Customer Reviews

Between Good and Ghetto: African American Girls and Inner-City Violence (Series in Childhood Studies)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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A must-read for any sociologist or person who works in a legal, criminal, or educational profession. Racism and sexism are not the only roots of violence for inner-city, African-American/Black girls, and this book adds invaluable analysis to the debate.

This book was really interesting. It was a required reading for a sociology class at UCSB. Nikki Jones writes a compelling ethnography that follows case studies of girls as they have negotiated school, family life, and neighborhoods that are governed by the "code of the street" -- the form of street justice that controls violence in distressed urban areas. Jones describes the strategies that girls use to navigate interpersonal and gender-specific conflict. Jones further delineates what makes a "good" girl good and a "bad" girl bad.

This is an excellent ethnography that examines the life of African American girls in inner city Philadelphia. It fills a much needed gap in understanding how gender, race, and economic oppression shape the lives of these girls, as previous ethnographic research of Philadelphia has focused on men. I assign the book in my Social Deviance course and am amazed with the solely positive reviews of students.