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katiegrrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting set of short stories about relationships between African-American teen boys and girls.
2017 52 Books 52 Weeks - Book by a Woman of Color
2017 52 Books 52 Weeks - Book by a Woman of Color
lindsayb's review against another edition
3.0
I especially liked that the audio used different readers. Pretty good collection overall--the nuances are particularly shining--though I found "Jacob's Rules" to be absolutely painful. The teacher's assignment, behavior, and reasoning was 100% inappropriate and inexcusable. The story made it seem like the whole situation was a positive thing, but not only did it enforce heteronormativity as a rule (yeah yeah, I get that this collection is based on that) but traditional gender roles were gospel. And then he purposefully culls the popular and beautiful children to use against the rest of the students AND TELLS THE CLASS JUST SO at the end. That is so wrong in so many ways.
sc104906's review against another edition
3.0
Several short stories about young women and the relationships they have with young men. Whether they have issues with abusive boyfriends, or knucklehead cousins, each woman uses different strategies to handle the challenges of their relationships.
mlangman's review against another edition
2.0
Again, I read this for my YA/Adolescent lit class. It didn't really appeal to me (neither the stories nor the way they were told resonated with me), but I think some of my students would really enjoy them.
kwarehime's review against another edition
4.0
Kelly Garwood
Flake, S. G. (2004). Who am I without him? Short stories about girls and the boys in their lives. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Genre: Short Stories
Award(s): Coretta Scott King Honor Award, YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, CCBC Choices, Booklist Editor’s Choice Award, Booklist Top 10 Romance Novels for Youth
Format: book
Selection process: Nilsen, A. P. (Ed.). (2013). Literature for today’s young adults. (p. 109). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Review:
The first short story in Who Am I Without Him? is entitled “So I Ain’t No Good Girl”. In it a young woman waits at a bus stop on her way to high school with her boyfriend, or “Boo”, Raheem. From the start it is apparent this is a toxic relationship. He checks out and makes eyes with the “good girls” standing across the street, he slaps the girlfriend for talking back and getting mad at this and, as the bus pulls away with the girlfriend on it, he is kissing one of the good girls he had been flirting with. The unnamed narrator goes through a roller coaster of emotions. All her anger at Raheem dissipate because, like her momma always tells her, she “ain’t no beauty prize” (p. 9). Her lack of respect for herself is keeping her trapped in an unhealthy relationship. As the bus leaves, the girl cries and whispers to herself, “Who I’m gonna be without him?” (p. 10). Her reasoning for staying with him is his looks and she tells herself that “when you got a man like that, you can’t be expecting to keep him all to yourself, not all the time anyhow” (p. 10).
Sharon Flake writes 12 short stories all dealing with young women, their relationships with men and their struggles to find self-worth. These stories are from several different points-of-view and many different situations. In one story a girl disgusted by her own face longs to be invisible and “curl up like a dot at the end of a sentence and disappear”. The abuse she suffers at every school she has been to has led her to create an imaginary “Ramon”, whom she dances with alone in her room while he tells her how beautiful she is.
Not all the stories are from the girls’ point-of-view. In “Jacob’s Rules”, a young man is enrolled in a class called Boy Stuff, where they discuss things like “sex, gangs, money, drugs, living, dying, and yeah, girls” (p. 55). The teacher Mr. Jacobs has put together a class to help young men better understand life and, for the next few weeks, relationships. Girls from another class have joined and Mr. Jacobs pairs up couples to be “married”. They are assigned a person to record their relationship and base points off how well they communicate, handle finances and respect one another. The last story is “A Letter to My Daughter” in which an absent father writes a letter to his 15 year old daughter Alicia. He admits all the things he has done wrong in his life but still gives her ten words of wisdom he has learned, particularly about how a boy should treat her. He signs it “Daddy (the first man who ever loved you)”.
Flake does an excellent job of showing both the good and bad side of relationships. Who Am I Without Him? is a great read for anyone, girl or boy, trying to better understand love and life.
Highly Recommend
Flake, S. G. (2004). Who am I without him? Short stories about girls and the boys in their lives. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.
Genre: Short Stories
Award(s): Coretta Scott King Honor Award, YALSA Best Books for Young Adult Readers, YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, CCBC Choices, Booklist Editor’s Choice Award, Booklist Top 10 Romance Novels for Youth
Format: book
Selection process: Nilsen, A. P. (Ed.). (2013). Literature for today’s young adults. (p. 109). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Review:
The first short story in Who Am I Without Him? is entitled “So I Ain’t No Good Girl”. In it a young woman waits at a bus stop on her way to high school with her boyfriend, or “Boo”, Raheem. From the start it is apparent this is a toxic relationship. He checks out and makes eyes with the “good girls” standing across the street, he slaps the girlfriend for talking back and getting mad at this and, as the bus pulls away with the girlfriend on it, he is kissing one of the good girls he had been flirting with. The unnamed narrator goes through a roller coaster of emotions. All her anger at Raheem dissipate because, like her momma always tells her, she “ain’t no beauty prize” (p. 9). Her lack of respect for herself is keeping her trapped in an unhealthy relationship. As the bus leaves, the girl cries and whispers to herself, “Who I’m gonna be without him?” (p. 10). Her reasoning for staying with him is his looks and she tells herself that “when you got a man like that, you can’t be expecting to keep him all to yourself, not all the time anyhow” (p. 10).
Sharon Flake writes 12 short stories all dealing with young women, their relationships with men and their struggles to find self-worth. These stories are from several different points-of-view and many different situations. In one story a girl disgusted by her own face longs to be invisible and “curl up like a dot at the end of a sentence and disappear”. The abuse she suffers at every school she has been to has led her to create an imaginary “Ramon”, whom she dances with alone in her room while he tells her how beautiful she is.
Not all the stories are from the girls’ point-of-view. In “Jacob’s Rules”, a young man is enrolled in a class called Boy Stuff, where they discuss things like “sex, gangs, money, drugs, living, dying, and yeah, girls” (p. 55). The teacher Mr. Jacobs has put together a class to help young men better understand life and, for the next few weeks, relationships. Girls from another class have joined and Mr. Jacobs pairs up couples to be “married”. They are assigned a person to record their relationship and base points off how well they communicate, handle finances and respect one another. The last story is “A Letter to My Daughter” in which an absent father writes a letter to his 15 year old daughter Alicia. He admits all the things he has done wrong in his life but still gives her ten words of wisdom he has learned, particularly about how a boy should treat her. He signs it “Daddy (the first man who ever loved you)”.
Flake does an excellent job of showing both the good and bad side of relationships. Who Am I Without Him? is a great read for anyone, girl or boy, trying to better understand love and life.
Highly Recommend
rjozinga's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of twelve short stories by Sharon Flake takes you on roller coaster ride. Each story focuses on urban teens falling in and out of love. The sweet story "Hunting for Boys", has the fourteen-year-old girls from Calvary Church of God's Blessed Example on a quest to get away from the conservative church they attend and find dates to the Mardi Gras festival. The book then goes into the more heartwrenching tale "I Know a Stupid Boy When I See One", where a pregnant teenager gets into serious trouble by taking advantage of a mentally unstable boy. There are stories on all ends of the spectrum and girls will really enjoy this book. I would recommend it for ages 14-16.
brittanyericaa's review against another edition
5.0
i read this book years ago while i was still in high school but i remember loving it.
sorryimalwaysbooked's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jozefsyndicate's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Twelve timeless short stories of high school relationships--something like love, maybe friendship, definitely real teens.
Written in 2004, Flake's conversant storytelling layers the geniune personalities of teens that are realistic even today.
No trigger warnings needed only that the stories are familiar like it or not.
Great for teen club discussions and author visit. Buy the book. Start a club. Enjoy.
Written in 2004, Flake's conversant storytelling layers the geniune personalities of teens that are realistic even today.
No trigger warnings needed only that the stories are familiar like it or not.
Great for teen club discussions and author visit. Buy the book. Start a club. Enjoy.