That White Girl: A Novel [Paperback]

JLove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2007

That White Girl is a fresh and hard-edged novel chronicling a young woman's quest for self-discovery while straddling two worlds, that of her middle-class Irish Catholic upbringing and her new family -- the Crips, America's notorious street gang.

What happens when a white girl flirts with the color lines and crosses the border into gang territory, where the bullets are in part real and the rules cannot be broken? JLove tells this incredible story inspired by her own remarkable life.

Amber, a fearless white girl, has a passion for rap lyrics and an addiction to graffiti, but her journey begins when she becomes immersed in the power and grind of gang life after holding a gun to an innocent man's head during a robbery.

That White Girl is a sharp and candid coming-of-age story, with hip-hop as its backdrop, that explores a young woman's struggles and triumphs as she crosses boundaries, discovers her own limits, and finds a new way to express herself in a world divided into black and white.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A white girl follows her cultural fascinations into hip-hop, graffiti and the Denver Crips gang in this mildly gritty and massively disappointing novel by JLove (a.k.a. Jennifer Calderon). Propelled by nothing much more than an overworked single mom and a perpetually stoned brother, high schooler Amber follows pal Juan into the local Crips crew, the Rollin' 30s. Despite the disadvantage of her skin color (it is white), Amber is soon completing her initiation-holding a gun on a convenience store clerk during a robbery-and earning a reputation as a graffiti tagger. The books' opening third is a fast-paced mix of danger and graffiti craft, but Amber's drama-queen tendencies become more annoyingly apparent over a string of cheesy romances, and when Amber moves to L.A. to attend college and decides that hip-hop is the key to solving racial strife, the narrative turns insufferable.
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Review

"An honest look at a life worth reading." -- M.C. Serch, Host of VH1's Ego Trip's (White) Rapper Show

"In J-Love's masterful hands, Amber's story taps into the dramatic difficulties of simply trying to find one's unique place in a deeply fractured world. Here's a voice we've been waiting for." -- Luis J. Rodriguez, author of Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in LA

"J-Love has the heart, the skills, and the underdog love to tell this deeply moving coming-of-age story the way it had to be told." -- Jeff Chang, winner of National Book Award and author of Can't Stop Won't Stop

"Don't get it twisted. That White Girl is more than just another hip hop roman-a-clef...J Love drops many truths about race in the U.S...The drama and controversy will hook you, no doubt." -- Black Artemis, author of the hip hop novels Explicit Content, Picture Me Rollin' and Burn

"[JLove's] story has less to do with her being white, than it does with the powerful message she sends... she discovers not only herself, but the cold hard reality that racism victimizes everyone, black and white alike. Bravo to JLove." -- Roland S. Jefferson, author of One Night Stand and Damaged Goods

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; Original edition (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743287819
• ISBN-13: 978-0743287814
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,538,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who Am I?, June 28, 2007

By 

Divamami "Divamami" - See all my reviews

This review is from: That White Girl: A Novel (Paperback)

That White Girl
By JLove
Reviewed by Shavon Williams


APOOO Rating 4.5



Who Am I?


Most of us struggled to find our identity during high school. We hung out with people who we may not have had a lot in common with just to feel like we belonged to something. In That White Girl, we are introduced to Amber, who has the same problem. Amber, like most teenagers, is trying to figure out who she is. She is a young, white girl growing up during the late 80's when hip-hop started to reign supreme. She has a love for all things hip-hop. Her school is a mix of African American, Latinos, Asians, and Whites. She really likes Juan, who is Hispanic, and enjoys spending time with him. She has been friends with him since middle school and he takes her into his world of hip-hop, gangs, and graffiti. It is a world very different from her own middle-class upbringing. Amber, who is intrigued by Juan's life, wants to be a part of all that he does, including his gang, the Crips and his graffiti crew, RTS. As Amber dances between the color lines, her life soon begins to spiral out of control. She cannot keep her home and alternate life from crossing into each other. Eventually she gets caught up with the gang life and has to make a decision.

Not only is Amber searching for a "family" she can belong to, she is also searching for love. Someone who can love her for who she is. Someone who can see past her color, her gang affiliations, her family issues and just love her. During her journey to self discovery, she meets many people who will influence her life, both good and bad. She has many choices to make regarding the company she keeps and lifestyle she is willing to lead. She tries to live in the world in which she was born where she has white privilege and the world that speaks to her very soul. Can she live in both worlds?

I absolutely loved this book. There were so many issues addressed in this book such as race relations, self worth, lifestyle, and family. I recommend this book to anyone with a teenage daughter.


Shavon
APOOO BookClub

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Diversions, January 23, 2008

By 

Yours in Reading "slh2412" (Tulsa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That White Girl: A Novel (Paperback)

That White Girl is an interesting foray into the mind of a young white girl who is fascinated by black gang and graffiti culture. The main character, Amber, takes readers on a journey through the sporadic thoughts of a hormonal teen being pulled in several different directions with no true sense of self. Her thought process is, at times, disturbing, and her chameleon-like behavior as she dashes in and out of her multiple lifestyles will set you on edge. The book also chronicles how a young white girl can be racially discriminated against by both blacks and whites because of the company that she chooses to keep and the choices that she makes in love. That White Girl reads like a teenaged diary and, not unlike an unpredictable teen, the book tends to leave out some details that may make the story a little easier to follow. It is a good read for adolescents who are confused about where they fit in society; however the subtle lessons in the book are not powerful enough to impact the reader because we never actually see Amber's transition from rebel to contributing member of society. That part of her journey has been left out, leading the reader to rejoice for the character's change while wondering how she got there. All in all, it was entertaining and I would recommend this book to young ladies aged 16-20.



Reviewed by - Sisters Sippin' Tea Literary Group, Inc. - Tulsa Chapter

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experience a Different World, October 17, 2007

By 

Jennette Arias "Freshlikeme" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: That White Girl: A Novel (Paperback)

Many times we read books to get away for a little while from our own reality, live in another characters shoes for a bit. If you've grown up in the city all your life like I have, taking the journey with Amber in That White Girl let's you take an inside look at her life as she evolves from a young teenager, lover of Hip Hop, to a mature young adult finding her way with the help of Hip Hop. I loved experiencing a world I had no clue about. Being Latina in New York, it was a trip to go to a white world, in colorado, and experience gang life and graffiti life but at the same time following someone so vividly as they tried to find themselves and survived. Ultimately she is a survivor. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.