Where Do I Go from Here? (Point) - Softcover

Wesley, Valerie Wilson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590456075 ISBN 13: 9780590456074

Publisher: Point, 1996

Synopsis

Struggling against prejudice and financial disadvantages at Endicott Academy, Nia, an African-American teenager, finds a friend and mentor in Marcus, whose disappearance leaves Nia confused and determined to find him. Reprint.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-Nia's only friend at Endicott Academy is the popular Marcus who, like her, is a black, scholarship student at the exclusive boarding high school. When he mysteriously vanishes one day, her life begins to fall apart. Nia is drawn into a fight when she overhears a classmate badmouthing Marcus and "minority students" in general. This action leads to a two-week suspension from school. At first she is relieved to be out of the hostile environment and back in her Newark neighborhood. But, gradually, she realizes that her old friends are on dead-end paths, and when she finally tracks down Marcus and discovers the reason for his disappearance, she decides to return to Endicott. This book is about being an outsider, the effects of everyday decisions on the future, and the importance of educational opportunities. Themes are presented in a positive but not preachy manner. The characters are believable and interesting, and their contemporary dialogue rings true. Readers will recognize and appreciate the real conflicts faced by these teens; the touch of mystery around the young man's disappearance will help carry most of them to the satisfying ending. Wesley's writing style is deceptively easy to read and while struggling YAs can handle this book, experienced readers will not be insulted.
Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

A less convincing variation of Maizon at Blue Hill (see review of Between Madison and Palmetto , above), this novel similarly introduces an African American scholarship student at an exclusive, almost all-white boarding school. Nia's painful attempts to find a place for herself are eased by the popular and successful Marcus Garvey Williams, also African American. But when Marcus mysteriously leaves school, rumors fly, and Nia, deeply unsettled, gets into a fight with a classmate that involves fisticuffs and racial slurs. Suspended for two weeks, Nia is tempted not to return. Wesley takes a shortcut through Nia's dilemmas by presenting dreary alternatives to the prep school--she can scrape up money for college with a job at a fast-food joint, like her friend Malika, or, like her friend Debra, can take up with unsavory men; both scenarios, however, are exaggerated here. Other pivotal developments include a number of chance meetings and sightings. The overly pointed messages and the abundance of coincidences risk simplifying some of the very real and critical problems Wesley addresses. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Point
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0590456075
• ISBN 13: 9780590456074
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 138