Kalisha BuckhanonKirja-arvosteluja

An amazing book that felt raw yet heartwarming at the same time. It is one of those books where you think it is just another one of "those", but it so much more. It is intellectually stimulating without even trying to be and I believe it will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Bittersweet story of a couple who stay in touch over the years, during the man's incarceration and after. It starts out gritty, but improves as it goes along. Really evokes the 90s as well.

There were a few passages I had to skip due to triggery content, but overall, a complex and compelling read.

Other reviewers commented that this book is a slow starter, so I may try again in the future, but for now, this was just too much of a slog to pursue.

I had a hard time getting into this novel - the narrative was jerky, the writing seemed rather opaque, and Autumn - the narrator - was, in many, ways, inscrutable. I almost gave up on it, but ultimately I'm glad I didn't. Through the story of her missing sister and through flashbacks to their childhood and the illness and death of their mother, Autumn confronts the complexities of race and gender in American society, as well as the role of trauma and mental illness on identity.

I was not familiar with Buckhanon or her work before seeing Speaking of Summer in the Overdrive catalogue. She has written three other novels, all of which sound intriguing. I look forward to reading more.½

This is a rather odd book. The premise sounded interesting, but the execution left something to be desired. Solemn Redvine is a girl growing up in Mississiippi. She lives in a trailer park that time forgot, which seems to lack basic running water, among other things. Her father is a notorious theif and philanderer, and possibly a murderer. Solemn thinks she saw him throw his mistress's baby down the trailer park's well. She makes friends with a neighbor, but then a lightning storm challenges that friendship. The baby's mother disappears and Solemn is determined to find her. To cope with it all, Solemn retreats into a world of dreams and fantasy, which are recounted in the book. I found they added little and were mostly a distraction. This is just the first half of the book. In the second half Solemn goes with her father to rob a house, and ends up getting all the blame (which her father is happy to let her take). She's then sent to a reformatory, and that's about it. This book had a winding, meandering, not well-connected plot. I was shocked to discover it was set in the late 20th century, as it reads like something more from the 40s or the 50s. In any case, while there were really compelling elements, this book was too all over the place to keep my attention.½

As a thriller, it's a slow-burn style for sure. As literary fiction, it's powerful, relevant, emotional, and hopeful. Together, an excellent read that I'm still thinking about.

Best book I've read in a long time... I didn't expect it to be this good. I just finished reading it and I'm still crying.

Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon is written as a series of letters from two young people. The boy, Antonio is at first in jail and then in prison for the murder of his father. His girlfriend, Natasha lives and goes to school in Harlem, New York. This was an incredible reading experience as these two teenagers at first express all the passion they feel between them, talk about their lives growing up in Harlem, and of course, worry and plan for a future when Antonio is out of jail. Antonio is, at heart, a good kid. His father was a brutal man and regularly beat his wife and kids. When Antonio stepped between his father and his mother things went too far.

I felt very much like a fly on the wall as Antonio struggles to keep his sanity while being locked up. He eventually gets his high school equivalency and works as a cleaner in the prison. Due to both his prison record and his lack of education, it is obvious that Antonio will be struggling for the rest of his life. Natasha is a good student and her world starts to widen when she first gets awarded a school trip to Paris, France and then realizes that she is smart enough to apply to the better universities, and doesn’t have to settle for a city college. Their letters show this growing apart and when Natasha leaves for college, they decide to remain “just friends”. The years pass and the letter get less frequent but one or the other stays in touch. Although their lives have gone in such different directions, they are bound together by their fondness for each other and the memories that they share.

I thought the author did an amazing job with this story. This epistolary novel allowed the characters to feel genuine as they shared their inner thoughts, feelings and desires. Their love story is believable, as to was their eventual growing apart. A powerful coming-of-age story that gives the reader an insider’s look at the lives of young black people during the 1990’s. Sadly, I don’t think much has changed.

Kalisha Buchkhanon's Upstate was a recommendation from two of my former students. For two years, these two ladies hounded me about reading this young adult novel. I promised them before they graduated that I would read it, and as their graduation date loomed over me, I finally did (under the wire, but still). I was engrossed and enthralled by the decade-long correspondence between seventeen-year-old Antonio and sixteen-year-old Natasha. He was locked up for the murder of his father and Natasha tries to stay by his side through many distinct circumstances that usually arise in these situations. Upstate is a great novel that captures young love as it changes into adulthood, and I highly recommend it.

At first, I found the language hokey, and I wanted to correct the grammar, but it was written as though they were teenagers writing to each other. However, once I got over that, it was one of the quickest reads I have done in quite some time. I read every day for twelve days at the start of May (along with simultaneously listening to Beyonce's Lemonade, which is oddly a great companion piece, especially "All Night" and "Love Drought") and I noticed the sophistication in the storytelling. As their relationship started to morph, so did the writing. As Natasha graduated high school, studied in France, and persevered through college, we see how arduous her side of story was. Likewise, Antonio's changes are noteworthy because the reader witnesses the development of a young man who is taking responsibility for his actions. It ends up becoming a page-turner, especially as time goes on and they become the adults we predicted that they would.

Buckhanon has created a story that anyone can identify with, regardless of race, culture, or age. She has pinpointed the pain and ecstasy of being a teenager in love, much in the vein of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. The central ideas of growing up, love, and dealing with the ramifications of actions is key to loving this book. In the end, she thoroughly explores themes related to these ideas by investigating how Natasha and Antonio's changes are a natural part of becoming an independent, full-bodied individual. Their conflict is central to making them relatable characters who we see adapt to the world around them and figure out who they are. I enjoyed reading Upstate and I give a huge shout-out to Darlene and Nicole for recommending it two years ago.

By Mr. Frade

STRUCTURE FOR AP LITERATURE STUDENTS
Paragraph 1.) Generally Discuss the book - what's it about? Make sure to mention the author and the main characters as well as arriving to what you think about the book.
Paragraph 2.) Your thoughts on the book and its story - Make sure to address what you thought about the characters, the writing, the storyline, and any big ideas that the book was trying to get to.
Paragraph 3.) Analyze the BIG IDEAS - Make sure to address THEME as well as any other literary elements that you might have noticed.
*Make sure grammar, spelling, formatting, and other presentational issues are checked before you publish (you have many opportunities to preview your work before you publish - I should know because I checked this post about six times before I actually published it ).
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I bought an audio recording of the book at a used book sale and decided to play it in my car as I travel the southern roads of Alabama. The story surprised me with interesting characters told between a young couple whom are separated by incarceration and their lives are illustrated through letters to one another. To listen to Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon on audio is the best way you can actually hear the maturity in the main characters, Natasha's voice as the story progresses just like she did in the story.

The cover of this book caught my eye with a white butterfly on a red background. I have owned this book for several years and the only hesitation in reading it was on the assumption that it's of an urban nature based on its title "Upstate" referring to the New York and more precisely the prison. Urban is not my preferred genre, therefore I put off reading it until seven years later.

This book invoked so many emotions within me, sorrowful, proudness, shame and bittersweet to name a few. This was a very reflective story on love, pain and coming of age.

I'm anxiously awaiting to read her next novel, "Solemn"

I updated you all a few days ago that I would be digging deep down in my TBR pile and pulling out some jewels. Conception is the first of my random choices. This book has been in my possession for approximately two years and so I decided it would be the first to escape the pile.

“Planning pregnancy was for white women…(pg 12)”

Buckhanon has put together a coming of age story that is set in 1992 inner city Chicago. The odds seem to be stacked against fifteen year old Shivana who is growing up with her mother in an apartment complex that she describes as “not quite” the projects. Shivana and her mother have the normal rebellious teenager, protective mother relationship. Their already rocky relationship really takes a turn for the worse when Shivana gets pregnant by an older married man. The shining light in Shivana’s life is her mother’s baby sister Jewel. Jewel is a well traveled free spirit that enjoys life. Jewel gives Shivana the love and practical advice that she longs for from her mother. Annette, Shivana’s mother, is a bitter woman stuck in a rut that can’t push past her past hurts. While Shivana frantically tries to deal with her pregnancy, while only sharing the news with her best friend Natasha, a new piece is added to this puzzle named, Rasul. Rasul was a breath of fresh air to this whole story. Rasul is this lanky, splotchy faced, seemingly unwanted nineteen year old that is also gentle, kind, and full of wisdom.

“…because birth always brings the consequences of confusion, sadness, disappointment, then death. (pg 1)”

The twist to this entire novel is that there was a second voice which was that of the Shivana’s unborn child. This addition really makes the story confusing at times. This child is a soul that has never been “anchored” to any of the women that have previously conceived it. The stories of these women that dated back to slavery were quite interesting. I got so wrapped up in these stories that there were moments I hated to go back to the main narrative. The main narrative was kind of bland compared to the “richness” of these stories.

I believe I would have enjoyed a collection of short stories with the theme of “conception” more so than the back and forth of this novel. The ending was abrupt and it also felt rushed. I just wish there was more depth to the main narrative.

Someone told me before reading it that it was typical...and they were right. Everything I expected to happen, happened. I just wanted to be surprised just once.

Took a little while for me to really get into it, but overall it wasn't too bad..but I wouldn't recommend it.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

UPSTATE is a powerful, moving story told in the form of letters written by Antonio and Natasha, two Harlem teens who are seventeen and sixteen years old, respectively, when the story starts. The first letter is from Antonio to his girlfriend Natasha, written from jail, asking if she believes what everyone else does: that Antonio murdered his father.

No matter what Natasha believes or what the truth is about what happened on that night, Antonio is convicted of the crime and goes to a prison in upstate New York (hence the title), sentenced to ten years. Ten years of just struggling to survive, clinging to his letters from Natasha, his lifeline even if they can't, realistically, be together forever, no matter what they believe as optimistic teenagers when Antonio first goes to jail. Natasha, on the other had, isn't having an easy time of growing up and becoming a real adult. She's facing tough choices, probably almost as desperate for the next letter as Antonio.

This is an emotional story, a love story, but a real one, not a happily-ever-after, "no problems whatsoever" story like a Disney movie. The characters in UPSTATE are just as real as the story, and Antonio's and Natasha's authentic voices are a great addition to this novel.

Usually, I am not a big fan of novels written in letter form (or e-mail or instant message form, as is sometimes now the case), but Kalisha Buckhanon's novel is certainly an exception to that. It is very well-written, with believable characters that make this story what it is: fantastic.

Heartbreaking story of young love torn apart by a murder. It's very well-written and pulls the reader in to the character's world.

Two Harlem teens (Antonio & Natasha) confess their love for one another, but have to correspond through letters due to Antonio's arrest.
I enjoyed meeting these two teens and thought their story was told very realistically. The dialog between them was filled with a lot of raw emotion, but bad language as well. Despite the language, I was interested in both characters - they were so well-developed and distinct. Being that they were from Harlem, there were many urban aspects to the novel. I found it to be very compelling. (3.75/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."½

Poor Shiviana. Poor, black and 15 years old living in the Chicago projects in the early 90s. She gets pregnant by a married husband of the children she watches, and then proceeds to think about whether to keep the baby for a number of months. To be honest, I skipped over the extended pages from the "baby's" perspective. Not as forceful or as well written as her first book. A little too preachy.

This is a suprisingly good novel that starts very simply (with letters between Natashia, who vows to stand by her jailed boyfriend, accused of killing his father; and Antonio, a confused boy/man made to face the cruelty and abuse done to his family) but unwinds into layers of profound reflections regarding being born into, and surviving, a tough life. At its core, this is a love story, but really, says so much more. Through the letters, we grow up with these characters, in vastly different ways. There are so many novels out there where the characters are flat, but I felt like I was living with these two, they were brilliantly portrayed, down to the nuances of each of their daily lives. The reader is a voyeur on their lives and while I was a little tentative about the "letter" novel, it ended up being the ideal way to transport me into these lives. Ms. Buckanon has amazing potential and I will look for her other works. Highly recommended, but it is very graphic, both in violence, severe language and sexual content. But it's not a book I'll soon forget.

This was interesting enough. Not something that was really great I would say, but interesting. I like books about prison, or people in prison. I also like books written in letter style. I think this book would have done more if it were not fiction. Though, I think it was powerful. I was glad in the end it wasn't exactly a happy ending. It made it more believe able. It think it showed the true power of how prison can effect relationships and families. (Not that that needed proving I guess....) I thought the characters felt very real and that the story was well written. It kept my attention, but I can't say it's at the top of any of my lists.½

Did Antonio kill his father? The lawyer says it doesn't look good for him. So he pleads guilty to a lesser charge, and gets 10 years. Natasha swears she'll love him forever. They write each other, through highs and lows in their separate lives, but they're teenagers and both of them grow and change.

An excellent book, but uncomfortably toeing an anti-abortion stance. I love Savannah, and root for her hopes for a better life.

A series of love letters between a young high school couple that unfolds abusive childhoods, urban life, unconditional love and growing up and away. A modern love story that will capture the attention of young adults with its gritty dialogs and circumstances of the main characters that most readers will be able to show empathy for. Definitely, a high school read and could be used for discussion in health, ethics and literature classes.

Not one of my favorites....was a little slow for me½

When Antonio is imprisoned for murder, Natasha vows to stand by him, and that vow - as incredible as it seems - is upheld against time, age, and experience, all the very murderers of young and impassioned promises. I'm probably not spoiling anything to say it's not happily-ever-after, but it does maintain an air of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. It is beautifully crafted and definitely worth reading.½