A FORWARD MOTION (Rags to Riches)

Rating:
Summary: A Coming-of-Age Interracial Romance
Review: Set in the 1970s this is a coming of age tale of a group of friends trying to negotiate a course between the straight life of education and church-going and the wild side of drugs, nightclubs and unprotected sex.
Many of the scenes are very lively with dialogue that represents the character's background: the hood. This may be difficult to negotiate for non-Americans. A number of scenes cannot fail to remind readers of their own teenage years. Young girls at a Jackson Five concert dreaming of being the one selected by their favorite Jackson, yet not really wanting anything to intrude on the fantasy. The peer pressure to become sexually active or to follow the group against your own better judgment. The desire for education but the fear of alienating your less academic peers. The writing in these and similar scenes is fresh and sharp. The author does sometimes tend to labor the point about the period setting with quick history lessons that appear as just that.
One of the strengths of the novel and one that will appeal to a youthful readership is the inclusion of section headings that relate to other media. For example, instead of a list of chapters and parts there is a MAIN MENU . Other parts are listed as SOUNDTRACK, TRAILER and DOCUMENTARY. In an age when literary theorists are keen on reading the meaning of non-narrative parts of a text, this is both modern and inclusive.
Givhan obviously has a lot to say about the pressures of growing up in inner city America that are relevant today. (posted by S.L. Givhan- Reviewer Anne James/New Hope International Review December 5th 2003)

Rating:
Summary: Growing Up Is Hard To Do
Review: The setting for A FORWARD MOTION by S.L. Givhan is the 1970's where we meet Crystal Alexander and her cousin Danielle. Growing up in the lower income section of town, they made the most of what they had. They were surrounded by drugs and crime but had fun in spite of it all. Just like the young generation now loves B2K and my generation grew up loving New Edition, Crystal and Danielle and their friends were in love with The Jackson 5. They would have done any and everything to meet their favorite celebrities face to face. The majority of their teen years were spent listening to, and following the careers and personal lives of The Jackson 5. In addition to being in love with The Jackson 5, both Crystal and Danielle were involved in serious relationships during their teen years. Crystal was involved in an interracial relationship with Julian Parker. Color was no barrier for Crystal and the love of her life. Although their relationship wasn't received well by others, they continued pressing on to ensure that their love would stand the test of time. Julian's family ends up relocating to California and Crystal doesn't know what to do when her heart is broken. Is there a chance for them to reunite in the future? Danielle, on the other hand, is involved with Resnick, who is in a band. They marry at an early age and Danielle realizes the glitz and glamour is not all it's cracked up to be. Seeing a side of her husband she has never seen before, she wonders who is this person she married and what happened to the man she fell in love with, and did she even know him at all? We follow Crystal and Danielle from their teen years to their young adult years, through all the trials and tribulations we are there. We watch as they materialize from young immature girls to strong women and through it all the bond they share is not broken.


A FORWARD MOTION is a coming of age novel that follows the lives of Crystal and Danielle Alexander. Although a good story line, the characters aren't well developed and several of the friends had nicknames and the author would flip back between the real name and nickname, and at times, it was a bit confusing knowing who was talking and to whom. The book would have received a higher rating if there weren't so many misspelled words and grammatical errors. I found myself looking for errors instead of following the storyline. If this book had tighter editing it would have been a much better read.


Reviewed by Eraina B. Tinnin
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers