December 24, 2001
Nailah, the African-American director of Books of Hope, a program promoting self-publishing, probes various strategies for dealing with racial inequity in America with sincerity and optimism in this debut collection. Nailah is a strong storyteller who creates well-defined characters, and she's at her best putting them in unusual situations that force both characters and readers to think outside the box. "Sunday Visit" is the prize example, describing the weekly visit of a young girl whose mother is in prison because her baby son was killed in an accidental fire that she caused. "Joey Falling" is similarly intriguing, presenting the anxieties of an African-American college teacher as she struggles to deal with the implications of her second unwanted pregnancy. The author's compassion shows in "My Side of the Story," a familiar but heartfelt account of a young boy's attempts to deal with his parents' divorce. But many of the other offerings are rife with plot and character clichés: "Trudy," set in 1954, is an earnest but clumsy look at a black store clerk's anger when a white woman accuses her of stealing, while "Four" portrays a quartet of different but stereotypical African-American men as they come together in a music group. There is talent on display in the crafting of these tales, and Nailah's empathy is obvious, but she'll have to steer clear of stereotypes and clichés to fully realize her potential. Agent, Pam Bernstein.
Starred review from February 15, 2002
First-time author Nailah approaches the monumental subject of racism's deleterious effect on the American psyche by practicing the wisdom of less is more in lithe stories that evince an efficient athleticism without sacrificing psychological depth. In "Bucket," she distills three generations of African American frustration down to its bitter essence when a black NBA rookie feels the lash of the white team owner. Two men abruptly cross the racial divide when a white yuppie helps a black cabbie change a flat in a dangerous neighborhood. Elsewhere Nailah discloses a world of hurt and guilt in stories about a valiant little girl visiting her mother in prison and a tenderhearted boy who can't understand his mother's absence. Other tales deftly explore the perverse equation of lighter skin with beauty, the attempt to secure some form of security by "acting white," or, conversely, to acquire a sense of identity by wearing African clothes. In spite of their directness and wrenching emotional accuracy, there is nothing predictable about these well-wrought stories, although they are classical in their catharsis. As Nailah's sensitive and compelling protagonists face adversity, fear, and sorrow, they discover new paths to freedom and new forms of power.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)