1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues, July 29, 2004
This review is from: Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues (Hardcover)
Shayla Fox's life seems to take turn after turn for the worse. First, her estranged father left her mother for good. Then he remarried a woman Shayla does not like in the least. But worst of all, he has a new daughter named Gift --- a daughter born on Shayla's birthday! Shayla feels as if she has nothing of her own any more, not even a special day. Her grandmother, her sister, and her mother all try to help Shayla. Grandma Augustine is a wisecracking wise woman. Although Shayla feels like her drama is unbearable, Grandma Augustine constantly reminds her to be thankful that she is alive and whole and smart. Grandma Augustine knows that Shayla can be melodramatic and so she gently tells her grandchild that her life, like most people's, will be filled with a little rain, but it's up to Shayla to make sure her sorrows don't turn into a big, overwhelming storm.
A girl who does have a stormy life is Shayla's best friend Kambia. (Their friendship was detailed in author Williams's first book, WHEN KAMBIA ELAINE FLEW IN FROM NEPTUNE by Lori Williams.) As this second novel opens, Kambia's life has only gotten more complicated. A year prior, Kambia was found wandering, alone and amnesiac. Adopted by the Dreyfuses, Kambia is caught in a search for her identity as well as having to find a place for herself in the world. Shayla must help Kambia heal, even as anonymous notes and packages start to plague her friend and bring her to the edge of sanity.
In another subplot, Shayla befriends Lemm, the new boy at school who's lost most of his family in a tragic accident. Lemm struggles, feeling as alone and hopeless as Kambia and Shayla. Lemm also has severe problems with substance abuse, and even as Shayla tries to gain some control in her life, she finds she wants to help Lemm with his issues. Most of the time Shayla feels as if she's caught up in a world full of problems whirling about her, just waiting to reach out and snatch her.
SHAYLA'S DOUBLE BROWN BABY BLUES presents a harsh picture of contemporary life in the African American community. The families are strained nearly to the breaking point but held together by a web of women. These woman show their strengths and vulnerabilities while keeping life going, despite upheavals, dangerous events, and secrets from the past. Women like Grandma Augustine carry with them the promise of a brighter future, even when that promise seems to be withheld by violence and uncertainty; they never allow hope to become totally eaten away. By sharing her enduring strength with her granddaughter, Augustine demonstrates that it is possible to bear the shocks of life and, in time, overcome them.
This isn't the kind of book you can say you enjoyed; "enjoy" simply isn't the right word. But it does tell a powerful story in tight well-crafted prose that lingers in the mind and in the soul long after the story has ended. Lori Aurelia Williams's characters are so solid, they seem as if they've been hewn out of rock instead of the airy stuff of imagination. It's the kind of book that makes you want to hold your own family just a little nearer, just a little dearer. See for yourself.
--- Reviewed by Cassia Van Arsdale
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flawlessly produced and aptly narrated, November 7, 2001
Shayla is young, black, and feels that now that her father's new wife has given birth to a baby (born on Shayla's own birthday!) that she has been replaced in her father's affections. Shayla can't even confide in her best friend, Kambia Elaine, because of not wanting to diminish Kambia's own happiness at finally being part of a loving family in her own right. Nor can Shayla confide in a new friend, Lemm, when she discovers that he has his own troubles and tragedies that he is trying to keep secret. Lori Williams' Shayla's Double is a superbly written, emotionally articulate novel of unconditional love, human heartbreak, and family relationships. Highly recommended for young listeners 10 through 18, this 10 hour, 30 minute Listening Library unabridged production is flawlessly produced and aptly narrated by heather Alicia Simms.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
recommendation for Williams sequel, October 2, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues (Hardcover)
Many young adult books cannot be compared to the technique and writing style of Lori Aurelia Williams. In her sequel, Shayla's Double Brown Baby Blues, Williams gives her characters conflicts in which many readers are able to relate to, or can understand based on human emotions. Williams heroine, Shayla, is a bright beautiful young lady who has a strong sense of self and faces many problems to determine her self worth. I would recommend this book to any and everyone, espcially young adults, because its a comming of age book and many young people can relate to Shayla's problems.
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