Heaven

Angela Johnson's concise, poetic narrative gives weight to Marley's search for her identity. When she finds out that the parents she has always known are actually her aunt and uncle, Marley struggles to come to terms with whether her birth parents or the parents that raised her shaped her identity more. As Marley matures, she begins to see that it is ok to love and be loved by both her Momma and Daddy and her Uncle Jack (her absentee biological father)- "I love the people who raised me by that river and...I love the man who finally came back to tell me the stories I needed to hear from so long ago." Marley's story is short, poignant, and beautiful.

I liked this book for three reasons. Heaven by Angela Johnson is relatable, brutally honest, and eye-opening for anyone that reads it. Marley, the protagonist of this chapter book, is a very raw character. Her whole world is turned upside down when she is told that her parents are really not her parents but her aunt and uncle. She also finds out that her Uncle Jack, who her family wires money to every week, is actually her biological father. Everything she's ever known has suddenly turned into a lie. Marley's experiences with other characters show true and realistic situations that most her age are faced with. What I love most about her character is that she is universal to many teens her age and older. The second reason I loved this show more book was the format. Johnson does an extraordinary job of organizing the text in a way that it flows so seamlessly. This chapter book is divided up into three parts and contains chapters within. The chapters are each uniquely titled. Although Heaven is an easy read, it shouldn't be downplayed. Much like her other books, Johnson hits home on the values of love and family and what it truly means. The last reason I enjoyed this book was the writing. Johnson is poetic in nature and that is proof in this text. Her rhythmic style contributes to the ease of reading this book. Readers can really feel the emotion that Marley, and even the characters surrounding her, experience throughout the book. Overall, Heaven hits home and sheds light on the true values of love and what really defines a family. It also focuses on the importance of finding who you really are even in the harshest turmoil. show less

In this fictional story, a young girl named Marley lived a pleasant, easy going life in Heaven, Ohio. As far as she knew, she had a wonderful, loving family and the best friends she could ask for. Unfortunately, one letter changed her entire life. With the deceit fresh in her mind, Marley felt she had no one to turn to. Marley was faced with a challenge. Should she trust those who lied for so long to help her discover herself or figure it out on her own?
Although the storyline was unique, I felt there was no fluency. The author, jumped around a lot, which only made it more confusing. There are better techniques to create suspense. However, I did enjoy the letters throughout the story that led up to the climax.

Marley learns the truth about her "parents" one summer afternoon. Marely discovers that she is adopted and she feels like the world she has known has been a lie. Can she trust these people any longer? What about Uncle Jack? Who is he really?
Johnson's characters come to life and make the story seem real. This story teaches the reader that those who love us sometimes lie to protect us from the truth. Marley discovers that she hasn't lost her parents, but has gained new information that helps her understand who she is.

Awards and Honors: Coretta Scott King

Marley is a 14-year-old girl who lives with her parents and brother in the small town of Heaven, Ohio. Her two good friends are Shoogy Maple, a rebellious teenager in a seemingly perfect family, and Bobby, a young man not a whole lot older than herself, who is raising a daughter on his own. Marley's other important person in her life is Uncle Jack, who she's never met, but with whom she's corresponded by mail for many years. He seems to just travel around the country with his dog, Boy, as a semi-vagrant.
But Marley's whole world is shaken to it's core when she learns that Uncle Jack is not her uncle, but her father. And her parents are actually her aunt and uncle. She has a difficult time coming to terms with this new reality.
I loved show more this short little book. It's got some powerful stuff in in it.

Side note: I did find it odd that it won the Coretta Scott King award. Although Marley and her family are black, there doesn't seem to be anything at all about the black experience in the book. If the characters had all been white, it could have been exactly the same tale. There was mention several times about black churches in around America being burned. This was odd. It didn't play a part in the story in any way. I couldn't figure out why it was mentioned at all. show less

When 12 year old Marley discovers that she is adopted, her perception of who she is and the parents who raised her is turned upside down.

Learning that her uncle is her biological father, she struggles to define truth.

This book is well written and the characters are all very likeable. As a parent of an adopted daughter I didn't feel the issues were depicted as in depth as they should/could have been.
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Marley (named after Bob Marley) has lived in Heaven, OH since she was two years old, and everything has been--heavenly. The only difference between her and the other kids she knows is that she makes weekly trips to Ma's Superette to send money to her Uncle Jack via Western Union. Uncle Jack writes letters to her regularly, telling all about his travels. She also has a best friend, Shoogy Maple, who has a strangely perfect family, and she loves to babysit baby Feather while her friend Bobby paints. One day Marley's world shifts suddenly, however, when she learns that she is actually her Uncle Jack's daughter, and that the people she thought were her parents are actually her aunt and uncle. her name isn't even Marley--it's Monna. Marley show more struggles to come to grips with this new information, even as Uncle Jack decides it's time to come home and meet Marley.

This was a disappointing book. Marley remained a mostly flat character, and her cadre of friends seem like standard characters trotted out according to a formula: the troubled friend from the too-perfect family; the mysterious Uncle who writes loving letters to a niece he's supposedly never met; the lonely, sensitive artist with the darling child he adores. The letter which precipitates Marley's knowledge about her birth seems contrived, and her reaction to it somehow doesn't ring true. Part of the problem may be that the book just moves too quickly. At only 138 (small) pages, events seem to move too quickly to really get to know Marley and understand why this betrayal is so significant for her. Though it makes sense that she would be confused and hurt, and young readers will be able to identify with those feelings, she is never developed enough to completely engage the reader, and in the end the story just seems a bit trite. "Even though some of the stories will hurt my heart and sometimes make me afraid of losing more of what I have; I want her to know that it's been a fine life, for a girl like me, in Heaven." show less