When You Look At Me [Paperback]

Undra E. Biggs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

Tamlyn Blake years old, welfare mother of two, high school dropout, living in the projects. Hassan Colbirth years old, ex-convict, drug dealer, luxury automobile, with a child from a previous relationship. Undra E. Biggs first novel immerses us into the daily lives of two young lovers struggling with adult issues, while trying to rise above their current situations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: La Caille Nous Publishing Company (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964763567
• ISBN-13: 978-0964763562
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #953,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping novel from an author soon to be known by many!, January 7, 2001

By 

ChickLitGurrl™ "Shonell Bacon" (Lake Charles, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Look At Me (Paperback)

When you look at me, what do you see?  This is the question asked by 17-year-old, Tamlyn Blake, a welfare mother of two, high school drop out who is living in the projects; and her boyfriend Hassan Colbirth, a 23-year-old ex-convict drug dealer, loaded down with luxury automobile and a child from a previous relationship.  WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME is the first novel from author Undra "E." Biggs, and if the writing has anything to do with future novels, Biggs will be a name known by many.

First and foremost, this novel is very real, and as a result very painful to read at times.  The reality of the situations that surround Tamlyn and Hassan are so "in your face" that you feel immersed with the characters, and consequently ride their emotional rollercoasters as they hit highs and slam into lows.

The novel intermingles the reality of daily living with bittersweet love in a way that makes for a fast read.  I often time found myself upset with the main character, after all, love is love, but pain is pain, and you too will become so engrossed with Tamlyn's character, that you will want her to succeed and to leave the negativity once and for all in order to revel in the happiness that should be so good and sweet for her.  But in this story, you'll learn - among many things - that what's on the surface barely tells the true story.  Love may be forever, but will it make you happy?  Just because you live in the projects, does that mean you're insignificant?  Can you ever climb out of a hole you've spent your entire life involuntarily digging yourself into?

When you look at WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME, you'll understand the answers to these questions, and so many more.  Bittersweet and revealing to the end is this novel...a definite must-read!

Shonell Bacon, author of "Luvalwayz: The Opposite Sex & Relationships"

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Look At Me, June 10, 2001

By 

Sharrod J. Stewart (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Look At Me (Paperback)

If you're looking for a story that's realistic, then you should by all means give WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME a read. And if you haven't learned at least a lesson or two by the time you finish this book, then you were not paying attention to the story that was being told. WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME is a very real story of a teenage mother who has to learn how to deal with life as it comes to her after making a few poor choices. You meet characters that trip and fall into mistakes that could hold them hostage for the rest of their lives. In this, her first novel, Undra E. Biggs uses tools like love, support and encouragement to blend her characters into a fast moving story that will not disappoint you from beginning to end. This is the kind of book that will make you think about being human and knowing that you don't have stay down when the world is counting you out.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Look at Me by Undra Biggs, April 9, 2001

By 

India Nicole Santos (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When You Look At Me (Paperback)

Toward the end of the 1990s, teen pregnancy became an issue especially reserved for the back burner. Undra Bigg's debut novel, "When You Look at Me," is an exceptional journey into the life and plight of the teen-aged/single mother. WYLAM shares with the reader the joys, pain, hope, defeat, aspirations and the realities which single mothers deal with daily. I loved this book because it reveals the flip side of the ugly statistics that the media often expounds upon. I am referring to the single mothers who came from functional, healthy families, exceptional students, if and when used-- welfare was a stepping stone, high school and college graduates. The latter statements represent a large and ever growing number of teen/single mothers. WYLAM is a must read! This novel would definately serve as an esteem builder. So much so, that I have considered adding it to my lesson plan for my eighth grade English class. The objective/moral would encompass the need for adolescents to understand that all of life's choices have a consequence. My favorite line: "I hate you..." I said, but the translation of the heart was, I love you more than I love myself. Way down in the core of me there's you. So deep down inside til I am you..." Now, when love is healthy, that kind of feeling is a beautiful thing. When it's not, that feeling is a welcome sign to disaster. Read WYLAM!