Status
Available
Publication
Candlewick (2016), Edition: Reprint, 384 pages
Library's review
"Teaming with veteran Magoon, the third daughter of Malcolm X draws upon history and family stories to create a novel about her father’s life before the “X.”
Malcolm Little grew up in Lansing, Michigan, during the Great Depression. Though times were hard, Malcolm felt that “when Papa was
Readers for whom pre–civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting. (notes about characters, timeline, family tree, historical context, bibliography)" A Kirkus starred review, www.kirkusreviews.com
Malcolm Little grew up in Lansing, Michigan, during the Great Depression. Though times were hard, Malcolm felt that “when Papa was
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alive, I believed that I was special.” But Papa was murdered, his mother entered a mental institution, and the broken family was scattered among foster homes. The unusual but effective chronology of this completely absorbing novel finds Malcolm frequently looking back from 1945 Harlem to specific years in Lansing, trying to make sense of the segregation he faced, a teacher’s dismissal of him as “just a nigger” and his father’s legacy. Boston was meant to be a fresh start, but Malcolm soon became “a creature of the street,” and the authors’ evocation of the street hustler’s life is richly gritty indeed. Of course the street catches up to him, and ironically, it’s in prison where he begins to remake himself. He becomes a reader, corresponds with Elijah Muhammad and, on the final page, signs a letter to Elijah Muhammad as Malcolm X. The author’s note carries Malcolm’s story further and discusses the significance of his voice in American history.Readers for whom pre–civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting. (notes about characters, timeline, family tree, historical context, bibliography)" A Kirkus starred review, www.kirkusreviews.com
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Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Young People's Literature — 2015)
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Fiction — 2015)
Audie Award (Finalist — Young Adult — 2016)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2018)
Coretta Scott King Award (Honor — 2016)
Margaret A. Edwards Award (2021)
Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2016)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers (Nominee — 2017)
Rhode Island Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2018)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nominee — 2016)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten — 2016)
CCBC Choices (2016)
Michigan Notable Books (2016)
Nerdy Book Award (Young Adult Literature — 2015)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2015)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — Young Adult — 2015)
OYAN Book Rave (2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015-01-06
ISBN
0763690929 / 9780763690922