Standing Against the Wind--Reading Journal

Weaving the theme of finding strength and courage within oneself, Traci L. Jones invites her audience to share an emotional chapter in the life of protagonist Patrice Williams. Her characters came alive in my mind through her use of vivid imagery. For example, as Patrice travels north from Georgia, the physical temperature drops from 70 degrees to 40 degrees. Similarly, Patrice moves from the warmth of a nurturing home with her grandmother to Chicago’s abrasive and “cold” social environment. Interestingly, Chicago’s winter temperatures slowly rise, Patrice also slowly adjusts to her new surroundings and situation until she finally feels “the warm spring wind of Chicago against her back, pushing her forward” at the close of the book (p. 184).

Jones’ skillfully-selected metaphors for describing Patrice as her transformation occurs reflect the fact that her inner beauty is becoming more apparent to others (especially Monty). At the beginning of the book Jones describes Patrice as a “small, skinny, unwanted mouse, surrounded by well-dressed cool cats with nice hair” (p. 22); however, in chapter 11, Jones plants the image of Patrice being a determined flower growing in the midst of trash.

Jones’ choices of images in describing other characters in the book were treats for the imagination. Initially she presents the Monty’s gang as “looking like teen dragons as the puffs of warm air from their mouths mixed with the clouds of cigarette smoke” (p. 4). A few pages later, Rasheed reminds Patrice of a “mean junkyard dog” (p. 42). This may be a stretch, but as I read about Chanterelle, her name reminded me of the literary character Chantecler (a rooster). Although Jones may not have intended to allude to this literary figure, I thought it made a fitting parallel—Chanterelle is outwardly impressive and struts and boasts like a rooster.

Standing Against the Wind is a culturally diverse book (especially for West Texas students). However, teenagers in any culture can relate at times to many of the emotions Patrice experiences--feeling displaced, ugly, small, overwhelmed, let-down, and helpless. Most important and encouraging is the powerful message that Jones trumpets in her novel—that teens are not helpless pawns in life with no choice or control over their own actions and destinies.