Customer Reviews

Passin'

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One would think the phenomenon of 'passing' for white would have run its course. But old habits die hard, and Miller's new book PASSIN' is a testament to that. I don't want to make this story center on racial attitudes and prejudices, but I must tell it like the book tells it. Shanika Ann Jenkins is the epitome of what her grandparents think is beautiful. She is fair-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes. But her parents, both African-Americans, have made every effort to keep Shanika from buying into her grandparents' racial profiling. Her mother specifically named her Shanika to evoke a sense of pride in her heritage.

Now twenty-three, Shanika has graduated from college and is ready to begin her career. She lands a job with a PR firm in New York and realizes most everyone assumes she is white. She has never frowned on her heritage, but she sees being white has advantages, from getting respect at work, to getting invited to exclusive affairs, to hailing a cab when other African-Americans are ignored. Shanika, ignoring the guilt she feels about her heritage, starts dating a successful white colleague and starts buying into the hype, but her 'deaf ear' comes with a price. A tragedy makes her face herself, and what she sees just might cause her to lose everything and everyone she loves.

PASSIN is thought-provoking and revealing, as it makes readers ponder their course of action if life allowed them a choice of color. Miller does not take sides, even though readers might. With a sensitive stroke of the pen, she shares this story about the flip side of pigmentation with a pulsating realness. It has several pertinent messages, the most prevalent, for me anyway, is to thine own self be true. Readers will wonder, along with Shanika, how she can be true to herself, true to her heritage and continue to pass. Genuine characters make this a convincing read.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Imitation of Life is one my favorite movies and Passin' by Karen E. Quinones Miller reminds me of the movie; except the movie took place over 60 years ago and the novel takes place in the new millennium with original twists and turns, of course.

Blue-eyed, blonde hair, and unbeknownst to many, African-American, Shanika Jackson is the apple of her family's eyes. Although spoiled, she has always respected and admired her family, loved her blackness and felt comfortable in her skin. She is not hesitant to remind folks from whence she came or to let them know they should not get her nationality twisted. They should not be easily influenced by the light outer exterior, as she is all Black...and a strong black woman to boot. So, no one is more surprised and shocked than Shanika, when a potential employer suggests that she pass for white, after she is overlooked for an earlier position because she does not `look black enough' for the position set aside for the lone black hire.

And, after all, whites already think she is white and there are more positions available at the firm for Caucasians. Once she has the job she can always tell them that she is black. With no other job opportunities on the horizon, and a new college grad with no credible experience in her field, the weeks turn into months and student loan payments loom in the background; Shanika desperately needs a job. She decides to do the unthinkable and the unbelievable...to pass as a white woman. But, while passing is easy to conceive, she is not prepared for the toil it will take on her or the backlash she will receive from family, friends or strangers.

One lie begets another and as the web she spins worsens her life spirals out of control; she appears to be a spectator rather than an actual participant in the series of events that occur. While she fools the white folks, fooling her own (i.e. blacks) is not so easy. She is too busy trying to cover her tracks to be concerned about hurting those she does not know, but her conscious and upbringing will not allow her to ignore the actions of those who matter the most. Her mother is disappointed and brokenhearted but never complains or mentions her daughter's deceit; her brother is hurt and angry and questions how can she turn her back on her family and questions when is she going to lose the façade; a cousin with psychological problems and credibility issues is rightfully confused and befuddled. The only family member who appears unaffected is her dad. Well, he seems to be unmoved as he is by so many things, since he tends to live his life in a stupor.

As I read Passin', I had flashbacks to paternal family members and my favorite movie, Imitation of Life. (If you have never watched this movie, you might want to.) Although, I did not agree with Shanika's decision to pass, as I do not believe that anyone should ever deny their heritage, I found I could not dislike her either. At times, I really understood her plight and wanted to help her right her ways and find a positive outcome. Quinones Miller did a good job of presenting a young lady who was confused, immature, and at times selfish, but one who was also troubled because she got caught up in a situation with ramifications far beyond what she imagined. And the deeper Shanika dug the harder it became to escape the charade. She even had some redeeming qualities ...enough that I could not hate her by the end of the book. Actually, I though she (and her friends) would make good candidates for Oprah or Dr. Phil's show. I enjoy reading books that I believe can be made into movies for the big screen and Passin' is one of those storylines. I recommend Passin' to all who enjoy storylines dealing with young heroines, family matters, situations that do not have easy answers, characters that make you think and sensitive issues that continue to haunt the black community even in the new millennium.

Reviewed by Yasmin
APOOO BookClub

Passin' is a story of Shanika Jenson who was born fair skin and blue eyes of the African American culture. She doesn't have problem letting everyone know that she is proud of her race. A graduate of Delaware State, Shanika applies for a public relations position in New York but is turned down because she wasn't "black enough".

Never giving up she applies again under the alias of Nicole Jensen, letting everyone assume she is Caucasian. Disappointing her family back in Detroit, she wasn't about to fess up about her enthicity until she meets the man of her dreams Tyrone Bennett.

Karen E. Quinones Miller really out did herself on this novel. It reminds you of the movie "Imitation to Life". The story is thought provoking, and very real. As the saying goes "Its not always greener on the other side of the fence".

Tangerine
Reader's Paradise Book Club

Most families have traditions. Well, the Jenkins family has a tradition of sorts - keep it light-bright and damn near white. With that in mind, Mother Jenkins was not too pleased with her son Peter's choice of a mate in Rina as she doesn't fit with her darker skin. At forty-eight years of age, Rina thought she was long past child bearing years, so she was surprised to learn of her pregnancy. She was even more surprised when she gave birth to a fair-skinned daughter with blond hair and blue eyes. Determined to keep her husband's family from negatively influencing her child, Rina instilled important values and principles in young Shanika Jenkins.

All grown up and proud of her African-American heritage, Shanika is ready to step out in the real world with her newly earned college degree. She runs smack dab into a brick wall when she doesn't obtain the job of her dreams because she is not "black" enough. She flips the script and decides to pass as a white woman. Quickly she finds herself deep into a world that there is no easy way out of. With her family disappointed and upset by her actions but her career on the rise, which world will Shanika choose?

Karen E. Quinones Miller paints a vivid portrait of the practice of "passing" by lighter-skinned blacks. She has shed light (no pun intended) on a topic not often addressed. PASSIN' is brave, written with style and has a message, and makes some sharp observations about race. It's well worth the read.

Reviewed by: Toni

I truly thought that this book give a look inside the mind of a black person who decides to 'pass'. Unfortunately it was full of stereotypes and a story line that was almost comical. If the main character truly didn't want to pass, she didn't have to. At no point in reading this book did I ever even care what happened to the main character, she was shallow. And so were all the other characters. They didn't have any real motivation, it seemed that the random events were strung together just to tell this story. How can someone be black for their entire lives and after such a short while cross over without a trace of black girl left. No dialect, no culture, no close family members, can just be put down when a person decides to live life as someone else. I'm supposed to believe that this black woman with her high GPA college degree didn't know that blacks are not the only race of people who get sickle cell. This book just wasn't realistic. Pure entertainment here, my expectations got lower the deeper I got into the book.

This book made me really think about race in America. I mean is it really necessary to "pass" in this day and age? Karen did a great job with this novel.
Shanika Ann Jenkins was born with light skin and blue eyes, making it possible for people to assume she is white. Shanika's father side of the family is pleased with the baby's light skin. Shanika grows up proud to be black, thanks to her mother and her ethenic name "Shanika".
But when she gets turned down for her dream job for not being "black enough", Shanika decides to "pass". Her name changes to Nicole Jensen and she takes on the roll of being white. Nikkie gets the job and starts living a whole new life, to the dissapointment of her mother and older brother.
Nikki never tells anyone she is white they just assume.
Nikkie also won't admit she is African American.
How long will Nikki get away with her "white lie"? All her new friends and co workers think she is White!
This book explores the bias, stereotypes and prejudices that we are still faced with in America.
MUST READ!!!

Passin'

Shanika Ann Jenkins is the pride & joy of her African American family. She's beautiful, smart, ambitious and born with blond hair and blue eyes. Her grandmother is ecstatic about her fair skin because it represents years of passing down light skin and marrying well. Her mother on the other hand is adamant about naming her daughter a name that represents her African American heritage; one that she could be proud of.

Unfortunately Shanika is far from holding her head high and proclaiming her heritage. In fact to get a job she decides to pass. All the while opportunity after opportunity presents itself giving her the chance to come clean. In her eyes its ok because her friends in New York assumed her heritage as white and she does nothing to change those thoughts.

Throughout Passin' Shanika lives by the adage if it isn't broke don't fix it. But what she forget is Murphy's Law; "what can go wrong will go wrong" and wrong is a mild descriptive. When she meets and falls in love with a brother she is forced to come to terms with whom she is and where she came from.

Passin' was a very strange read for me because I cannot image people are still passing. I am however glad that Ms. Quinones-Miller brought this topic to light and educated me to the heritage assimilation that still goes on.

Missy
Readers Paradise

In Detroit Shanika Ann Jenkins is a fair skinned, blonde and blue eyed African-American. Her grandparents believe her light coloring is what makes her beautiful. However her African-Americans parents reject that premise insisting the person's inside makes them beautiful.

In 2007 after graduating from school, twenty-three year old Shanika is rejected for a position because the company needs an African-American to fulfill racial quotas. Soon after she joins a Manhattan public relations firm that does not use a token minority employment system so they hire her thinking she is white; she quickly realizes everyone assumes she is a "White Girl" as her older brother Joseph calls her. Shanika sees some advantages with hiding her heritage at the company and even on the streets of New York like getting a taxi. Although she feels guilt that she has to hide what she is doing from her parents and conceals them from her peers (thanking the Lord they live in Detroit), Shanika chooses to continue to masquerade even dating a white person who is unaware of his girlfriend's heritage as she hides family pictures. Then she meets African-American businessman Tyrone Bennett.

Although the support cast is not developed enough beyond simple last century stereotypes in a world with Tiger Woods, PASSIN' as white is a thought-provoking tale that modernizes Thomas Carlyle theory of clothing makes the man; in this case skin color makes the woman. The story line is fun to follow as Shanika is an interesting protagonist pulled in two directions. Although the secondary players are weak, fans of a fascinating character study will enjoy reading about the heroine showing how to make it in Manhattan her way, but at quite a cost.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a huge fan of Karen E. Quinones Miller's work, but I really think this is the best one yet.

Shanika Jenkins is a very light-skinned and sometimes scattered-brain young woman who decides to change her name to Nicole Jenson and pass for white so she can get a cushy job.
At first she tells herself that it's only to get the job, and once she's firmly established she'll reveal her true heritage. But once she starts passing, she likes the way she's treated when people think she's white. So much so that she even denies her relatives when she sees them in the street. She even starts dating a white co-worker.
Then she meets a handsome and rich African-American stockbroker. And he falls for her, too. Or rather he falls for the white woman that he thinks she is. She realizes that if she reveals her true ethnicity he might drop her.
But passing means always looking over your shoulder, and she's not sure she can do that for the rest of her life. But she's also not sure she wants to go back to her old life. Unable to come to a decision, finally the situation is taken out of her hands and the decision is made for her.
This is a very serious novel, but it has some very hilarious moments. It's heartbreaking, poignant, controversial and funny. Yes, I know. A very strange combination, but somehow Ms. Miller pulls it off.
This book is a must read, and one that will leave you wondering long after you've read it what you would do in Shanika's position. Don't judge until you've read her story.
Oh, and the book also has a very handy Book Club Reading Guide with a lot of good talking point questions. I very much recommend this book.

An African American born with very fair skin and blue eyes, Shanika is in rare form. From birth, Shanika's paternal grandmother held her in high regard because of her appearance. But Shanika's mother wanted everyone to know her true heritage, so Shanika was given a "black name."

Regardless of her appearance, Shanika always lived her life as a proud African American female. When Shanika graduates from college and enters corporate America, she quickly learns how to use her light skin to her advantage, and goes "underground."

As a Caucasian, Shanika experiences the world of white privilege. While reaping the benefits of white privilege, Shanika is torn between the heart and pride of her true heritage and betraying her family by living a lie. On the social scene, Shanika experiences the flipside of racism with her new group of friends, and feels isolated when she can't voice her true feelings.

PASSIN' brings back vivid memories of one of my favorite movies, The Imitation of Life. In both stories, the main character denounces her African American side to see if the grass is greener on the other side--the white side. Shanika's attempt to climb the corporate ladder as someone else causes pain and confusion among her family and acquaintances, and the outcome of her charade is an unforgettable lesson learned.