Customer Reviews

Spellbound

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...This is the story of Raven Jefferson, a bright 16-year-old girl who lives in a Brooklyn housing project. Raven has always been determined to move out of the projects and go to college like her older sister Dell, but her goal is put on hold when she becomes pregnant and drops out of high school to have the baby. After the birth of her son, Raven spends her days at home with occasional visits from her best friend, Aisha, another high school dropout and single mother. Raven starts to lose hope that she will ever leave the projects but then she learns of a spelling bee with a grand prize of a college scholarship. She spends all of her waking hours preparing for the bee and eventually realizes her dream because of her hard work.

This is a classic story of a young woman who has a goal and doesn't let a few bumps along the way stop her from achieving it. Raven's ability to defy the odds is inspirational. The plot is a bit weak, but the laugh-out-loud funny moments make it a worthwhile read.

McDonald should be congratulated for brilliantly capturing the voices of two young women from the Brooklyn projects. Spellbound is geared towards the 11-and 12-year-old crowd, but anyone can enjoy this quick read...

Raven Jefferson is a very bright sixteen year old high school student, who lives in the projects with her mom. Her mom just knew Raven would make something of herself and get out of the projects. But one night at a party Raven meets Jesse and her whole life changes.

Raven becomes pregnant and gives birth to her son, Smokey. She drops out of high school and goes on public assistance. Raven and her best friend Aisha, who is also a teen mom and high school dropout, have been friends since elementary school and have a lot in common including both being teen moms. The main difference is Aisha is comfortable with her situation and Raven wants something better for herself.

Raven's older sister, Dell made it out of the projects and graduated from a 2 year college and has a job at a law firm working as a paralegal. Dell hates to see her sister in the predicament she is in and wants to do everything she can to help Raven change her life around.

Dell hears about this program called Spell Success, it's a spelling bee and the winner attends a college prep class as well as gets a scholarship to a 4 year college. Dell thinks this is Raven's ticket out of the ghetto.......but Raven's not so sure, afterall spelling was her worst subject in school.

Spellbound is a lighthearted yet humorous book that looks into life as a teen mom in the projects. Spotlighting on ambition, motherhood, friendship, heartbreak and the need to succeed. Spellbound is a book that looks at real life situations. This was an enjoyable read and I am looking to read more of the author's books.

Reviewed by Eraina B. Tinnin

Raven was a project girl, but a great student with high ambitions who was sure she'd make it into college. But then one day when she was sixteen and at a party, she just couldn't say no to the young man she met and she ended up pregnant. That seemed to be the end of everything: she'd be just like her mother, living in the projects on public assistence, with no money or future or hope. Then Raven's older sister found out about a program called Spell For Success, where the winner of a spelling bee was awarded a full college scholarship. She talked Raven into trying out.

A lot of stuff happens in the book besides the spelling bee. Maybe a little too much. Raven's best friend, Ai, is also a single mother high school dropout, and Raven finds out that she's pregnant with her second child. Raven also has a chance encounter with her baby's father, who is only fifteen.

The book was rather predictable, and I kind of wish I hadn't bought it in hardcover, but it was still good. I particularly liked the way Raven and Ai talked. Their language sounded very real to me.

I read this novel in a book club at my school. I really enjoyed it. This novel is about a girl named Raven Jefferson who lived in the projects with her mother in Brooklyn New York. Raven was a very smart person who had a goal to go on to college, but then made a mistake at a party with a boy named Jesse which then lead to her getting pregnant. Her best friend was Aisha who had already droped out of school and had a child before her. Raven having this child made her think that she wouldn't be able to go to college but she was very wrong. Her sister Dell helped her find a program that would help her go to college if she could win a spelling bee. The ending is good but I don't want to give it away. This novel has taught me don't let anyone stop you from believing in whatever you want and to always stay focused.

I'm telling all my friends to get this book. It was funny and the characters were real. I don't read much but this story made me want to stay up all night to find out if Raven makes it. It is different from other stories because it talks about real life and what it is like trying to make it when the world thinks you can't.

Sixteen-year-old Raven was always "the smart girl," her nose in a book and a promising future, despite the fact that she was raised in poverty by her uneducated single mother. But when Raven goes to a party one night and meets a boy she can't say "no" to, she gives in to his charismatic ways and she's left with a baby. Suddenly high school is no longer bearable and her college plans have vanished into the night. Raven becomes just another girl from the projects sitting alone in the apartment, watching daytime television.

Raven's best friend Aisha seems to fit into her life better than Raven does; Ai was never really good at school, so as long as she has her friends and doesn't have to set foot in another school, she's happy. Raven wants more than hanging out all day --- she wants to make a secure, good life for her son Smokey --- but she can't find where to begin. She tries to find a job, but her lack of a high school diploma means she can only find work in a fast food shop. Raven can't see a way forward until her ambitious sister Dell arrives with a flyer about a new program called Spell Success.

Spell Success offers college prep and scholarships to lower-income students. Potential participants are selected through a spelling bee. This sounds impossible for Raven, whose spelling has never been great. Dell supports her, though, and helps her practice and study, even as Ai does nothing but give Raven grief.

I really loved Janet McDonald's story of someone who seems to have very little in her favor but who is willing to work hard for success. The writing is at times funny, poignant and always effecting. McDonald knows the world about which she writes; she grew up in a housing project then went to three highly selective universities after she finished high school. By using her own journey to inform her novel, McDonald can tell Raven's story without ever becoming preachy or flinching from the harsher realities of life in a low income community. I hope she continues to write. SPELLBOUND is a must-read!

--- Reviewed by Cassia Van Arsdale

Raven Jefferson is not your typical fictional book character. She isn't perfect. She is a teen mother without a high school diploma struggling to get somewhere in life. With very little help from her mother and her sons father, she puts in lots of time and effort to try to win a spelling bee which offers first place a scholarship. Raven learns about following her heart and not listening to other peoples opinions. Spellbound was one of the most interesting books I have ever read because the unique language captured my interest and left me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing.

This book was given to me to read in a literature circle school. Spellbound, written by Janet McDonald, tells a story about a bright young teenager girl named Raven Jefferson. Raven, who stumbles upon getting pregnant, has dropped out of school and is now staying home with her young son. Aisha, her best friend, is in the same situation as Raven but not with the same mentality as her. Raven, although she has dropped out, still has her goals and dreams of going to college. She gets that chance when her older sister Dell, who has made it out of the 'hood and works at a law firm, one day proposes to her a contest. The contest was a spelling bee which the winner would get college prep classes and a scholarship to a 4 year college. Reluctant to enter because spelling was her worst subject in school, she enters and the outcome is quite glamorous. Despite the predictable ending this book good.

"Spellbound" is a book that I had to read in a lit circle at school. Spellbound tells about a Black girl named Raven that lives in a New York slum. Raven is seventeen and was forced to drop out of school because she had a baby. She got pregnant from a boy that she met at a "make-out" party and didn't even know his name. She spent most of her days at home with her best friend Aisha. Aisha also had a child and was a dropout. Raven's older sister entered her in a spelling bee (her worst subject) to earn a college scholarship if she wins. Raven thinks it's a great idea, but doesn't know how to spell well. Raven studied very hard and won the spelling bee. The ending was predictable, but it was still a good book.

Thursday, June 12, 2003

I bought this novel about a year and completed it within a matter of hours. Just yesterday, history repeated itself and I don't regret it. Spellbound by Janet McDonald entices you with Raven's endeavor to enrich herself both academically and personally. It saddened me when the book had to end.