Synopses & Reviews
A fresh new voice on the YA scene.Raven's life has been derailed. She never expected she'd be a mother at sixteen like her best friend, Aisha, and she's afraid she's going to be just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects. And although Raven is ambitious, when is she going to find the time to finish school in the few minutes she's not looking for a job or caring for her infant son, Smokey? Then her older sister, Dell, tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner enrollment in a college prep program and a scholarship. But spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at! Still, Raven is fiercely determined to win, and so she starts memorizing words.
In Janet McDonald's powerful and funny novel, a smart and resilient young woman whose life isn't what she dreamed it would be learns that there are many ways to spell SUCCESS.
Review
"One of the best of the many recent stories about teens in the city projejcts, this first novel is read-aloud funny, even as it tells the harsh truth about how hard it is to break free." --Starred,
Booklist
Review
“Spellbound is the rarest of books, funny and moving at the same time. . . . Thank you, Ms. McDonald, for writing this wonderful, fun, and touching book.”—Christopher Paul Curtis, winner of the Newbery Medal for Bud, Not Buddy “This first novel is read-aloud funny, even as it tells the harsh truth about how hard it is to break free. . . . Whats great in this novel is the depiction of the grim reality of the neighborhood and the slick clichés of success. Best of all, [McDonald] humanizes the individual people behind the stereotype.”—Booklist, Starred Review
Synopsis
Raven, a teenage mother and high school dropout living in a housing project, decides, with the help and sometime interference of her best friend Aisha, to study for a spelling bee which could lead to a four-year scholarship.
Synopsis
Raven Jefferson never expected shed be a mother at sixteen like her best friend, Aisha. Now shes stuck being just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects. Or maybe not; Raven does have ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school? All her time is spent looking for a job or taking care of her son, Smokey. Then her older sister, Dell, tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a full college scholarship. But spelling? There isnt a subject shes worse at! Yet Raven is fiercely determined to find a way to get her life back on track. So she starts memorizing words. Theres no reason not to try. . . .
About the Author
Janet McDonald (1953-2007) is the author of the adult memoir Project Girl. She is the author of three books set in the Brooklyn projects: Chill Wind, for which she received the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent; Spellbound, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Twists and Turns, an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and lived in Paris, France.