Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

My mock Newbery thoughts:

I'm about halfway through and so far I think this is a very distinguished contribution to American literature for young adults. Not children, though. (I'm willing to concede that it may just hit the very end of the Newbery age range, which goes up to 14, but I do so grudgingly because, in my humble opinion, the spirit of the award is to recognize a book written primarily for children--being able to imagine one bright 14-year-old for whom this book will work technically makes it eligible, but that doesn't mean the book has "excellence of presentation for a child audience"). Though it starts when the main character is just a boy, NCS is primarily about adults and adult issues. It also takes for granted a good deal of American history is known by the reader (for example, the state of race relations in 20th century America, and who Malcom X was). I can't help comparing NCS to We've Got a Job which is much better suited for a child audience.

Let's get specific. The first part of the book is about how young Lewis was a troublemaker and everyone thought his brother Lightfoot was the golden child. This is great stuff because we know the book is about how Lewis is going to make history. However, I feel like this is the high point in terms of child appeal. Lewis Michaux is an adult and running gambling rings by page 19 (that's 19 pages out of 165).

I see a lot of potential for confusion when a child dives into a narrative like this without knowing the historical context. There are so many things in NCS that pass without explanation. Why would Lightfoot want to marry somebody because she's light skinned? Why do so many characters keep saying black people don't read? The ideal reader for this book has knowledge of the history of racism in the United States, from slavery up through the 1960s. This is why I see this as an excellent novel for young adults. Nelson herself said in an interview that she set out to write a biography for teens.

But in the same interview she also said, "[Don't] underestimate what kids can handle. They’re smart and beg to be challenged. I hope my writing stretches them." I want to take that to heart. I'll write more when I finish the book.… (more)