Every Time a Rainbow Dies

Rating:
Summary: A moving story
Review: This story of a 16 year old boy who helps a girl that was raped down the alley next to his apartment building was beautiful. Both Thulani and Ysa have serious emotional problems that they must deal with through the course of this novel. Thulani has been hiding himself from the world and avoiding coping with his mother's sudden death. Ysa tries to cope with her violation and sense of powerlessness. The love within Thulani's heart that keeps him persistent in the face of Ysa's constant rejection is powerful. He knows she has been hurt and that he can help her through it--never suspecting that she can help him through his own pain. One problem I had with this novel was understanding the perspective of Thulani's older brother Truman. He has been a father figure to Thulani since he was a little boy. Truman tries to take Thulani's college money to help pay for a new house after selling the apartment building left by their mother, simply because Thulani won't be going to college. It isn't Truman's money to take, and he isn't willing to give it to Thulani until Shakira refuses to move until he does. If Truman and Shakira hadn't moved and forced Thulani to take action with his life I don't think he would have taken the first steps to find his father in Africa and find out who he is. All in all I would say I really liked this story. This novel just doesn't have as much humor as Williams-Garcia's other works, however, the story of love and devotion these two share makes up for it.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book for mature readers.
Review: When Jamaican-born Thulani hears Mr. Dunleavy talk about his pastoral homeland, Thulani wants nothing more than to escape the old man's ramblings. Clearly, he is unimpressed by the sentimentality; he loves his manic neighborhood in Brooklyn far too much. It is not until the end of Rita Williams-Garcia's Every Time a Rainbow Dies that Thulani appreciates his heritage enough to return to the island and make peace with his estranged father. This sensitively crafted, coming-of-age story infuses the eccentric culture of Jamaican-Americans with the universality of becoming an adult.

One morning while on his rooftop, taking care of his pet birds, Thulani sees a girl being raped on the street below. After attempting to help her, he returns to the scene of the attack where he finds the skirt that was torn from her body. Rather than returning it to her, Thulani takes it back to his bedroom and pins it to his wall as a reminder of the mysterious girl who now captivates his thoughts. Little by little, he learns more about her'her name (Ysa), her ambition (fashion school), her background (Haitian). The precarious relationship the two adolescents form provides both of them with a safe environment to grow and to heal.

The language is as colorful and exotic as a tropical carnival itself. Williams-Garcia artfully compares the stolen skirt to 'a hundred golden eyes of the peacock' (21). The image comes full-circle when Thulani finally folds the skirt away. 'He laid Ysa's skirt on his bed and folded it in half, fourths, then eights, turning the gold and turquoise on the wrong side. Even so, he could still see her eyes before him, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing'' (166).

The relationship between Thulani and Ysa is treated with depth. Williams-Garcia never gives in to unconvincing dialogue or too-pat answers. Instead, she realistically depicts the elliptical conversations and uncertainty that characterize high school romances. Although the novel is beautifully written, the graphic nature of the rape scene in chapter one and the bedroom scene in chapter seventeen makes the novel appropriate only for mature readers. While the reading age is listed as grades nine through twelve, parents or teachers of children on the younger side of that spectrum would do well to approach this book carefully. But for those readers who can handle the candid nature of Every Time a Rainbow Dies, Williams-Garcia has written a story that is sometimes tender, sometimes edgy, but always touching and true.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book for mature readers.
Review: When Jamaican-born Thulani hears Mr. Dunleavy talk about his pastoral homeland, Thulani wants nothing more than to escape the old man�s ramblings. Clearly, he is unimpressed by the sentimentality; he loves his manic neighborhood in Brooklyn far too much. It is not until the end of Rita Williams-Garcia�s Every Time a Rainbow Dies that Thulani appreciates his heritage enough to return to the island and make peace with his estranged father. This sensitively crafted, coming-of-age story infuses the eccentric culture of Jamaican-Americans with the universality of becoming an adult.

One morning while on his rooftop, taking care of his pet birds, Thulani sees a girl being raped on the street below. After attempting to help her, he returns to the scene of the attack where he finds the skirt that was torn from her body. Rather than returning it to her, Thulani takes it back to his bedroom and pins it to his wall as a reminder of the mysterious girl who now captivates his thoughts. Little by little, he learns more about her�her name (Ysa), her ambition (fashion school), her background (Haitian). The precarious relationship the two adolescents form provides both of them with a safe environment to grow and to heal.

The language is as colorful and exotic as a tropical carnival itself. Williams-Garcia artfully compares the stolen skirt to �a hundred golden eyes of the peacock� (21). The image comes full-circle when Thulani finally folds the skirt away. �He laid Ysa�s skirt on his bed and folded it in half, fourths, then eights, turning the gold and turquoise on the wrong side. Even so, he could still see her eyes before him, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing�� (166).

The relationship between Thulani and Ysa is treated with depth. Williams-Garcia never gives in to unconvincing dialogue or too-pat answers. Instead, she realistically depicts the elliptical conversations and uncertainty that characterize high school romances. Although the novel is beautifully written, the graphic nature of the rape scene in chapter one and the bedroom scene in chapter seventeen makes the novel appropriate only for mature readers. While the reading age is listed as grades nine through twelve, parents or teachers of children on the younger side of that spectrum would do well to approach this book carefully. But for those readers who can handle the candid nature of Every Time a Rainbow Dies, Williams-Garcia has written a story that is sometimes tender, sometimes edgy, but always touching and true.