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Summary
Summary
Having enchanted readers with her award-winning first novel The Red Rose Box, Brenda Woods now presents the gritty story of the beautiful and ill-fated Emako Blue, who was destined to be a star.From the moment she stands up in chorus auditions and her heavenly voice fills the room, Emako Blue profoundly affects anyone who meets her. But even as Emako draws together new friends and catches the attention of an important record producer, the streets of South Central Los Angeles are never far away, where everything changes in one horrific instant.Told in the stark, contemporary voices of Emako's friends, Emako Blue boldly examines how bonds are forged and relationships can be torn apart in a world of unavoidable violence. With the same depth of characterization that marked The Red Rose Box, Brenda Woods shows a remarkable stylistic range for a second novel. Emako Blue will make you think, even as it makes you cry.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-In Los Angeles, Monterey, Jamal, Eddie, and Emako follow the rules, avoid trouble, and plan to make something of themselves, despite the odds. Eddie and Emako are keenly aware of how difficult that can be; both live in South Central L.A. and have older brothers in prison. With her confident attitude, endearing nature, incredible singing voice, and exceptional beauty both inside and out, Emako makes a lasting impression on everyone. Monterey is thrilled to have her as a best friend. Jamal is in love with her. Eddie is glad to have a confidante who understands his family troubles. Emako is even nice to wealthy but unhappy Savannah, who is jealous of her. When Emako's brother is released from jail, she becomes the victim of a drive-by shooting meant for him. The teens' world is torn apart as they mourn their senseless loss. This short, succinct, and poignant story of friendship, family, and overwhelming sadness will leave some readers in tears. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of Emako's friends; additionally, some chapters are told from Savannah's perspective. Steered by perceptive dialogue, the story takes readers from Emako's funeral, through flashbacks, to the moment she is killed, to the shock and sorrow that follow her death, bringing it full circle. Each character is well drawn and believable, especially Emako. The strength of this book is in its simplicity, as it was in Woods's The Red Rose Box (Putnam, 2002).-Diane P. Tuccillo, City of Mesa Library, AZ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) Opening with the title character's funeral, this formulaic but moving novel about an innocent teen victim of gang violence then flashes back through the months leading up to her murder, using multiple perspectives to let readers get to know her. As seen through the eyes of the four teen narrators, each distinctly characterized, Emako Blue is a beautiful, smart, talented African-American girl from South Central L.A., an amazing singer seemingly destined for stardom. Her brother, on the other hand, is a gang member serving a two-year sentence. ""Dante... he's got bad karma"" is how Emako describes him to her best friend. His bad karma ultimately ensnares Emako: on Dante's first day home from prison, she is gunned down in her front yard by a rival gang member aiming for her brother. This modern-day morality tale has about as much subtlety as a made-for-TV movie, but the suddenness with which the tragedy occurs is sobering, and readers will feel acutely the injustice of Emako's untimely death and unrealized promise. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
This short, accessible story packs a huge emotional punch with its depiction of innocence lost to random gang violence. Three high-school friends and one enemy relate their memories as they attend the funeral of a beautiful, enormously talented girl from South Los Angeles. Readers can become immersed not only in the story of Emako's short life, but that of Monterey, her middle-class friend; Jamal, a "player" with girls who truly falls in love with Emako; Eddie, a Hispanic boy determined to escape to college; and Samantha, a wealthy, jealous girl who spreads vicious rumors about Emako. With spare prose and ghetto slang, Woods targets her characters with pinpoint emotional accuracy, giving each a reality that should reach a diverse population of young readers. She provides abundant discussion topics and features short, easy chapters written with an honesty that should appeal even to highly reluctant readers. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 7-10. Woods' The Red Rose Box, a 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book, is a moving historical novel that follows young sisters who move to a posh L.A. home in the 1950s. Woods returns to L.A. here, but this time her story is contemporary and raw: in the first scene, high-school friends attend the funeral of one of their own--Emako, a beautiful, talented young singer who was shot outside her South Central home. In alternating voices, four young people talk about Emako, revealing something about their own very different lives. The shifting viewpoints create interesting perspectives on the story, but with so little space devoted to each speaker, characterizations sometimes feel superficial. Even so, many teens will want this for the wrenching story and for the young, up-to-the-minute African American voices that, like the characters in Janet McDonald's novels, ask honest questions about friendship, race, love, and how best to navigate dangerous neighborhoods, self-absorbed parents, and their own flaws--and realize their dreams. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist