Customer Reviews

Chasing the 400

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chasing the 400 is an entertaining read. Vera, the book's cheeky protagonist, visualizes a life of unrestrained opportunity and excitement after graduating from high school and sets out to claim her newly gained independence with determined and enthusiastic resolve. The book absorbs you in eager anticipation as Vera's destiny unfolds. This is a perfect piece of escapism for summer reading or a morning commute.

Chasing The 400 is an enjoyable read. The author has given us drama, mystery, and love all in one novel. Having grown up in Philadelphia, the book was especially interesting to me since I was familar with the communities presented in the book. The journey of the main character in this book can be both a what to do and not to do for young women today who find themselves in her situation. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fiction with a heavy dose of truth.

Finally, a book that is not about gangsters, drugs and the "typical" urban life. This book was refreshing and a quick read. I was looking for a book that was different and presented African American's in a different light and i found it. Her writing reminds me of Diane McKinney-Whetstone when she first arrived on the scene. I definately am looking forward to a sequel as it seems to have been set up for one in the end. I'll keep checking in to see if she come out with one.

The wealthy in and around Philadelphia's main line are termed The 400; they are the elite class or the black Bourgeoisie. Set in the 1950's in the town of Ardmore, Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, CHASING THE 400 by Sheilah Vance highlights the working class Marshall clan of Ardmore and more specifically Vera Marshall, the oldest of ten children.

High school senior, Vera Marshall's dream is to graduate, move into Philadelphia with her wayward Aunt, and somehow join The 400. She sets her sights on snagging an available member of The 400 and marrying him. Throughout her high school days, Vera uses her sex appeal to lure the boys for whatever her heart desires. Promiscuous, brazen and sassy, she constantly causes havoc at school between both sexes, blacks and whites. Also, her brother Bobby, a chemistry whiz, dreams of attending college and making a better life for himself. Both have the same dream but use different methods to achieve them. While Vera is calculating and cunning, Bobby is planning and organizing.

The author was reared in the area depicted; however her writing comes from the storytelling of relatives and friends who experienced this era. The imagery used is detailed as the reader travels through several small towns, in addition to Ardmore, which make up Philadelphia's main line, allowing you to visualize the homes and surrounding landscape. CHASING THE 400 provides historical insight into a class of people whose shortcomings are exposed by their greed and snobbery and a working class of people whose desires manifest themselves through manipulation and also, honest work. CHASING THE 400 is a fast-paced and enlightening read with lively characters that you will find yourself cheering on through their struggles and triumphs.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Reviewed by Mary Simmons for Reader Views (10/06)

Vera Marshall is the type of woman who doesn't take any crap from anyone. She has her goals and plans for her life and she will do anything to make them happen. Strong, gutsy and sexy, Vera knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. Her brother, Bobby, is just as ambitious in his own way, but he is quicker to admit defeat and turn his goals in another direction.

Both Vera and Bobby have big dreams, but they recognize the social barriers keeping them from easy access to their goals. While Bobby works hard trying to make his own way in the world and create his own success for the betterment of himself and his family, Vera thinks only of herself and what others can do for her.

These are two of the characters you will meet when you pick up "Chasing the 400," the debut novel of Sheilah Vance, a Pennsylvania writer who sets her first work of fiction in the Main Line and Philadelphia area where she has lived most of her life. Vance takes us back in time to the working class colored section in the Main Line community of Ardmore where the Marshalls live, work and play. The story commences in 1955 as Vera is set to graduate from Ardmore High School and draws a picture of what it must have been like in the region during the early years of the civil rights movement.

Although racial barriers are being broken down and the Marshalls attend an integrated high school, segregation is still a very real part of their lives. The streets in their communities are drawn along racial lines, white and black students do not interact with each other in the halls of their schools and department stores cater exclusively to preferred clientele. Within the black community, class distinctions are drawn. Vera, who is the daughter of a plumber, dreams of becoming a member of the 400, "an exclusive, informal collection of Philadelphia's black bourgeoisie, the talented tenth, the doctors, lawyers and other successful colored businessmen and their wives...they had to work twice as hard as whites to be considered half as good, and the 400 wanted to be considered not just good, but a credit to their race."

"Chasing the 400" is an interesting glimpse into a period of American history that cannot be ignored. It examines the motivations, struggles and successes of the people who lived and dreamed during the fight for racial equality. You will find yourself rooting for Vera and applauding her courage and confidence while wincing sometimes at her methods and attitude. She is a saucy character who makes the reading of this fascinating novel that much more enjoyable.

Received book free of charge.

Chasing the 400 revisits past of us all. It calls to mind good and bad moments from that time in history. The bad is obvious. The good shows how important our family, our dress and our social behavior are and help form who we become and how we live. And how hope, want and need unite to bring about a change in our society. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This story authentically relates a middle class black community in suburban Philadelphia with more than a little of black Philadelphia captured in the 1950's. I laughed out loud and enjoyed following the characters. Several of my friends who read the book said they did not want it to end.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. The characters are very believable and they certainly do suffer the consequences of their actions. But they seem to rise above the obstacles and succeed!
It was really a good read!

I haven't read a novel in years. I can honestly say that this book warrants an "I couldn't put it down"rating. Every opportunity that I had I immersed myself in the imagery of this novel. My mind was made happy. Some of the inner workings of the plot not provided to the reader were very well spun! I look forward to this novel being translated into a movie! Let's make it happen with positive reviews.