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Nikki Grimes' sequel to Bronx Masquerade, BETWEEN THE LINES (Penguin Random House, 2018), combines narrative and free verse in a moving book about teens whose lives are changed through poetry. The audio book published by Recorded Books is narrated by different actors; each eloquently expresses a different character. Listen or read this book and you'll reach the same conclusion that I did: Grimes masterfully created authentic voices and personalities for the six different point of view characters.
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REVIEW
For various reasons ranging from a desire to write poetry to attendance only because of a guidance counselor's suggestion--the students in Mr. Ward's poetry class are thrown together. The universal theme of wanting to belong weaves the students and their poems together. This commonality provides the reader a window into the the personal and interpersonal struggles and triumphs they face.
The reader first hears about Darian, a Puerto Rican teen who sees himself as a newspaper man, not a poet. He lost his mother to breast cancer and by the end of the book his poetry gives him a way to express his grief.
Private Pain
Numb, I sit on the edge
of the bed
Mami y Papi share.
Shared.
I feel light as the ghost
my mother has become.
Her picture
on the bedside table
looks blurry until
I wipe my eyes.
"Pobrecito," she would say.
If she were here,
if she were anywhere
in this world.
"Mijo," she would whisper
and touch my cheek,
and I would answer,
"Mami."
But this time,
The word never leaves
my throat.
And what difference
does that make?
When I wasn't looking
Mama's heart stopped
like a broken clock.
Half past 36,
the final tick,
the final tock.
Explain to me
exactly how
I'm supposed to
tell time now. (pp. 130-1)
**********
Li Cheng is "all Chinese and all American." Her poetry is full of "contradictions which squeeze into one small body."
Threads
How can I explain
the duality of Li?
The muffled sounds
of mah-jong tiles touching,
clicking together,
flips a switch in me
as my parents follow
the ritual
of the ancient game.
The Mandarin calligraphy
clinging to our walls
sends my soul sailing
to rice paddies
oceans away,
to the land of silk,
red sunrises,
and the jade mountain peaks
my parents
often speak of.
China whispers
through their blood,
You are part mine.
Remember!
And I nod, silent
and ashamed
that my untrained
American lips
are unfamiliar
with my ancestors'
local lingo. (pp. 26-7)
************
Jenesis has been placed in thirteen foster homes and is worried about aging out of the system and having nowhere to live. Here is some of her story. Blue Eyes Squared
You be boring a hole in my soul
as if the alchemy
of your curiosity
could somehow turn
these blue eyes brown,
but you might as well forget it.
You frown at my blond curls,
even though girls with hair
the color of sun
the color of spun gold
are supposed to have more fun.
At least, that's the story
they try to sell on TV.
Yeah, I'm different, but
don't call me freak
or assume I'm the only one.
There are bound to be
other brown beauties
with pale blue eyes
eerily like mine,
wearing smiles crooked
in exactly the same way,
noses that scream
matched set.
Are there more like me?
Yeah, you bet.
When I find them,
I'll fit in without question,
never mind that
the world thinks
I'm odd as H-E-
well, you get it. (pp. 33-34)
***********
Val feels the pain of the prejudice her father faces as an Argentinian immigrant.
What You Don't Know
Mi padre, Ignacio,
is a book you haven't read.
It's filled with poetry
that can curl its fingers
around your corazón
and squeeze out joy.
Pero you've never
cracked the cover.
You scribble crítica
that questions
the measure of the man,
but you've never
peeled back the pages
of his biografía.
You toss el libro
onto the trash heap
marked "Immigrant"
y ustedes dicen it has no value.
But, of course,
you are categorically incorrect,
which you would know
if only you could read
las palabras.
If only you, too,
were blessed
to be bilingual. (p. 51)
*******
Marcel has been labeled a troublemaker. His past includes his father's unjust imprisonment and how that demoralized him and shattered their family.
Troubled (partial)
What is it
with people and their labels,
as if the way they mark me
makes them able
to understand who I am
or why?
"Troubled kid"
tells you exactly nothing
about the trouble
my pops has seen
or Moms
or me.
We stare from windows
caged in iron,
in state prisons
or rented rooms,
which are only better
by degree.
We are forced
to survive outside
the neatly mowed landscapes
of your imagination.
Our stop on the train station
is worlds away
from your manicured lawns
and lives
and the lies you tell
about the days
of racial discrimination
being in the past.
Quit asking
why I'm angry
or I'll tell you. (pp. 39-40)
*******
Freddie takes care of her eight-year-old niece and her alcoholic mother. This is a portion of one of her poems.
School Rules
Stage right,
the lights fade on a daily life
of tiptoeing around
my niece's feelings about the mom
who traded time with her
for time spent cozying up to crank.
The truth is too rank
for her tender little-girl ears.
And so, until she's fast asleep,
I keep bitter thoughts
under my tongue's lock and key.
Have I mentioned how it hurts me?
That neither my niece nor I
manage to have a mother
worthy of the name?
Oh, mine is present,
in an alcoholic-fog kind of way,
which is to say, hardly at all. (p. 148)
*******
Nikki Grimes stitches a story together so real and touching that after the boys vs. girls poetry slam which produces outstanding poetry on both sides--I want to know what happens to each character. This would be a great curriculum resource for teens: some readers will resonate and identify, others will be informed by stories much different than their own. Read it out loud in reader's theater. Let it inspire you and your student to write poetry. The results may surprise you.
Giveaway
I am giving away my audio book, courtesy Recorded Books. Leave me a comment with your email address if you are new to my blog. Random.org will pick a winner on August 3.
