Synopses & Reviews
When Leah's aunt Olivia sends her a red rose box all the way from California for her tenth birthday, she and her younger sister Ruth can hardly imagine what could be inside. Living in dusty Sulphur, Louisiana, the arrival of the box, full of magical things-lipstick, nailpolish, and a 100% silk bedjacket-is about the most exciting thing that has ever happened to Leah and Ruth.
Aunt Olivia has also sent some train tickets for a trip to Los Angeles and freedom, far away from the Jim Crow laws that keep the Southern blacks down. Leah is enchanted by her rich aunt's lifestyle and the California culture. Like the treasures in the box, California is almost too good to be true. But when tragedy forces Leah and Ruth to make Los Angeles their permanent home, the girls are torn by longing for their roots.
Brenda Woods has written an evocative first novel about the importance of remembering your past, even as you move away from it.
Review
The action is fast, the journey fraught with danger; the details bring it home. (Booklist, starred review)
Woods deftly teases out both the light and the dark moments of the experience. . . (School Library Journal)
Review
"A timeless universal tale of young girl's road to maturity. An impressive debut." -
Kirkus Reviews
Review
* “Violets a bright, engaging biracial preteen. . . . Infused with humor, hope and cleareyed compassion—a fresh take on an old paradigm.” Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
Review
“Woods deftly raises complex issues of race and identity and leaves them open for discussion: whether race matters, what makes a family, how it feels to be different, and what it means to be biracial. ‘To white people, Violet thinks, ‘Im half black. To black people, Im half white. . . . Is that what I am, a percentage?" Publishers Weekly
Review
“Violet is a winning protagonist, full of questions and full of hope. Shes believably complex. . . . Her self-conscious reflections enable readers to parse the symbolism behind her name and see how her experiences are helping her grow into a person who fits it—a sometimes shy, sometimes sparkly and strong person to whom many readers will relate.” The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Review
“Violets charming quirks, which include nighttime wishing rituals and keeping a mental catalogue of sophisticated vocabulary words, prove endearing. . . . Admirably touches upon profound issues related to identity and race and tenderly conveys intergenerational bonds.” School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
Synopsis
Sally Harrison and her family are slaves on a plantation in Georgia. But when Master decides to sell Sally and her brother, the family escapes to seek shelter with a tribe of Seminoles who are rumored to adopt runaway slaves. After a perilous journey, Sallys family finds and joins the tribe. But while her father and brother easily adjust to Indian ways, Sally cant seem to find her place. Combining the poetry of Sallys songs with the heartracing tension of the familys escape, author Brenda Woods delivers a breathtaking story of a girl caught between worlds.
Synopsis
On her tenth birthday, Leah receives a surprise gift from glamorous Aunt Olivia, Mama's only sister, who lives in Los Angeles. It is a red rose box. Not many people in 1958 Louisiana have seen such a beautiful traveling case, covered with red roses, filled with jewelry, silk bedclothes, expensive soaps...and train tickets to California. Soon after, Leah and her sister, Ruth, find themselves in Hollywood, far away from cotton fields and Jim Crow laws. To Leah, California feels like freedom. But when disaster strikes back home, Leah and Ruth have to stay with Aunt Olivia permanently. Will freedom ever feel like home?
Synopsis
Emako Blue was supposed to be a star. She was beautiful and good-hearted. She was Monterey's best friend. She was the only girl Jamal cared about, the one who saw through his player act. She was the one who understood the burden of Eddie's family. She was the best singer anyone had ever heard, with a voice like vanilla incense, smoky and sweet. She was Savannah's rival, the one who wouldn't play by the rules. She was destined for greatness, already plucked from South Central Los Angeles by the record producers. She was only fifteen when she died.
Synopsis
Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods moving, uplifting story of a girl finally meeting the African American side of her family explores racism and how it feels to be biracial, and celebrates families of all kinds.
Violet is a smart, funny, brown-eyed, brown-haired girl in a family of blonds. Her mom is white, and her dad, who died before she was born, was black. She attends a mostly white school where she sometimes feels like a brown leaf on a pile of snow. Shes tired of people asking if shes adopted. Now that Violets eleven, she decides its time to learn about her African American heritage. And despite getting off to a rocky start trying to reclaim her dads side of the family, she can feel her confidence growing as the puzzle pieces of her life finally start coming together. Readers will cheer for Violet, sharing her joy as she discovers her roots.
About the Author
Brenda Woods (www.brendawoods.net) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, raised in southern California, and attended California State University, Northridge. She is the award-winning author of several books for young readers: Coretta Scott King Honor winner The Red Rose Box, Saint Louis Armstrong Beach, VOYA Top Shelf Fiction selection Emako Blue, My Name is Sally Little Song, and A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her numerous awards and honors include the Judy Lopez Memorial Award, FOCAL award, Pen Center USAs Literary Award finalist, IRA Childrens Choice Young Adult Fiction Award, and ALA Quick Pick. She lives in the Los Angeles area.