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Pemba's Song: A Ghost Story (2008)

by Marilyn Nelson(Favorite Author)

3.23 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

054502076X (ISBN13: 9780545020763)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Scholastic Press

review 1: Pemba has just moved from New York to Connecticut because of her mother's new job. Pemba isn't happy about this. She's left all her friends and boyfriend behind to come to some nowhere town in another state.And if that wasn't bad enough, it seems that the house she and her mother are living in is haunted.I was excited about reading this book. I read a lot of YA books because that is what I enjoy and I also love ghost/paranormal books. Plus the main character is African American. I think it is great to find YA books with main characters of a different race/culture. And I wanted to like this book, to like the main character. But I felt that the author made Pemba into a stereotype. She is African American and likes rap music, writing rhymes and talks slang.The book wasn't bad... more, the story was interesting, but I'm disappointed that the character seemed to be written as a race stereotype.
review 2: It was around my junior year of high school when I read M+O 4ever, by Tonya C. Hegamin; I thought it was gonna be my top favorites, but I felt the story line between Opal and Hannah didn't fit, so I ended up not liking the book. When I saw that Tonya co-authored with Marlyn I said to myself "maybe it'll be good this round". Moving on...Almost from the beginning to end there's a shift through the protagonist language. To put it simply, one minute Pembas' talking like she's from the hood, then the dialogue text makes her sound proper. In the book it clearly stated Pemba was from Brooklyn, New York.So key thing to remember folks, don't change the language style of the character!There were a few perks from this book, but one really stood out to me. I liked when Pemba made reference how the majority of people, don’t really show much creditability to the (historically) Black-Americans who came before: Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks. With this subject alone we need to look up other folks who've made a difference. I think overall the book was okay; I just wish it wasn't so fast paced. I wanted to get to know Phyllys more than what the author’s delivered, and again with the language style, she was a slave--therefore she didn't speak proper! I could've done without the poetry also.Sorry if I sound a little harsh. Check out my blog: TheYoungBookCollector.blogspot.com less

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