Standing Against the Wind--Book Review

A Review--Uploaded to Amazon.com

Jones, Traci L (2006). Standing Against the Wind. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Traci L. Jones earns a well-deserved Coretta Scott King Award for her first novel Standing Against the Wind. Weaving the theme of hope with finding strength and courage in oneself, Jones invites her reader to share an emotional chapter in the life of protagonist Patrice Williams. Chapter 1 finds Patrice having been uprooted from the warmth of her grandmother’s Georgian home and deposited with her Auntie Mae in winter-blasted Chicago while her mother serves time in prison. In Jones’ modernized and urbanized Cinderella tale, Patrice feels she must ease the additional financial burden her presence adds by cooking, cleaning, and watching her young cousins for her aunt. Although Auntie Mae is no evil stepmother, she is far from nurturing and expects Patrice to earn her keep. Patrice’s dream of escape appears in the form of an opportunity to attend the academically elite Dogwood Academy—one of the nation’s finest predominantly African American boarding schools—if she can win one of the three coveted scholarships. Patrice must find the strength and courage to face challenges that threaten to crush her spirit—feeling displaced, ugly, small, overwhelmed, fearful, let-down, and helpless. Help unexpectedly comes in the form of Monty, an eighth-grade gang member turned prince charming.

The plot is captivating, the setting realistic, and Traci L. Jones’ language is rich and full of imagery. The metaphorical pictures Jones paints, ranging from mythical dragons to junkyard dogs, are treats for the reader’s imagination (and an imagery wonderland for reading teachers). Some young readers (5th or 6th graders), however, may find one chapter of the book in which Patrice is sexually harassed unsettling. Another unsettling issue involves both Patrice and Monty. Although Patrice becomes stronger and more self-assured throughout the novel, the reader has to wonder if she could have achieved this new-found strength and courage without the help of Monty (a strong male presence) and his protection. Additionally, considering Monty’s character, one might ask whether a young rogue needs a helpless maiden to protect in order to bring out the good in him.

These quandaries, however, do not detract from the appealing quality of Jones’ Standing Against the Wind. It is sure to interest middle school and junior high students. The characters are real—peers any student might encounter regularly. The message is also very clear and relevant for students this age: teens are not helpless pawns in life with no choice or control over their own actions and destinies. I look forward to hearing more from Traci L. Jones.

Note: This review was submitted to www.amazon.com and posted on September 11 as Ima Teach’s review “Enjoy a Modern, Urban Fairy Tale” at the following URL:
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0374371741/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1_cm_cr_acr_img?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1