Customer Reviews

Yolonda's Genius (Newbery Honor Book)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a fourth grade teacher and have had a few of my students read this book. It is a "slice of modern life" which students can sometimes relate to. It is true that the book deals with some difficult situations and that not all preteens will understand it, but Miss Fenner deals with the realities of life in turn-of-the-century America. More than one of my students has perked up their ears when Yolonda steps on a bully's foot in retaliation and he tells her to "get off my effin' foot." They were disappointed to see it spelled out as I have quoted, but it caught their attention.

This book suffers at the end from a highly unlikely ending, which I feel Ms. Fenner could have improved, but it is a book which I thoroughly enjoyed for the richness of the characters and realism of the plot. Aunt Tiny is a rags to riches success story and a role model to young African Americans and to those of us who struggle with our weight. Yolonda's struggles with her self esteem reminded me of my youth, as did her tendency to lie in order to improve her image to others.

This is an outstanding book, which I recommend to preteens who read with comprehension and to teens who struggle with more intense, deeper material.

What is genius anyway? After being called a genius herself, Yolanda decides to look up the true definition in the dictionary. Upon reading it, she realizes that it does not describe her, but rather her younger brother Andrew. Yolanda is determined to convince the world of his special gifts, even if he is only a meek and mild first grader with a talent for music. This book paints a vivid visual picture with its descriptive vocabulary. Carol Fenner has a way of appealing to your senses. It pulls you in to the experiences of this young girl and her determination. This book is extremely moving. I truly liked "Yolanda's Genius," by Carol Fenner. I feel that any young reader with an imagination will enjoy it.

Yolanda, 10 and her brother Andrew, 6 live with their widowed mother in Chicago. When Yolanda tells their mother that a classmate shot another child to death, that ends her days as a Chicago resident. Her mother, a paralegal, moves the family to a Michigan suburb with a good school system.

Yolanda quickly adjusts, after initially pining for the familiarity of her old neighborhood and the close proximity to her Aunt Tiny. Aunt Tiny is a large, husky woman with a large heart. She gives her piano to Yolanda, who is plainly talented and enjoys listening to and playing the classics. A delightful, intelligent woman, Aunt Tiny owns several hair salons in Chicago and her work has been featured nationwide and in magazines. Oprah Winfrey was a client at one of her shops.

Yolanda identifies with her aunt. Both are husky and buxom; both are outstanding cooks and both share a love for classical music and reading. Aunt Tiny as well as her sister-in-law, Yolanda and Andrew's mother are professionals who set their sights high.

Andrew, also is musically talented. A harmonica afficionado, the boy has been playing songs and setting background sounds to music since infancy. His harmonica was a gift from his late father, a police officer who died in a fishing accident. Yolanda was 4 at the time.

Andrew has a harder time in school; he rarely talks; cannot read and spends his free time thinking about music. A kind speech teacher takes Andrew under his wing and teaches him to read by applying the lessons to musical terms and interests, e.g. "B is for Bongo," etc. He also teaches Andrew how to read music.

Yolanda is fiercely independent and very bright. She can defend herself against any bully with reason, logic and a well applied foot in some cases. She is also very funny. When a group of older boys demolish her brother's harmonica, Yolanda comes up with a resourceful way of getting even with them and providing a new harmonica for her brother.

This is a wonderful story about a strong, intelligent black family with a very appealing cast of characters. The story ends on quite a blues note! I love it!

YolandaŐs Genius is a fantastic and exciting book. In the beginning her family has to move out of their hometown because too many bad things happen. One bad thing that happened was high school kids gave Andrew drugs and the good thing is that Andrew didnŐt take them because he knew better. They moved from Chicago to Michigan. Yolonda doesnŐt really get along with the kids at her new school because they make fun of her because sheŐs different. Her little brother Andrew loves his harmonica that his dad gave him when he was a little baby before the father died. At school Andrew doesnŐt focus in reading and he just kept playing his harmonica. One day Yolonda and Andrew were walking home from school and Yolonda forgets her brother at the park and if you want to know what happen you should read this book.
The reason why I liked this book a lot is because it showed how Yolonda really loved her brother Andrew. And how she cared so much about her family and she watched over Andrew so well. I also liked this book because it had a lot of adventures that Yolonda did and some with her little brother. I think that anybody would love this book and I think you would really enjoy it.

YOLANDA'S GENIUS by Carol Fenner is a book which explores important social issues through one extraordinary girl's relationships with her family and classmates. Yolanda's sense of herself and her confidence in who she is, is an attitude that all children would do well to imitate, as she deals with prejudices that are less related to race than to the diversity found within each individual. Fenner's style is rhythmic and musical and her characters are rich and strong. The book depicts how brightly that one person can shine among many and is a testament to the power of the individual. I don't know how realistic the scenario is, especially in light of the unlikely ending, but the story promotes hope in an unsure and unstable world and maintains that it is through hard work and courage that hope is realized. YOLANDA'S GENIUS is a good one to add to your children's library.

Mrs. Fenner's done it again! This story is about an African-American family who leaves the violent Windy City for a quieter town. Yolonda, the daughter, has a hard time fitting in despite her assertiveness. So does Andrew, her LD brother. But Londa sees beyond his lack of book smarts to his musical genius. Can she help him utilize his talents and show people that he is intelligent? The language in this book was beautiful,despite some violence and sex references. Andrew's music is described so wonderfully that you can almost hear it. Like most girls, Yolonda has crushes. Although she and her ironically named Aunt Tiny are large women, their size is celebrated rather than insulted. Aunt Tiny shows that a little(sometimes a lot of) extra poundage keeps a person warm inside. I'm not obese,but I can identify with Yolonda's food addiction. She understands the virtues of chocolate! However,that's not always a good thing. Enough lectures about eating habits, read this book! You're in for a real treat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous book. The main character, Yolanda is a character who has some amazing qualities for her young age. She is determined to prove that her younger brother is a genius and will stop at nothing to prove this belief of hers. This book is full of literary merit and is a real page turner. The characters and setting are very believeable.
I am sure that people of all ages can relate to at least one of the characters in this book. The language is very descriptive and paints a clear and vivid picture of the story to the reader. I couldn't put this book down because I was so interested in the outcome !. The author, Carol Fenner provides the reader with so much insight into the characters of her book, that you feel as though you've known them for years. This is why I felt as though I was alongside of Yolanda for every step of her mission, and this is why I wasn't able to put down this book until I found out if she was successful or not.
This book will appeal to children and adults ages 10 and up. It is not a very difficult book to understand, but it does contain many elaborate descriptions. This book deals with topics such as neighborhood violence, the importance of family, and the different intelligences in our world. It sends a very positive message to the reader as a result. This is why I am encouraging all of you to read this great book.

I love the way the author's characters and the way she describes them. She uses rich, unexpected words that startle you at first, but when you think about it-- they really make sense.

Aunt Tiny is Yolanda's 300+ pound aunt. Instead of scorning her bigness, it talks about how wonderful she is, her hugeness adding to her great character. In one place, it said her laugh was buttery and rich enough to eat, and another time it said her backside "spread gloriously" over two seats at a concert.

Another character, Shirley, also catches you off-guard. She's small, contrasting with big Yolanda, but with huge whirling blue eyes and a man-voice. Yolanda thinks of her as Shirley Whirley.

I liked Andrew, and his second teacher, Vic Watts (who stutters). Andrew has a hard time learning to read, but he loves music. The music writing code seems to make more sense to him than the word writing code. Watts helps him learn to read by teaching music parallel with music. B for Bongo, g for guitar, etc. Andrew calls the music notes Mickey Mouse feet. :)

When Yolonda's mother, fearful of drugs and crime, drags Yolonda and her brother, Andrew out of Chicago, Yolonda is teased and starts to feels irritated in the her new town, Grand River. To make life easier, she starts going to the library, where she soon discovers something that is completely astonishing and unexpected. While flipping through the dictionary one day, she finds the word `genius'. She finds that Andrew fits the description. Determined, she sets forth to convince everyone of her brother's musical talent on his harmonica. In spite of this, no one understands, not even her mother because they think Andrew is stupid, due to his weak reading skills. Then Yolonda's Aunt Tiny comes and whisks them back to Chicago. There they attend the famous Chicago music festivals, and Yolonda comes up with a risky plan to prove that Andrew indeed is a genius. Succeed she does, so Andrew hits the stage and performs for crowds of people. But in the end, he chooses a quiet life with his mother and Yolonda.

I would give this book a four out of ten overall. Carol Fenner came up with a decent story, but I didn't particularly like her style. The story was hard to follow since she switched scenes quite often without making good transitions. Neither was it a very suspenseful or exciting story.

What is genius anyway? After being called a genius herself, Yolanda decides to look up the true definition in the dictionary. Upon reading it, she realizes that it does not describe her, but rather her younger brother Andrew. Yolanda is determined to convince the world of his special gifts, even if he is only a meek and mild first grader with a talent for music. This book paints a vivid visual picture with its descriptive vocabulary. Carol Fenner has a way of appealing to your senses. It pulls you in to the experiences of this young girl and her determination. This book is extremely moving. I truly liked "Yolanda's Genius," by Carol Fenner. I feel that any young reader with an imagination will enjoy it.