Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 12/01/2014 Gr 8 Up—Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. The story opens with his departure from Michigan as a teen, though there are flashbacks to his younger years. It follows Malcolm through his time in Boston and Harlem, culminating with his conversion to Islam and his decision to change his name while in prison in 1948. The story does contain some gritty situations, most notably the use of the "n" word, non-graphic sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and criminal behavior. This was the reality of Malcolm X's early life, and make the later scenes that more authentic. While the novel stops prior to his rise as a civil rights leader, the excellent back matter provides historical context, bibliography, time line, family tree, and a note from the author (who is also the third of Malcolm X's five daughters). This is an eye-opening look at an important historical figure. The author's honesty about his early troubles serves to convey that it is possible to rise through adversity to make a positive difference in this world. A worthwhile addition to any collection.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/01/2015 *Starred Review* Malcolm X’s third daughter collaborates with award winner Magoon (The Rock and the River, 2009) to offer a fictionalized biography of Shabazz’s late father, the powerful human rights leader. The authors depict an impoverished childhood of turmoil and trouble marked by the death—perhaps the murder—of Malcolm’s proud father and the forced institutionalization of his mother, followed by the dissolution of the family as Malcolm and five of his seven siblings are placed in foster homes. Shifting backward and forward through time, the story follows Malcolm from his home in Lansing, Michigan, to Boston, where he becomes a self-described “creature of the street.” Then it’s on to drug abuse, getting caught in the numbers racket, and, ultimately, at age 23, landing in prison, where he discovers the Nation of Islam and comes to terms with his father’s oft-quoted lines from Marcus Garvey, “Up, up, you mighty race; you can accomplish what you will.” Shabazz and Magoon bring energy, immediacy, and emotional power to Malcolm’s first-person, present-tense voice. Often painfully candid, the authors effectively depict Malcolm’s lifetime of racial slurs and casual injustices, symbolized by the image of a lynched man hanging from a tree. It’s a satisfyingly complete, never simplistic story of one young man’s journey through trouble to the promise of a life of purpose and meaning. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 02/01/2015 A fifteen-year-old boy, who has clung to adoration for the father he lost early in life, has reason to suspect that the confidence and advice his father once imparted is in fact worthless, and the boy begins to doubt that the future holds anything worthwhile. Having watched his mother taken away from her children and his siblings separated, he is certain the only chance he has in life requires him to get away-new city, new faces, new ambitions. This could be a novel about any adolescent and his dark night of the soul, but it’s in fact a powerful, fully credible reimagining of the young adulthood of Malcolm Little, who, after reaching rock bottom in prison for robbery, will discover a better path and a new identity as Malcolm X. Shabazz, his daughter who was only three at the time of his assassination, spins his story from collective family memory, speculating on his reasons for living on the criminal edge of Boston and Harlem. Malcolm narrates, beginning his tale in 1945 just as the boss for whom he’s running numbers comes after him with murderous intent, flashing back through chains of events that led him deep into disillusion: “I’m angry at the white guards who beat us; at the white cops who put us here; at the white slaveholders who tied our ancestors down in the guts of great ships-they caused this cascade of terrible things that have led me here.” Interestingly, the story stops with Malcolm’s stint in prison, but he has insight into the wisdom of his father, a commitment to Allah, and his eyes fixed on the future, and readers know that the man is destined for leadership. A timeline and notes on real and fictional characters are included. EB - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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