Toning the Sweep (Black Apples) - Softcover

Angela Johnson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860391001 ISBN 13: 9781860391002

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1996

Synopsis

Set in the California desert, this is a stor y about three generations of black women: Emily, the 14-year old narrator; Ola, her eccentric grandmother, who is dying of cancer; and Diane, Emily''s mother. '

About this title

Review:

Fourteen-year-old Emily learns the ritual of "toning the sweep," a way of drumming a plow to create a sound that honors the deceased, in this tale of mourning and healing. Emily, her mother and terminally ill grandmother, Ola, meet at Ola's home in the desert to pack her up for a move to Cleveland, where Ola will live out the rest of her days. The three extraordinarily strong females reveal stories of grief and hardship--including the lynching of Ola's husband in 1964 Alabama--that have undoubtedly fostered the inspirational resilience in each of their personalities. Narrated by all three, this bittersweet tale offers hope, humor and insight. It won the 1994 Coretta Scott King Award.

About the Author:

Angela Johnson was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, but raised in Windham, Ohio; the only girl in a family of five. She now lives in Northeastern Ohio in a hundred year old house full of plants. When not writing she travels. On one of her trips to the California desert the inspiration for her first novel, Toning the Sweep came about.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1860391001
• ISBN 13: 9781860391002
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112