A great book for teens

Kierra Johnson
A Great Book For Teens!
Standing Against The Wind By Traci Jones
Star rating: 5
Standing Against The Wind by Traci jones is a very good book for tens now days. They can relate to to Patrice Williams. She is a teenager whom mom gives her up and leaves her with her grandmother. This is very common for most teens now days. Her grandmother gives her name wich is CoCo. Her grandmother has died so now she is living with her Auntie Mae. She finds out that her mother is in Chicago. She is a very smart student who does not mine helping other or working hard for want she wants .she gets a scholarship to a college . she moves to a new ghetto neighborhood . her new nickname is now PUFFY .because of her giant poof on her hair . But Patrice's hair isn't the only reason she sticks out she cares about her grades and strives for the best. That's why Monty Freeman, another eighth grader who lives in the building, asks Patrice to tutor his little brother. Even though Monty's friends make Patrice uneasy, Monty himself is friendly, confident, and surprisingly smart.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

i read this whole book in one night! i just couldnt stop. it was such an amazing book. the main character is usually nice and quiet but when she becomes closer to 'cool kid' Monty more people start to talk to her, she doesnt really lk the attention, but she really lkes monty. At the end of the book monty does something you would never exspect. this book was truley amazing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Incredible

This book has everything if you are a teenager . The amazing breath taking moments the theme of coming of age , which has a grate influence on this book. I liked it alot and it actually speeks the truth if you are a middle school student like me you will notice that most of the aspects this book aplys are completely true. I have no words to describe how incredible this book is it has been a grate experience reading this amazing novel rate 5/5

Good

Great Read

What an inspiring book!

Standing Against the Wind is a well written, inspiring book. Imagine living in a quiet, southern town in Georgia and then being thrown into the gang infested ghetto of Chicago. Patrice, the main character, has to endure just that. She is forced to live with her aunt in Chicago after her mother was sent to prison. Patrice feels guilty about living with her aunt and causing financial difficulties. As a result of this guilt, she does all of the cooking and household chores without any complaints. Patrice is an all "A" student and has difficulties fitting in at King Middle School. Unfortunately, Patrice's hair is unmanageable and vey "puffy". This fact only adds to her difficulties. Despite all of her troubles, Patrice keeps plugging away. She will overcome her trials and triumph.
This story is filled with hope and determination. It proves that if you work hard and you don't give up, you will eventually succeed.

A powerful story about beating the odds!

My 12 year daughter and I read this book together and truly enjoyed it. A powerful story about beating the odds and staying true to yourself inspite of hardships. Beautifully written, eloquent language. Very uplifting for tweens and teens.

Beautiful Story

Patrice is taken by her mother from her grandmother¿s house to live elsewhere. However, when Patrice¿s mom is sent to jail she ends up living with her Aunt in Chicago. She is constantly doing chores to help out her aunt and taking care of her cousins. Meanwhile at school Patrice is being picked on by her classmates, in particular by a group of boys that hangs out outside her apartment complex. That group includes a certain boy, Monty, who asks Patrice to tutor his brother. Patrice and Monty become close friends. When Patrice has the chance to attend an African American Boarding School she does not know if she can make her dream happen due to the many obstacles in her path, but she finds strength in places she never would have expected. Traci L. Jones has written a wonderful story full of imagery and beautiful metaphors. It is easy to see why she won the Coretta Scott King Award. However, it is somewhat of a Cinderella story due to the fact that Patrice finds a lot of her strength in Monty. While this by no means makes it a bad story, it is something to think about when recommending to younger readers. I would recommend this book for grades 6-8. The story is a little young for high school students. Middle school students will be able to relate to many of the things Patrice goes through at school and at home. I would also recommend reading this book in a group setting rather than alone for younger students, this way you can talk about Patrice¿s relationships and delve a little deeper into the Cinderella story aspect. However, these issues do not detract from the writing and wonderful language of this book. I would definitely recommend it.

love for books

i love this book it one of my favorites i cant wait for more to be presented into the world like this one one

An overall great book!

Biography: Traci L. Jones has written ever since she was a child. She loves to write for teens and stated in her biography, 'It is such a hectic, wonderful, turbulent time in life. Full of promise and full of misery. A time to laugh while crying.' Standing Against the Wind is her debut novel and it received the Coretta Scott King Award. She currently lives with her husband and four children in Denver, Colorado. Summary: Patrice had a happy life when she lived in Georgia. She was taken from her home to live with her grandma because her mom was sent to prison. Patrice and her sister are now stuck living with their Auntie Mae. Patrice longs to get away from Chicago where she is teased and frightened by a group of guys who make fun of her wild hair. But, Monty Freeman who is a member of that boys group is different because he is kind towards Patrice. Monty becomes interested in Patrice due to her interest in schoolwork and good grades. While taking care of her cousins one day, Patrice learns of a scholarship for a prestigious African American boarding school in Mississippi. She wants to apply and attempts the challenge of filling out the application and all its parts by herself. Will she get in? You will have to read to find out! Review: Standing Against the Wind is a great, simple story which is easy to understand. I love how the story is from Patrice's point-of-view. It is perfect for junior high students, especially since they can relate to being picked on whether it has been themselves as the target or picking on someone else. The vocabulary throughout the book is not too challenging, yet the dialogue may be hard to follow if students are not aware of that kind of speaking. Overall, it is a great story. I give it two thumbs up!

A positive book for young teenage girls and boys

As an educator I found ¿Standing Against the Wind¿ by Traci L. Jones to be a fresh, sweet, and inspiring story for young teenage girls. Though this story is about a young, 8th grade girl named Patrice living in poverty in Chicago, there are elements of her story that are relatable to most teenage girls. Patrice faces the same issues that most teenage girls face such as not recognizing her outer beauty, lack of self confidence, being intimidated by the so called ¿in crowd,¿ and not knowing what to think of her new found nervous, giddy, butterflies in the stomach, awkward feelings that she has toward Monty the ¿popular¿ boy in school who is kind to her. Though she faces common challenges that most teenage girls face, Patrice also faces almost insurmountable challenges. She has a mother in jail and lives with her aunt who works two to three jobs leaving little time for Patrice. Patrice serves the role as the Aunt¿s live in cook, maid, and baby sits the aunt¿s two children in the afternoons when their mother is at work. Patrice attends a school and lives in a neighborhood where most teenage boys turn to drugs and gangs and where most of the young teenage girls only think about boys. The character of Patrice is a positive role model for the reasons she is interested in school, gets good grades, and shows responsibility beyond her age. With encouragement from her school principal, she applies for a scholarship to an African American Boarding school. She faces many challenges in her pursuit to remove herself from a hopeless environment. With help and care from one unlikely individual, she faces her challenges head on standing against the cold wind of despair and poverty that threaten to quench her hope. This book is one of HOPE. Patrice lives in a very hopeless environment, but she does not let her environment smash her beauty or innocence. The reader will feel Patrice¿s plight and root for Patrice to overcome her obstacles. ¿Standing against the Wind¿ is Traci L. Jones¿s first novel. This is a heartwarming book with a positive, uplifting message. There is no sex, no backstabbing best friends, no drugs or alcohol, and the only profanity word in the entire novel is the word ¿hell¿ said once. Patrice does face an incident where she is verbally harassed by two boys who make sexual innuendos and comments toward her, but the author presents the scene in a way that is not vulgarly detailed and is still appropriate for young girls to read. It is my hope that this author does not stop with this novel, but continues to write novels which depict young girls as positive and enlightening role models. This book would make an excellent addition to a book club list for teenage girls. I have mentioned girls a lot in this review, but I also believe boys might enjoy it as well because of the ¿cool guy¿ named Monty who serves as Patrice¿s young ¿hero¿ in the novel. Monty is inspired by Patrice to take pride in his own leadership skills and intelligence. This is a book that every middle school and high school librarian should add to their school library.

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