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rlevy_95's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting story. A view of a Lorene’s life at St Paul’s prep school after they have recently started admitting women as well as people of color. A view into what is was like to be a black teenage girl at this very elitist and predominantly white school. It was enjoyable, a view into something I will never truly understand. I think it is important for stories like this to be read and these voices to be heard. I find this story extremely relevant to our current society and political climate.
jonbrammer's review against another edition
2.0
St. Paul's is an elite prep school in New Hampshire. Lorene Cary's _Black Ice_ is a memoir of her time at the school, as an African-American girl from Philadelphia she finds herself in an alien environment. Unfortunately, the memories here are typical coming-of-age encounters with drugs, sex, academic and social competitiveness; the central conflict presented of trying to fit in as a minority in a traditionally white environment is not analyzed. Perhaps Cary's race did not end up mattering that much - we do not see the incidents of racism that we expect.
emily_nelson's review against another edition
3.0
A compelling examination of the role of Affirmative Action in one young woman's life as she comes of age at the newly-integrated St. Paul's school in New Hampshire. Cary's autobiography is full of nervous energy that endears her to the reader, and her struggles with self-identification and image in a school that both accepts her and others her is important reading for understanding how race continues to challenge us post-civil rights.
txmxy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was a really interesting memoir depicting life at St. Paul's School in the 70s for the author, a young Black woman.
The writing is evocative. This would be an excellent book to teach about the difficulties of assimilation -- there are some great passages here about how difficult it is to explain the weight of being POC in a predominantly white space. I also think it's a good text to teach kids about how recent integration of schools is. And, how difficult it is. How white culture permeates all aspects of student life, and how difficult it is to break that down.
The writing is evocative. This would be an excellent book to teach about the difficulties of assimilation -- there are some great passages here about how difficult it is to explain the weight of being POC in a predominantly white space. I also think it's a good text to teach kids about how recent integration of schools is. And, how difficult it is. How white culture permeates all aspects of student life, and how difficult it is to break that down.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
In 1972 Lorene Cary left her home in Philadelphia for boarding school in New Hampshire. The school, St. Paul's, had only recently begun to accept female students; more pressingly, for Cary, there were very few black students or faculty.
Cary's boarding school tale shares themes common to many: she made friends, broke rules, excelled in some classes and struggled in others. Over the course of her two years at St. Paul's, she established herself as a campus leader. Her experience is one of ambivalence, though, of never quite trusting St. Paul's—in particular, the white students and teachers—but also beginning to appreciate some of what it has to offer, beginning to see more nuance.
I had not expected the gentle, tentative surge of gratitude I began to feel...for St. Paul's School, the spring, and the early morning. I needed the morning light and the warbling birds. I needed to find a way to live in this place for a moment and get the good of it. I had tried to hold myself apart, and the aloneness proved more terrible than what I had tried to escape. (152)
I struggled with two things in reading Black Ice. The first was the sense that Cary never quite separates her adult understanding from her teenage experience; I valued the perspective but at the same time never felt quite there. (This has at least as much to do with me as it does with the book, though, and with what I'm currently looking for in boarding school stories.)
It didn't occur to me that I never named my own mystery illness the spring before (except to misdiagnose it to friends as mono), because I'd been afraid to admit, even to my mother, how much I'd wanted to lie down somewhere and hide. Black women, tall and strong as cypress trees, didn't pull that. Pain and shame and cowardice and fear had to be kept secret. (192)
The other thing is more complicated. It's a story about race, for sure, although it's also about class and gender and sexuality and who knows what else. Despite her gradual appreciation for and acceptance of St. Paul's, Cary never shakes the feeling of being an outsider, of...not measuring up, I suppose. Not in terms of what the school expects of her, nor in terms of what she wants to be able to give back to her family and community.
Not one thought entered my head that did not seem disloyal. I was ashamed, seeing their pride close up, as if for the first time, at how little I had accomplished, how much I had failed to do at St. Paul's. Somewhere in the last two years I had forgotten my mission. What had I done, I kept thinking, that was worthy of their faith? How had I helped my race? How had I prepared myself for a meaningful future? ... They were right: only a handful of us got this break. I wanted to shout at them that I had squandered it. Now that it's all over, hey, I'm not your girl! I couldn't do it. (212)
But I struggled to understand why. Here she is at the end of her two years, a leader, on her way to an Ivy League school. It is much easier to see her internal struggle throughout the book than it is to see her external struggle—which I suppose was part of the problem, but there's nuance here that I'm sure I'm missing. Less a question of St. Paul's being (especially) racist, I suppose, than of the entire country being racist and St. Paul's being...I'm not sure. A symbol of the problem. Cary is understandably reluctant to be on the outside, to have to push boundaries (her own and others').
Again...pretty sure I'm missing some pieces. But it's an interesting book, and a complex one. A last quotation, just because it reminds me of my own experience:
"How come you got to start making the bed the minute your feet hit the floor? You need to lighten up, girl. Live a little!" Then she'd laugh, delighted with herself and at my inability to be angry with her. (176-177)
Cary's boarding school tale shares themes common to many: she made friends, broke rules, excelled in some classes and struggled in others. Over the course of her two years at St. Paul's, she established herself as a campus leader. Her experience is one of ambivalence, though, of never quite trusting St. Paul's—in particular, the white students and teachers—but also beginning to appreciate some of what it has to offer, beginning to see more nuance.
I had not expected the gentle, tentative surge of gratitude I began to feel...for St. Paul's School, the spring, and the early morning. I needed the morning light and the warbling birds. I needed to find a way to live in this place for a moment and get the good of it. I had tried to hold myself apart, and the aloneness proved more terrible than what I had tried to escape. (152)
I struggled with two things in reading Black Ice. The first was the sense that Cary never quite separates her adult understanding from her teenage experience; I valued the perspective but at the same time never felt quite there. (This has at least as much to do with me as it does with the book, though, and with what I'm currently looking for in boarding school stories.)
It didn't occur to me that I never named my own mystery illness the spring before (except to misdiagnose it to friends as mono), because I'd been afraid to admit, even to my mother, how much I'd wanted to lie down somewhere and hide. Black women, tall and strong as cypress trees, didn't pull that. Pain and shame and cowardice and fear had to be kept secret. (192)
The other thing is more complicated. It's a story about race, for sure, although it's also about class and gender and sexuality and who knows what else. Despite her gradual appreciation for and acceptance of St. Paul's, Cary never shakes the feeling of being an outsider, of...not measuring up, I suppose. Not in terms of what the school expects of her, nor in terms of what she wants to be able to give back to her family and community.
Not one thought entered my head that did not seem disloyal. I was ashamed, seeing their pride close up, as if for the first time, at how little I had accomplished, how much I had failed to do at St. Paul's. Somewhere in the last two years I had forgotten my mission. What had I done, I kept thinking, that was worthy of their faith? How had I helped my race? How had I prepared myself for a meaningful future? ... They were right: only a handful of us got this break. I wanted to shout at them that I had squandered it. Now that it's all over, hey, I'm not your girl! I couldn't do it. (212)
But I struggled to understand why. Here she is at the end of her two years, a leader, on her way to an Ivy League school. It is much easier to see her internal struggle throughout the book than it is to see her external struggle—which I suppose was part of the problem, but there's nuance here that I'm sure I'm missing. Less a question of St. Paul's being (especially) racist, I suppose, than of the entire country being racist and St. Paul's being...I'm not sure. A symbol of the problem. Cary is understandably reluctant to be on the outside, to have to push boundaries (her own and others').
Again...pretty sure I'm missing some pieces. But it's an interesting book, and a complex one. A last quotation, just because it reminds me of my own experience:
"How come you got to start making the bed the minute your feet hit the floor? You need to lighten up, girl. Live a little!" Then she'd laugh, delighted with herself and at my inability to be angry with her. (176-177)
zinelib's review against another edition
4.0
Cary recounts her time at a predominantly white boarding school in Massachusetts--her last two years of high school in the 1970s. Cary is self-aware, self-critical, and in her words indulges in
"recreational fault-finding."
My interpretation of the title is that it's about the unattainable nature of Black excellence being achieved or seen. (But what do I know? I'm a cranky, hormonal, angry, grieving mess right now). The idea of ice also conveys vulnerability, as does this passage from early-ish in the book
Cary, despite her fault-finding, has the capacity to experience "love and gratitude, hate, resentments, shame, admiration, loss" all at once, as she expresses her graduation feelings. Black Ice is a solid but restrained read. Despite it being relatively short, at 237 pages, it took me what felt like a long five days to finish it.
"recreational fault-finding."
My interpretation of the title is that it's about the unattainable nature of Black excellence being achieved or seen. (But what do I know? I'm a cranky, hormonal, angry, grieving mess right now). The idea of ice also conveys vulnerability, as does this passage from early-ish in the book
Ed Shockley, who graduated in my class, can still remember standing outside the Rectory looking at the grounds and wondering whether his white classmates would jump him in the woods.It's wild how Black men are so feared when they're in danger from white people all the time
Cary, despite her fault-finding, has the capacity to experience "love and gratitude, hate, resentments, shame, admiration, loss" all at once, as she expresses her graduation feelings. Black Ice is a solid but restrained read. Despite it being relatively short, at 237 pages, it took me what felt like a long five days to finish it.
mary_elmore's review against another edition
3.0
Here's the thing: I have been looking forward to reading this book since Lorene Cary came to speak last year in chapel. This book is written about my school, St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. I had extraordinarily high expectations for this book as a result of Cary's fantastic reflection speak in chapel. I rushed into the book expecting an autobiography that explored and explained the inequality between the races, the socioeconomic classes, and the sexes, among other groups, at SPS. After having participated in endless discussions about this apparent inequality, amongst conversations about the recent sexual assault trial and its implications, I was excited to hear thoughts on these topics from a different perspective. I must say that Cary's book is strong and brave, but as glad as I was to hear her opinion, I really wish she had gone into more depth. She speaks many times of her loneliness at the school but, to me, she never quite explains the cause of this loneliness, other than the fact that it began in the Rectory on her very first day. I was disappointed because I was genuinely interested to hear her much more of her perspective as a black, female student in a white, male time at SPS. That being said, this book certainly hit home for me because I am quite familiar with nearly all of the places and traditions that she mentions. I even teared up while reading about her narrative of her graduation weekend, since mine is so rapidly approaching. "Black Ice" is beautifully written and gives a perspective that needs to be heard, but I think Cary missed an opportunity to go further in depth about her struggles at SPS and an opportunity to make the book more relatable for students at St. Paul's and beyond.
anniey's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
really lovely memoir!! i loved cary’s writing style. her experiences as one of the first Black female students at an elite high school in the 70s were fascinating to read about, and I enjoyed her perspectives on education and privilege. her struggle to bridge her two worlds was interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
racism is implicit to much of the bookfrancescamoroney's review against another edition
4.0
Incredibly well-written memoir. I highly recommend. Some of her sentences are absolutely magical.