On the Come Up

May 6, 2013
This vibrant debut novel based on a real-life story from indie filmmaker Weyer is set in the urban community of Far Rockaway, Queens, and explores the struggles of a local girl trying to carve out a life beyond the expected. When AnnMarie Walker starts eighth grade, she knows that having brand-name jeans and the best voice in her music class doesn’t mean much unless you can back it up with attitude. Her sass attracts the attention of Darius Greene and their romance turns a naïve AnnMarie into an expectant mother at 14. As her belly grows and the relationship takes a violent turn, AnnMarie lands a role in an indie film that expands her world and takes her to Sundance. AnnMarie’s journey to make it as an actor is as rocky as the first few years of single motherhood, and she faces the grim reality of what it takes to succeed in work, family, and love without advantages. Weyer skillfully handles each phase of AnnMarie’s life with a tonality that serves her growing maturity and shifting goals. Weyer’s compassionate storytelling and experience as a mentor for at-risk youth lends her compelling novel an inspiring pathos without losing its sharp, realistic edge. Agent: Alice Tasman, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.

May 15, 2013
Thirteen-year-old AnnMarie lives life on the edge in Far Rockaway, Queens, but despite all the odds, she's ultimately triumphant. Weyer presents an urban nightmare that's a deplorable part of too many adolescent lives. AnnMarie lives with her mom, Blessed, and grandmother in the rough, unruly and blighted community of "Far Rock." She tries to earn extra money for school clothes by selling frozen Kool-Aid and peanut butter punch on the beaches, but she aspires to wear Jordache rather than the polka-dot dresses favored by her mother. School presents its own problems, both academic and social. Skipping school becomes routine since, after all, it's boring and irrelevant. Much more seductive is the prospect of hanging out with cool friends and smoking weed. School is also full of taunting students, fights in the hallway and the threat of suspension. The only saving grace is choir, for there, AnnMarie has a caring teacher, Mr. Preston, but also The Voice--she can really rock a song. She begins seeing Darius, a high school dropout with no prospects. He gets her pregnant and promises to marry her when she's 18. But he's not the most trustworthy: Despite his promises, he doesn't show up at Lamaze classes. One day, AnnMarie sees a poster for musical tryouts: "Girls Wanted. All Shapes and Sizes. No Model Types. Come as You Are." Needless to say, this starts a new trajectory for AnnMarie's sense of self and her incipient career. Weyer writes with an ear for authentic urban teen patois, but no matter how authentic, it's ultimately wearing on the reader.

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July 1, 2013

Written in realistic-sounding urban vernacular, this first novel by a documentary filmmaker/screenwriter drops readers into the life of street-smart AnnMarie Walker of Far Rockaway, Queens, a New York City neighborhood known for gang violence, Section 8 housing, and lack of reliable public transportation. AnnMarie's story is based on the real-life Anna Simpson, a Far Rockaway teen whom the author met while working on a film with her husband. The book's cover design should draw in fans of urban or street lit. Others may have to be persuaded to discover the touching story buried deep in this novel's gritty realism--much as AnnMarie's vulnerability hides beneath a tough exterior. VERDICT This moving novel about coming of age in a place with few options for at-risk youth should appeal to readers of Sapphire's Push and Tracy Brown's White Lines for its portrayal of young African Americans yearning for more than what is on offer, and maybe to fans of Junot Diaz's This Is How You Lose Her for its slang-soaked language and literary toughness.--Laurie Cavanaugh, Holmes P.L., Halifax, MA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Her dreams focused on rapping and boys, 13-year-old AnneMarie Walker is much like the other girls from Queens, New York, except that she and her boyfriend are already starting a family. For a time, it's the life she's sure she wants. Then, while attending a high school for pregnant girls, she lands a lead role in an indie film, and a whole new world opens up for her. When her relationship becomes abusive, and she is faced with the reality of raising her daughter alone, she grows uncertain about her choices and finds herself rearranging her beliefs about love and stability. Telling her story in halting street language, AnneMarie is a tenacious and lovable character. It is easy to root for her as she gropes and stumbles her way through the lessons of life without the benefit of role models or money, and the conclusions she comes to are surprisingly pertinent for all. Fans of Sapphire's Push (1996) will especially appreciate the honesty and realism of filmmaker and first-novelist Weyer's writing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)