Blessing in Disguise [Paperback]

Eleanora E. Tate (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Zambia Brown is facing yet another boring summer in Deacons Neck, South Carolina, so she sets her sights on big city fun: money, clothes, cars and parties. But in her pursuit of the fast life, will she jeopardize her family, friends, and even her life?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The witty and sassy-but sadly innocent-voice of narrator Zambia Brown instantly grabs readers' attention in this concluding volume of the trilogy begun in The Secret of Gumbo Grove and Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! For the past eight years, ever since her mother entered the hospital where she remains even now, 12-year-old Zambia has been raised by straitlaced Uncle Lamar and Aunt Limo in "itsy-bitsy, countrified, do-nothing Deacons Neck" on the South Carolina coast. She daydreams about moving in with her slick, shady-dealing father, Snake, who lives with "a lady named Sissy" and their 15-year-old twin daughters. When Snake opens another of his "boss" nightclubs on Zambia's block, Lamar, Limo and others in their African American community are up in arms. But Zambia is dazzled-longing desperately for a shred of love from Snake, she stops just short of self-destruction in her attempts to attain it. Snappy dialogue convincingly suggests these characters' love of life, against which Tate artfully, and disturbingly, juxtaposes darker feelings-"I'd give anything to see a shooting," Zambia declares-and real tragedy. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9?Zambia Brown, 12, is black and lives in Deacon's Neck, SC, with her aunt and uncle. She thinks her father, Snake, who is involved in a number of criminal activities, and her two older half sisters are exciting, and would love to live with them. She thinks the town is dull; she thinks her uncle and aunt are dull. To gain acceptance from her neglectful father, who is practically a stranger to her, she would do anything he asks. When given a choice, she opts to live with him, and he disappoints and humiliates her. Along the way, Zambia learns some valuable lessons about responsibility and caring, about loyalty and honesty. In the end, she learns to appreciate her uncle and her aunt and to recognize that a community has to be protected from those who would destroy it, no matter who the would-be destroyers are. This is a timely book that speaks to the subject of drugs and crime in a rural Southern town, and a valuable addition to most collections.?Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Just Us Books (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940975661
• ISBN-13: 978-0940975668
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,904,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST Book I Have Ever Read!, February 17, 2000

By 

Jessica Plum (Shawnee, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Blessing in Disguise (Hardcover)

I rate this story 5 stars, because it is the greatest book I have ever read. It has touched my heart in a way no book has ever touched my heart before. I liked this book because it was about drug dealing, and I have had to deal with my parents and drugs throughout my life. This is a book that teaches you about the importance of life. It teaches you that you can accomplish anything that you try to accomplish in life, but there will always be things that you will have to overcome when you are trying to accomplish your goal. The author is using this girl in the story to let the reader know about what life is really like around bad neighborhoods. People don't realize how hard life is. For example the girl in the story, whose name is Zambia, goes through dealing with pain, frustration, and drugs. Zambia finally realizes what life is like and takes it seriously. I really think that everyone will like this book and should read it. I really recommend this book to young teenagers around the world.

1.0 out of 5 stars Zambia and drugs, March 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Blessing in Disguise (Paperback)

I thought this book was really boring the plot wasn't very exciting it was very hard to catch my attention with this book. The girl gets bored in her small little town living with her uncle she wants to live with her father so she starts acting out and taking drugs. He always visits in his rich little cars because he owns his own club so one day she got in a fight with her uncle about how she wants to live with her father. So her uncle says go and so she does she travels to her fathers club to try to get her Father. The whole book is about her traveling to her fathers club trying to find him and while she is fighting the problem with drugs.