From Booklist
Emma Rivers has had to fight so hard for so long that by the time she finally realizes her dream of becoming a teacher and faces a classroom full of at-risk students at one of the worst middle schools in Chicago, she seems indomitable. Her self-punishing regime of tough love and unstinting devotion wins her students' respect and trust, while her combativeness provokes vicious enemies among her peers. Pride's fiercely explicit debut novel is a bold fictionalization of the tempestuous rise and tragic fall of Chicagoan Momma Hawk, an innovative and renowned African American educator. Rendering every intense scene neon-bright with danger, fear, fury, and the will to survive, Pride tracks Emma from her harsh girlhood on Chicago's South Side during the 1950s, where she found sanctuary in books, to the traumatic life of a woman violently betrayed by those closest to her. Pride's penetrating insights into the cruel matrix of suffering engendered by racism, sexism, and poverty enrich her indelible portrait of a courageous teacher able to transform the lives of neglected teens because she needs them as much as they need her. Seaman, Donna
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"I applaud Alexis Pride for honoring the story of a woman warrior, a teacher. Pride writes with a sharp ear for the spoken word and with the wise and generous heart of an old spirit. That this novel is based on a real woman's life makes the tale all the more uplifting. Hurray to both woman warriors, the teacher and the writer. " --Sandra Cisneros-Author-The House on Mango Street
"Emma Rivers' story wil stay with you long after you've read the last word. An exquisitely written, unforgettable first novel." --Valerie Wilson Wesley-Author-Playing My Mother's Blues
"Where the River Ens is a stunning portrait of immense power of one woman's life, written with the superb poetry of purpose. From the southside of Chicago to Spanish Harlem, from childhood, motherhood, marriage, divorce, illness, death, and an enduring friendship, this novel speaks to the joy of being head-strong, and the incomparable humility one always learns as a teacher." --Joe Meno-Author-Hairstyles of the Damned
"Emma Rivers' story wil stay with you long after you've read the last word. An exquisitely written, unforgettable first novel." --Valerie Wilson Wesley-Author-Playing My Mother's Blues
"Where the River Ens is a stunning portrait of immense power of one woman's life, written with the superb poetry of purpose. From the southside of Chicago to Spanish Harlem, from childhood, motherhood, marriage, divorce, illness, death, and an enduring friendship, this novel speaks to the joy of being head-strong, and the incomparable humility one always learns as a teacher." --Joe Meno-Author-Hairstyles of the Damned
