Customer Reviews

When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune (Young Picador)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's seldom that a story bridges the ever widening generation gap, but "When Kambia Elaine Flew In From Neptune" surely does. This chronicle of love and friendship will appeal to both teenagers and adults, especially in its unabridged audio form affectingly read by Heather Alicia Simms.

The author has said that she grew up poor in a neighborhood where children were "seen but not heard," so does her protagonist, Shayla Dubois who lives with her fractured family in other side of the tracks Houston, Texas. Shayla's sister has been ousted for carrying on with an older man, and her absent father has suddenly returned to town.

To complicate matters further, Shayla has a unique new neighbor - Kambia who tells absurd tales about Lizard People who turn into purple chewing gum, reports that she is a piece of driftwood from the Mississippi River, and more.

Shayla well knows that something is amiss, but what can she possibly do?

Heather Alicia Simms's performance is in perfect harmony with the author's use of African-American lore and street patois.

When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune is by far one of the best YA novels I've read in a long time. It's hard to believe this is the author's first book. Lori Aurelia Williams writes with the confidence of a seasoned novelist and has an amazing talent for putting the confusion of adolescence into words. She handles some fairly touchy topics (teen sexuality, child abuse, prostitution) with grace and sensitivity but always head-on and with incredible honesty. Readers will be drawn into the lives of Shayla, her family, and her enigmatic neighbor Kambia Elaine from the very first page. I highly recommend this book for both teens and adults alike. Because of some sensitive subject matter, parents of younger readers may need to decide whether their children are ready for a look at these issues. If in doubt, why not read When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune with your teen - it's a great way to broach some otherwise difficult (but necessary) conversations.

I LOVED this book. Lori was sensitive, imaginative and completely entertaining in her depiction of Shayla, Kambia and my favorite Mr. Anderson Fox. I have encouraged people to read it since I left the book sigining. It is a beautifully told story of family, friendship, inagination, life and heartache. Everyone should read it, the book contains elements for everyone. Well done Lori! I can't wait for the sequel!

When KAMBIA ELAINE FLEW IN FROM NEPTUNE should be required reading for anyone who aims to write for the young adult novel market. Lori Aurelia Williams has marvelous control of language, plot pacing, and emotion. I was hooked--once I picked the book up, I couldn't put it down.

Which isn't to say that I didn't want to. This book isn't about easy topics, and there are several sub-plots running at one time, which Williams handles skillfully.

Shayla, Williams' narrator, speaks with a wise voice, but not so wise for her age that she simply appears to be the plot-device for the author to say what she wants. Shayla has her own mind, and she's a careful observer. She watches the relationship between her mother and her grandmother and their arguments over the old ways; she watches the relationship between Tia and her mother, and Shayla is one of the first to realize that her mother is all wrong about Tia's boyfriend; she observes Kambia Elaine, who, even though she is "weird" is also a true friend who offers Kayla comfort. And Kayla is incredibly wise to the ways of the man who comes into her mother's life, although she isn't able to warn her mother.

I found Kayla to be a wonderful lens with which to observe the world in which she lives. And, more importantly, I found Kayla to be a delightful girl who I would have loved to have been friends with when I was a teen.

I was a freshman in high school when I read this book. I first heard about it in a review (Seventeen magazine) so when I saw it at the local library, I decided to check it out. I didn't really have any background information on the book - all I could remember was it's glossy and catchy cover. I picked it up and decided to give it a try. As soon as I began reading it, I was drawn into Shayla & Kambia's world. Williams' words are so well chosen and so real that you don't have a choice - you're automatically sucked in. This book is pretty easy reading and a great story so I strongly suggest you check it out!

Kambia begins telling bizarre stories almost as soon as shemoves into Shayla's neighborhood, and at first Shayla thinks hernew friend is just imaginative, like she is. Eventually, though, she begins to suspect Kambia is using her stories to hide something. First, there is her mother, who, according to neighborhood gossip, is entertaining men for money in her house; then there is Kambia's ever-worsening appearance: she is getting skinnier and skinnier, and Shayla notices bruises on her thighs. Kambia won't admit anything, though; all she does is tell Shayla a story about "Wallpaper Wolves" that can't get her if she's too skinny. But when Kambia collapses on the way to school one day, Shayla realizes she has to choose between protecting her friend's secrets and saving her life. In addition to Kambia's problems, Shayla's older sister, Tia, has been caught messing around with Doo-witty, an older neighborhood boy who is assumed by everyone to be a complete idiot, and she disappears after a fight with her mother, adding to Shayla's worries. On top of that, Shayla's family plagued by the reappearance of her father, Mr. Anderson Fox, who has a lot of other Shaylas running around the neighborhood. The climax arrives after Shayla is taken to a mother-daughter church revival by her mother and grandmother, where they find out a secret about Doo-witty and Shayla learns the truth about her sister's disappearance. Shayla's voice is reminicent of Scout Finch To Kill a Mockingbird: young, wise, funny, and sensitive; and her story is compelling and skillfully rendered. Readers will be easily drawn into her life and her story. A highly recommended, thoughtful read by a talented new young adult author.

When Kambia Elaine flew in from Nepturne is one of the best books for YAs that I have read in a long time. It is hard to believe that this is the first novel by Lori Aurelia Williams. Her frequent use of similes and metaphors enhance her writing and make her characters truly come alive. The book sends a strong message about the consequences of keeping silent about sexual child abuse. The bonds of family and friendship are strong and keep the reader eager to read on. As a school librarian and as a parent of junior high school children, I highly recommend this book.

This is a wonderful book with fresh characters. The very minor imperfections in it are far outweighed by the beauty of the prose and the engaging plot. I highly recommend it for both children and adults!

Shayla, a twelve-year-old girl living in a poor neighborhood with her mother and her older sister Tia, just wants everything in her life to be calm and normal. But then Tia is caught having sex with an older guy named Doo-witty, who everyone in their neighborhood thinks is stupid. Shayla doesn't know what Tia sees in him, but their relationship causes a fight between Tia and their mother, and Tia disappears for months.

To make things even stranger in her life, Kambia and her mother move in next door. Kambia is Shayla's age but she acts really funny. She hums nursery rhymes to herself and plays what Shayla thinks of as babyish games, pretending she's a tree or a piece of driftwood or a crab. She also tells odd stories, about lizard people and memory beetles. Kambia sometimes makes Shayla nervous, but Shayla starts to like her more and more. Then Kambia's stories get scary, about wolves in her wallpaper who try to catch her and hurt her. Shayla has seen bruises on her legs and doesn't understand what could have caused them. And Kambia is losing a lot of weight, saying the wolves won't want her if she is too skinny.

Shayla has promised Kambia that she won't talk to anyone else about Kambia's bruises or her wallpaper wolves stories, but Shayla starts to feel more and more like keeping that promise is the wrong thing to do.

I liked that Shayla was open to a friendship with Kambia, even though Kambia was so strange. I liked the relationship between Shayla and Tia; they weren't always at odds like most sisters. I also liked that Shayla was true to her dream of becoming a writer.

It was very sad, though, to read another depressing story about child abuse in a poor neighborhood. It was easy, reading this book, to see right away what the problem was with Kambia, and it was sad that nobody from the neighborhood realized what was going on.

Shayla Dubois thought Kambia Elaine was the weirdest and homeliest looking girl when she first saw and met her for the first time. All of that changes when the two strangers start walking to school together everyday. That's when Kambia starts telling Shayla her tale of the wallpaper wolves and how they mistreat her. Then a problem in Shayla's family stirs up emotions between Shayla and Kambia and now they are a lot closer.
In this capturing book, When Kambia Elaine Flew in From Neptune by Lori Aurellia Williams, Shayla and Kambia slowly become best friends by Kambia telling Shayla her stories and tales and Shayla soaks it all up as if there isn't anything better in the whole world. When Kambia finishes her stories, Shayla thinks they are childish and silly. Even though Shayla thinks that they are really silly, she can't get enough of those stories. She wants to hear more and more. One day, Kambia is found hiding underneath her house and Shayla goes over to Kambia's house, right next to her's, to see why she's under there. Kambia tells Shayla the most absurd thing she's ever heard that the wallpaper wolves are after her and they want to hurt her.
After this event they keep growing closer and closer still because now Shayla can tell Kambia her inner most dark secrets. This helps because there is a problem in Shayla's family and Kambia is the only one Shayla can turn to for help.
This suspensful, capturing book keeps you hooked right from the start and you can't or don't want to put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to be at the edge of thier seats and who likes happy endings.