Throwback Thursday: Hallway Diaries

Hallway Diaries by Felicia Pride, Debbie Rigaud & Karen Valentin 2007
Kimani Tru/Harlequin Press

IQ "In the short distance to the bus, I realized that Baltimore was trying to prove its worth. It was like a beautiful woman with a black eye. It was trying to prove that it was the little big city that could. It was more dangerous than it should be. It was trying to prove that it deserved attention. It was loud for no reason. It was trying to prove that it had something to say. So I listened." Nina pg. 76

The first story is "How to Be Down" by Felicia Pride, the second story is "Double Act" by Debbie Rigaud and the final story is "The Summer She Learned To Dance" by Karen Valentin. What all these stories have in common is that they are about girls who are considered Black in mostly white communities and 'white' in mostly Black communities. They would be called 'oreos' in the Black community.

The problem with all three of these stories is how they develop the backstory. In "Double Act" we learn the main character's name and that she's a straight-A student through her thoughts "Come on Mia Chambers, I scolded myself. You just found out that you aced all your classes with straight As" (pg. 165). That statement is redundant (acing classes and getting straight As is the same thing) and is an easy way of explaining some facts about the main character. Easy but not very interesting. All the stories read like this. A small thing that bothered me was when in "How To Be Down", the author felt the need to 'translate' what some of the characters were saying. "While we walked to the lunch line, Sheena asked why my hair was bushier than this morning. 'Why you look so crazy?' (pg. 62). Based on that phrase alone, the reader could have figured out what was going on. In "The Summer She Learned To Dance" the story contains excerpts from the thoughts of each of the characters which reads oddly in such a small space. I think the story should have just been told from Giselle's perspective or Giselle's and Jacinta 's(her cousin from the Dominican Republic), instead of also including thoughts from her father and Katie. These are little things but they ended up becoming quite annoying. All the stories will be dated rather quickly (in fact they're dated now) because of their celebrity references. Also time flew by very quickly and that made things very confusing because it wasn't described well.



I really liked "How to be Down" and "Double Act." They had a lot in common with the whole 'oreo' thing, parents who are upper middle class and make sure they are exposed to all the aspects of Black culture. What makes "How to be Down" stand out is the 'villaness'. I want name names but she's so insecure because she's biracial and feels that if she keeps questioning other people's Blackness, they won't have time to question hers. A rare story and one that is pulled off fairly well for a short story collection. Nina (main character of "How to be Down") moves from her suburban neighborhood to the city of Baltimore and it's a jarring change for her, one that the author successfully outlines in a oftentimes humorous manner. In "Double Act", Mia has to switch from her predominately Black school to the more challenging all girls, almost all white, suburban school. The author shows that not only is the curriculum more challenging, but so are the social challenges. How do you handle being at a school that ignores the contributions of anyone who is not white? Mia was an unusual character because she "used sound as my own road map. The tap-tap sounds of the double-Dutch ropes helped me decide when to jump. I could identify a song after hearing no more than three or four notes. And people's voices sounded like notes on my keyboard." (pg. 209). Not sure how that works but it's a different way of being able to remember people :) "The Summer She Learned to Dance" has Giselle in the timeless struggle of learning more about her Dominican culture (her mother is dead and she's been raised by her all father's white family) and balancing her Dominican culture with her white culture.



Hallway Diaries is an early book that talks about 'sellouts' in a sometimes funny and meaningful way. Nina, Mia and Giselle are all trying to figure out who they are in and how to survive the trials of high school. High school is always tough, and this collection shows how hard it can be for middle/upper class Black (and one half Latina) teens. The challenges are nothing new, but still there and ones that many white teens may not be aware of. The writing isn't anything special nor are the characters ones who will stick with you. But in the short time it took to read this book, I found myself relating to all three of the main characters and having a nice time while I read.


*I don't rate anthologies by different authors, only anthologies by the same author. Also Throwback Thursday is hosted by Take Me Away. In this meme I review books published before 2007.

Disclosure: Bought years and years ago. Ok not that long ago

Perfect Shot

Perfect Shot by Debbie Rigaud 2009

Rating: 3.5/5

IQ "Besides it is a known fact that if you don't care enough about what you're fighting for, you are less likely to win the battle." London pg.145

High school junior London Abram is an amazing volleyball player and she loves the sport and doesn't relish the idea of going outside of her comfort zone. But then she meets Brent St. John while working at her art-store job. London rings up his purchases and discovers that he's a photographer. Later that day she sees him in front of a store. She doesn't realize what all the commotion is about, until she's already been counted by Brent. She learns that he's working as a photographer's assistant in a modeling competition. So she does what any girl with a crush will do; she signs up for the modeling competition to spend more time with him! London is competing against fourteen other aspiring models, people who really know fashion. London knows nothing about fashion, she's perfectly comfortable wearing her volleyball jersey and jeans everyday. London only cares about getting Brent's attention, but then she gets into the competition, it's kind of fun. Also there's a cash prize and London needs the money if she's going to be able to afford volleyball camp. London is starting to think that maybe she can win the boy, the competition and the money!

The writing in Perfect Shot is fast-paced and holds the reader's interest. The characters have pretty good senses of humor and their antics will have you chuckling. London's best friend, Pam is a self proclaimed HDQ (Haitian Drama Queen) and she lives up to her nickname. While her dramatics will definitely have you laughing, her loyalty to London will emphasis what a seriously true friend is. Pam has lots of crazy stories about her various crushes through the years and they are all helpful to London. In one story London learns that, "offering his seat is not synonymous with offering his heart. Some guys actually do it because they want to, not because they want you." (pg. 90-91). I think that's a very good lesson to keep in mind. Another interesting character was Kelly, London's arch-rival. They go way back, they were both child star models, but they've never gotten along. Kelly grows and develops as a character in a realistic way, she doesn't change over night after some life-altering experience which is good. And of course, Brent is adorable, but I think he's the one major character who wasn't developed all that well. I would have liked to learn more about his background especially the reasoning as to why he became a photographer. London is a likable main character, I was invested in her success concerning Brent and the modeling competition.

It's safe to assume that Perfect Shot will be predictable, including the outcome of the modeling competition. I don't know much about romance novels, but I'm pretty sure romantic comedy end happily. The book was different in the reason behind the fighting between London and Kelly. While a bit annoying, it was different and added a little more interest to the story.

A minor problem with the novel is some of the celebrity references and events. For example, when describing Brent, London says he looks like "a cross between a teenage Lenny Kravitz and a modern-day Jean-Michael Basquiat." Now, perhaps this is my lack of art knowledge, but I had no idea as to who Jean-Michael Basquiat. I did however know what Lenny Kravitz looked like, so throughout the book I envisioned Brent as looking like Lenny Kravitz with other elements of my own dream guy. Now, I'm no worse for wear because of imagining how he looks, but it may cause a bit of confusion among readers. There are a lot of pop culture references, most from the last five years, but that dates the book. I'm not sure of the longevity of SimonPulse Romantic Comedies, but if they are continuously re-read then future readers may also be confused, not knowing what TRL is, or what the music video "Stronger" is like or who DJ Unk is. I'm the kind of reader who has to go and look up cultural references that I don't know, but some readers won't bother and while I certainly don't think the cultural elements made the book, I think they add a nice element to it.

I liked Perfect Shot, it's a funny, cute and thoroughly entertaining read. I also want to chime in and agree that Perfect Shot would make a cute movie and Debbie's casting of the two main characters are perfect. Tristan Wilds as Brent and Teyana Taylor as London! If you've read the book, what do you think? Anyway, I definitely recommend this book to all romance fans and for those who (like me) are new to the genre. It's a good intro to the romantic comedy series and I applaud Ms. Riguad on being the first author to have a book about African Americans in the SimonPulse Romantic Comedies series.

Disclosure: Received from the author. Thanks Debbie!

Waiting on Wednesday: Perfect Shot

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine for this meme!

This week I'm waiting on.....

Perfect Shot by Debbie Rigaud

Release Date: Dec. 1, 2009

London Abrams likes to spike volleyballs, not wear spike heels. But in one crush-tasic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest to get the attention of its cute photography intern. Never in a million years did London expect to get selected as a finalist. Before she knows it, she’s in an online reality show competition against 14 super chic chicks–including her childhood frenemy.

As the lone (read: token) sporty girl, London feels way out of her league and wants to quit. But when the cutie photo intern is assigned to shadow her, she decides to stick it out. Too bad his lens reports everything it sees to a scrutinizing online audience and to her backbiting frenemy. Suddenly, London’s not so sure she’s ready for this type of close-up.

I'm not big on romance books, but I've only read one (Twilight which annoyed me to no end) so I figure I should try another one. Especially since this one is in the Simon Romantic Comedy series so hopefully it will be funny. Also, I read the book Hallway Diaries (which is a collection of three short fictional stories about African American girls in high school) and Debbie Rigaud wrote my favorite story in it (Double Act). I intend on reviewing Hallway Diaries one day (not sure when since I'm going to re-read it).