TITLE: Jazmin's Notebook
AUTHOR: Nikki Grimes
PUBLISHER: Puffin Books
PUBLISHED DATE: January 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0141307022
PAGES: 112
Awards: Coretta Scott King Honor Winner
This is a tender book that just pulls at your heartstrings. Jazmin is a 14 year old girl coming of age in the early 1960's. Her mother spirals into mental illness and alcoholism. Her father, who comes to visit Jazmin and her sister CeCe, dies in a car accident. Jazmin finds a safe haven in books and is confident in her intellect...but this only increases her awareness of her dangerous neighborhood and that her friends have mothers who are more equipped for motherhood than her own.
I just wanted to hug Jazmin! She is so hopeful and so resilient despite that the obstacles she faces are so hopeless. Though this book is historical fiction, many teens would be able to relate to the issues that Jazmin is going though.
Quotes
"Be patient with people. We all believe what we know, or what we can, or what we want to."
"It seems to me that ideas are like gossamer, or mist, fragile as a dream forgotten as soon as you awake."
Recommendation: Read it! It's a good quick read.
Audience: Young Adults
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