Emako Blue

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: EMAKO BLUE
Review: " 'A sweet innocent life has been taken before her time!' the preacher shouted.
" 'Have mercy!' a woman in the front screamed.
" 'Amen!' a man yelled from the back of the church."

"To live and die in LA
It's the place to be
You've got to be there to know it
Where everybody wanna see."

--"To Live and Die in LA" by Tupac Shakur...who was murdered before the song was released.

Why do such disproportionate numbers of young urban males become members of gangs, obtain firearms, and end up murdering each other (and innocent bystanders) on a daily basis?

"What was a friend now a ghost in the dark" --Tupac

Why is it, four decades after California's Proposition 14 contributed to a community's despair and the ensuing Watts riots, that increasing numbers of Americans in LA and so many other cities continue their slide into poverty, face scary schools and war zone neighborhoods, lack of health care, and astronomical unemployment rates?

Why does such a large proportion of America think it's fair to have the rich leaping at huge tax cut windfalls funded by record deficits--irretrievably widening the gap between the two Americas--while the urban poor of that "other America" continue to jump at every loud noise, hoping that it won't be the last noise they hear?

"It's the City of Angels and constant danger," continues Tupac.

That sentiment is underscored in EMAKO BLUE, the heartfelt, hip, and tragic tale of that sweet, innocent life, set in Los Angeles, and written by CSK honoree Brenda Woods.

(Monterey:)

" 'Emako Blue.'
"She stood up, and as she walked up the steps, she immediately had the attention of all of the fellas in the room.
" 'Damn! She's fine!' I heard one of them say.
"Then she opened her mouth and her voice poured out into the auditorium. It was like vanilla incense, smoky and sweet.
"She had a voice that could do tricks, go high, low, and anywhere in between: a voice that's a gift from God. She was Jill Scott and Minnie Riperton, Lauryn Hill and India.Arie.
"She was too pretty, with dark brown skin and black braids extended to her waist.
"She was wearing tight faded blue jeans, a red sleeveless T-shirt, and black platform shoes. She was kind of tall, with a tight body like a video freak. I could feel jealousy and lust creeping around the room, and when she finished singing the room was as quiet as a library at midnight."

Emako's story is chronicled by four of her peers. And in the telling, those four repeatedly reveal themselves and facets of their city at least as much as they shed light on their beautiful, dead friend.

Monterey is an Everygirl: a dose of competence, a little touch of insecurity, a decent home, and fair, loving parents. Savannah is the miserable rich girl, creating drama in hopes of gaining the attention she's denied at home. Eddie--one of several characters with an older sibling behind bars--is desperately clawing his way through high school in hopes of fleeing to a college Anywhere Else in order to escape the fate that awaits so many young brothers who remain behind. And there's Jamal, whose modest attempts to portray himself as a player cannot disguise the fact that he proves to be thoroughly sweet inside.

"Jamal, this fine brother who was sitting behind me, asked the guy who was sitting next to him, 'Hey, Eddie, is she beautiful or what?'
" 'She's beautiful,' Eddie replied.
" 'I'm gonna havta get with that,' Jamal said.
"Eddie just laughed. 'Player, you crazy.'
"Emako walked down the steps and sat down in the empty seat next to me. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Her teeth were perfect and white. I ran my tongue over my braces. She wore silver rings on every finger, including her thumbs, and had a tattoo of a small red rose on her right shoulder. Confidence was all around her and I took some of it with me when Mr. Santos called my name next."

I read EMAKO BLUE after my eighth grader admitted to it's being the first book to have made her cry. She acknowledged that it was fiction while simultaneously ranting about the depth of Jamal's love and the unfairness of what happens.

"I threw the phone across the room. It broke into pieces. My moms knocked on the door.
" 'Jamal?'
"I couldn't answer.
"She turned the doorknob and came in.
" 'What's going on?' she said.
"I stared at the wall.
"She sat down beside me. 'Jamal?'
"I hung my head and cried."

In a similar fashion, the questions that come from my reading the story and contemplating the harsh realities behind it just make me want to cry too.

What is so damned sacred about the Second Amendment? With over a quarter billion Americans, why do we need every idiot and his brother owning a firearm or two or three? I think the notion of that right has about as much validity today as does having slaves count as three-fifths of a person. That the assault rifle ban will expire next week is an atrocity. I feel like a terrorized hostage to the wackos of America who worship their right to bear arms, and am cynical enough to believe that plenty of them derive pleasure from watching poor people filled with despair taking each other out on that daily basis.

Classes to whom I've already been booktalking EMAKO BLUE are taking delight in Ms. Woods's easy use of urban slang, without noticing her deft ability to do so without resorting to obscene words.

In fact, the only obscenity here is that Brenda Woods can write such a heartbreaking story and have it ring so utterly true in 2004 America.

Richie Partington
http://richiespicks.com
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and real
Review: EMAKO BLUE is a strong second novel for Brenda Woods and a worthy follow-up to her award-winning debut, THE RED ROSE BOX.

Emako is the new girl in Monterey's school; the two meet in chorus. Emako comes from the rough streets of South Central Los Angeles; Monterey's family is more financially secure. Emako and Monterey become friends, and Emako's singing career begins to take off. But where Emako comes from ends up getting in her way. Monterey is a somewhat naïve girl, whose horizons are broadened by her friendship with Emako. She gains the confidence to begin a relationship with the boy she has had a long-time crush on, Eddie. Emako is also full of confidence and begins a relationship with a player, Jamal, but she calls the shots. A more minor character is Savannah, a girl who is jealous of Emako for a variety of reasons.

These five characters take turns narrating chapters. Besides strong, well-developed characters and an unconventional method of narration, this book succeeds because of its realistic subject matter and plot. Readers will be able to understand the feelings of jealousy that Savannah feels towards Emako and the nerves that Monterey experiences when speaking to Eddie for the first time. The addition of financial problems, gang issues (Emako's older brother was involved in a gang and was recently released from jail), and budding romantic relationships are issues that many readers will have to face in their own lives.

But EMAKO BLUE is more than realistic; it is real. It shows the reality of being poor, of broken homes, and of money not being enough to make you happy. This is a powerful book that will stay with readers for a long time after they have finished it. Brenda Woods is a talented writer whose works cannot be missed.

--- Reviewed by Melissa A. Palmer ([e-mail])