “infatuation” with Junice. Junice’s mother feels betrayed that her daughter isn’t trying to get her out of prison and instead is focusing on her relationship with Damien. The ending is more cheerful than Romeo & Juliet, in that they end up together, however the reader can be lead to believe that the future will not be easy.
Myers’ characters use poetic verse throughout the novel, this is done extremely well. I can almost feel the words flowing off of the page the words are so smooth. The characters feelings are dealt with through verse, as are their conversations with one another. Each character also has a different style of flow which works to convey that character’s mood. Junice’s rhymes feel unsure, while Damien’s spew forth confidence that his love for Junice is real. Junice’s social worker’s lines don’t really flow and come off as cold and uncaring.
The reason that this book deserves a nomination is because it has teens dealing with their very real feelings. Their uncertainty for the future. Damien’s idealism is so strong, it could only come from a teenager; while his disagreement with his mother’s view of Junice is ripe for testing the adult boundaries. Junice’s uncertainty about living with her grandmother, and Damien’s intentions is also conveyed. Junice is also embarrassed that she lives in the bad part of town, and that her mother is in prison, and wonders how this will affect Damien’s feelings for her. Damien’s passion for Junice puts him at odds with his mother, and gets him into a fight with a local thug.
We also have the teens stepping into the role of grownup, and not being able to go back. Junice ends up raising her younger sister because her grandmother is senile. She also tends to do the grocery shopping for the family. In many ways, Junice is more adult than most of the grownups in the story. Damien too steps up into an adult role by pursuing the runaway Junice to the Greyhound stop enroute to Memphis (from Harlem). He steps into the role by promising to provide for, and protect Junice, and her sister. Both Damien and Junice are more grown up than their parents, who offer cheap excuses, and immature viewpoints. Their parents are oblivious to the whole situation of the kids.
This book is also great because the teens in the story are so alive, and real. This is a story about African-American teens trying to get by through all of the crap society throws at them, and turn out alright. Teens will also identify how both sets of parents are out of touch with the situations of the protagonists.
Suggestions for improvement: I give the author credit for not ending on a bleak note. Although Damien, and Junice end up together, I don’t see a happy future for them, only one paved with bitterness and resentment.
Genre: Poetry/Verse
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