Customer Reviews

Heaven

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

HEAVEN, the 1999 Coretta Scott King Award book, is a first-person narrative centered on the idea or theme that just as some truths in life may bring a sense of sorrow and loss, they can also turn those painful feelings and emotion into real joy, hope, and acceptance. When main character, Marley, discovers that she's adopted, knowing what to do with that truth becomes the real issue of the story. For 12 years, Marley has lived in Heaven, OH with two doting parents, a quirky but lovable brother, good friends and neighbors that she adores. Now, it seems that her life up to this point has been one big fat lie! Even though she lacks trust in her adoptive family now that she knows the truth, it will be their continued love and support which wins her over and helps her to finally find the answers she so desperately needs to know about her life.

I believe what makes this book so interesting to read is that it presents Marley's family, filled with deception and lies, as paradise. While the most troubled family in the story is "picture perfect" and free of deceit. The plot is idyllic and often dreamy with punches of reality mixed in as everyone's deceptions unravel. Even though this story is not as compelling as Ms. Johnson's 1994 Coretta Scott Award winning book, TONING THE SWEEP, it is still a moving story that handles the topic of adoption with graceful sensitivity.

I believe this Coretta Scott King Award winning book is a refreshing departure from most books about African Americans. It shows no drug use, nor violence and no one is living in an urban ghetto. Instead it shows a loving nuclear family who has normal ups and downs, and it even shows a very RESPONSIBLE single father! Written in first person, it feels as if you are really experiencing life through the eyes of a 14 year old. And even though I have not been adopted, I can certainly relate to Marley's dismay at the traumatic revelation - when everything you once thought true suddenly changes. My only problem with the book is with the storyline about Marley's girl friend. What was the real reason behind Shoogy's hurting herself and why did she dislike her family so much? Johnson seemed to let the storyline about the girl drop rather then bringing it to some sort of conclusion. But in all, I found "Heaven" to be satisfying and unique. There is almost no references to race in this book, letting the fact that she is Black just to be a given, and making Marley's struggle for self-discovery a universal story that would cross all color lines as an issue that any teenage girl (or boy?) could identify with.

Marley is a fourteen year old girl who lives with her parents in Heaven, Ohio. The book discusses on an average day what she does. She sometimes go to the ma suprette to wire money to her uncle, she spends time with her friends Shoggy and Bobby (this character later comes in Johnson book called first part last). Marley narration through out the book let you realize her family is not a bad one. Her world comes tumbling down when she finds out that the people she has called mom and pops all her life are really her aunt and uncle and the uncle that she has been wiring money too is her real father. The book has many little chapters with different headings that focus on the specific title in each. It shows Marley emotions going up and down on the reality of her world and how she eventually deals with seeing her real dad coming to visit. A great read!

I had a really hard time getting into this book. At first I was confused as to how the characters were related. I also had a difficult time adjusting to the author's style. For some reason, I struggled with how she used the first person point of view. However, once I began getting into the plot, I could not put the book down. I am not adopted, but the author did an excellent job getting across to the reader how Marley felt when she discovered her parent's secret. As the reader, I went through the feelings that Marley went through. I felt myself getting angry for Marley and at Marley. I wanted her to get upset and confront her parents with their secret. I also was very upset with Jack that he only wrote letters, but never visited until he felt like he had to. I really enjoyed how the book ended. I loved the connection the author made with the first letter from Jack. In the end, this was a very enjoyable book and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Have you ever read a fiction book that made you wonder if it was really fiction? Have they ever seemed so real that it could be non-fiction? Well if you read Heaven by Angela Johnson than you will probably find out what I am talking about. This is a wonderful story of a young girl who discovers the truth after knowing so many lies. She had to learn that she can love her "family" even though she was not born into it and she can love her true father even though he left her with his brother when her real mother died. This book takes you on a journey of the pain some people go through and their triumphs.

I think this is a very interesting book because the story ends up being something that you never would have thought. As I read the title "Heaven" I didn't think it would be the name of a town. I thought more of a wonderful place to go. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to my friends.

This is a really great book because it is short and sweet. It has a good moral, that you don't have to be one's biological daughter or son to love the people you call mom and dad. It is a truly touching and well- written story. I think most people who read it will like it.

I read "Heaven" this summer, and though I read it all at once, I thought I would have enjoyed it more than I did. Marley, the main character, is well developed, but I felt the book was very predictable. About half-way through the novel, I knew just what would happen in the second half. I would say this book is worth reading, but only if another book isn't avalible.

While the complexities of family life are explored in this book from the standpoint of a young girl, this book contains and conveys many misconceptions regarding adoption and families. Today, families that are created by adoption, convey this information to children early in life, and the validity of family is challenged by the pseudo-angst conveyed in this book. Reading the reviews, particularly, those written by youngsters, indicates that this misconception is indeed conveyed by this book; that adoptive families are not "true" or "real" families. Over 5 million adoptive families in the US currently exist, and unfortunately this book feeds into the oft-repeated stereotype that adoption is a secret often hidden, and that a family that includes adopted children are "less real". The book of today that would better mirror such families would be one where the teenager responds: "Yes, I'm adopted, and this family is MY family"
Regrettably publishers and authors alike still latch on to the "orphan" and "the shock of adoption" themes as prime targets for pulp preteen and teenage fiction themes.

In ths book there is a girl named Marley. She is 12 years old and she lives in Ohio. When she was about two her mom, Christine died and her dad didn't want her anymore. Then she went to go live with her aunt and uncle. Marley new them as ma and pa. She loved them alot. Later in live when she was about 13 now. Marley, her best friend, named Shoogy they were the best of friends.
Sents Maley was about 7 years old her uncle Jack sent her letters. They always talked about him and his dog named Boy. Uncle Jack traveled all around the would and he alway told her were he was and all the things he was doing. Marley has never really meet him and she tells her friend that when she sees him she will go away with him. At the end of the story Marley fimally gets to meet Jack.