How to use this Page

by Nikki Grimes

Bronx Masquerade is story of many stories. 18 students share their stories, first in prose with the reader, then through poetry with their classmates.

This book is incredible. The author manages 18 different points of view, and the magical thing is the way in which they all connect. 18 teens who are so different and unique from each other, yet they all have things in common. You feel the growth in this classroom; at first no one really likes anybody else (hardly, anyway) but by the end no one feels alone anymore. They open up to each other through their poems, and there's always someone else who gets it, who gets what they're saying.

I read Bronx Masquerade all in one sitting. It grabbed me from the first couple of pages and I could not set it down until I turned the last one. The ending, by the way, was perfect. Everything about the book was perfect, actually. Highly, highly recommended.

Read the February issue of readergirlz.

This month, readergirlz are discussing Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes.

Download this month's poster(PDF)

Drop by the readergirlz forum, where you may discuss the book with other readers and with the author herself! The forum is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There will be a live chat with Nikki Grimes held on Thursday, February 21st at 6 PM PST / 9 PM EST.

Our February theme is Self-Worth. With this month's book and theme in mind, the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council recommend the following books:

Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
My Sisters' Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out by Iris Jacob
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Next month's featured book and author: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

What is Goodbye?
by Nikki Grimes
Illustrations by Raul Colon
Hyperion Books, New York, 2004

Well, I've been in sort of a marathon reading mode. I'm getting ready to take a trip out of the country--to Thailand, specifically--for a month. I had about 20 library books checked out that I really wanted to read before I left. So I've been reading like a hungry bear. One of my finds from the library is Nikki Grimes' collection of poems, What is Goodbye? I actually would call this a novel in verse. It is centered around two characters, a brother and sister, who are coping with the loss of their brother. It is not a long novel, but it still has characters, plot, and a resolution.

Jesse and Jerilyn are two siblings whose brother has died. Each of them tell their side of the story--their emotions, their thoughts--about this event in their lives. They talk about their parents and how their brother's death has affected them. Grimes gives each point of view by titling companion poems the same. The only thing that changes is the person telling the poem. For example, "Getting the News--Jesse" and "Getting the News--Jerilyn". We learn how they view the same set of circumstances differently.

I love the way Grimes has set up this book with the two siblings each telling their side of the story. Jesse's poems are more patterned and often rhyme. Jerilyn's poems are always told in free verse. The whole book is full of wonderful figurative language and images.

Here is my favorite example from "Getting the News--Jerilyn". She is talking about her father's reaction, then her mother's.

Silent, he stepped away,
turned himself like
a page in a book
so I couldn't read,
couldn't look inside.
Mommy also hid,
her eyes dull coins
peeking from the pockets
of her lids.

Nikki Grimes' poems are honest and powerful. She deals with death and the raw emotions that come with it. She includes a beautiful author's note at the end encouraging readers to deal with death in whatever way is the right way for them--everyone is different.

Teachers' Guide available at Nikki Grimes' website