Boyfriend Season

July 15, 2011

In loosely connected, overlapping stories, three African-American teen girls in Atlanta navigate relationships with family, community and the boys and men in their lives.

Santana, a fly girl well known for her proud attitude, the designer clothes she steals from department stores and her hustler boyfriend Pharaoh, insists that Pharaoh isn't cheating, but deep down, she isn't sure. Dynasty, mortified by her mentally ill aunt and continually harassed by Rufus, her former best friend, meets a dreamy boy who helps her out of a tight spot, but she wonders if he has ulterior motives. Patience, the devoted daughter of a hypocritical, high-profile Christian minister, finds herself in a secret romance with a notorious teen rapper. The girls narrate alternating chapters, and each girl changes substantially and believably over the course of her story. The author has a clear message for readers about the importance of language and education: Dynasty studies a dictionary religiously in hopes of attending an Ivy League college, and Santana, after learning a few life lessons, decides to expand her vocabulary and divorce herself from "hood grammar." Less convincing is Santana's reversal on shoplifting, which comes only after she gains a legal means of acquiring expensive fashions.

Even with a few false steps, the relatively complex relationships and refreshing variety of teen voices will engage readers. (Urban fiction. 12-16)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

November 1, 2011

Gr 8-11-Set in Atlanta, Boyfriend features three African-American teens who experience first heartbreak and first love. Santana Jackson is a popular "it girl" and the envy of all her friends, but her life is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. She shoplifts designer clothes and handbags, her mother is a serial dater, and her boyfriend is a two-timing hustler. Then she meets Gully, a prepster from the inner city who is striving for a better future. Suddenly, Santana is questioning her choices. Dynasty Young lives with her abusive aunt while her junkie mother sits in jail. Dynasty hopes her book smarts will help her rise above her circumstances, but when she meets City, a Brooklyn boy with Jay-Z ingenuity, she starts seeing dollar signs as a way out. Patience Blackman is the Bishop's dutiful daughter, who longs to express herself with music, but her severe, strict dad does not approve of her singing R&B songs. Then she meets Trill, a famous rapper, and starts sneaking out. As she gets swept up in Trill's glamorous life, she wonders if a career in the music business is truly for her. The girls relish the attention these bad boys give them, only to find out that the good guys are the reliable, trustworthy ones who have been there the whole time. London's message is clear: self-respect and good judgment are what bring happiness and true love. Recommend this novel to fans of Ni-Ni Simone.-Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Northampton Community College, Hawley, PA

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