Jazmin's Notebook (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books)

Rating:
Summary: Jackie's Great Book Review
Review: As 14-year-old Jazmin Shelby sits on the stoop of her brownstone in 1960s Harlem, she can see the world pass her by, and she's not terribly impressed with the things she observes. Her community is plagued with hustlers, drug dealers, vagrants, and people who have lost touch with any type of reality outside of city life. Family life for Jazmin is not much better. Her mother is consumed by the demons of alcohol and is often "missing in action," going in and out of hospitals on all too frequent basis. Meanwhile, her father, whom she loved dearly, died recently in a car accident. Passed around from one place to another, Jazmin finally ends up with her older sister CeCe, and they both struggle to survive on their own. While the world around her appears bleak and full of despair, Jazmin does find solace in writing, and it is within the pages or her notebook that she fights to dream and laugh at the craziness that surrounds her. She keeps her sanity by ruminating on her frustrations about family, school, and the neighborhood she calls home. There is also hope, for Jazmin's notebook is also a place where she can safely tuck in the dreams she has for a better life. Spanning less than a year, Jazmin's story unfolds in chronological order and offers readers a realistic story of a young black girl who fervently attempts to cling onto dreams in the face of adversity.

Rating:
Summary: A poignant and tenderly rendered story of growing up
Review: As 14-year-old Jazmin Shelby sits on the stoop of her brownstone in 1960s Harlem, she can see the world pass her by, and she's not terribly impressed with the things she observes. Her community is plagued with hustlers, drug dealers, vagrants, and people who have lost touch with any type of reality outside of city life. Family life for Jazmin is not much better. Her mother is consumed by the demons of alcohol and is often "missing in action," going in and out of hospitals on all too frequent basis. Meanwhile, her father, whom she loved dearly, died recently in a car accident. Passed around from one place to another, Jazmin finally ends up with her older sister CeCe, and they both struggle to survive on their own. While the world around her appears bleak and full of despair, Jazmin does find solace in writing, and it is within the pages or her notebook that she fights to dream and laugh at the craziness that surrounds her. She keeps her sanity by ruminating on her frustrations about family, school, and the neighborhood she calls home. There is also hope, for Jazmin's notebook is also a place where she can safely tuck in the dreams she has for a better life. Spanning less than a year, Jazmin's story unfolds in chronological order and offers readers a realistic story of a young black girl who fervently attempts to cling onto dreams in the face of adversity.

Rating:
Summary: Jackie's Great Book Review
Review: Do you have something that you love very much? All she spends her time writing in her journal and writing poems about her week and when she was born and what happened when she was growing up. In one part she wrote a poem about aDay dreaming Yesterday I visited my favorite spot at macombs part three blocks away. I crept as far down the bank as my leather loafers would let me without slipping then I pulled up a slah of rock and beside the Harlem River. I think this was a good book and I think other people would enjoy reading this. This helped me think about what it would be like if you had know friends or family that would care for you except your aunt. This book shows a lot of courage and strength being without you family there by your side

Rating:
Summary: Deseree:Jazmin's Tough Life
Review: I am the director of a book club composed of pre-teen and teen girls. This was a little book with and full rich text. The main character in the story, Jazmin, is an inspiration to all girls especially those from disadvantaged economic background.

Rating:
Summary: Deseree:Jazmin's Tough Life
Review: Jazmine is a 14-year old who lives with her sister, CeCe, in Harlem, NYC during the 1960's, where danger is everywhere. She's smart, strong, and talented with a poetic gift. Her mother is in the hospital for drug use, and they don't have enough money to buy food, but she fights through it all, and tries to find her purpose in life.
Jazmin's Notebook was not a very interesting book. It didn't catch my intrest at the begining. There are some parts that caught my interest because when she was smoking and almost got raped, I continued to read to see what happened next. Overall the book doesn't have the spark for today's youth to read and enjoy.
I would recommend this book to kids in the sixth and seventh grades. The literature is realitvy easy to read. This book is for entertainment, and to show how people who don't have much money live.

Rating:
Summary: Jazmin's Notebook....good book?
Review: No, not really. It was just a book of journal entries and poems.It was just about a girl surrounded by drugs,sex,alcohol,and gunfire in Harlem. She is a real optimistic person and takes life day by day. It was a rather boring book and there was no climax in it. I would not reccommend this book to anyone over the age of 12.