Book Review: Jazmin's Notebook

Grimes, Nikki. Jazmin's Notebook. New York: Puffin Books, 1998


Jazmin's Notebook is a really fun book to read, because of the way it is written. The book is actually written as the notebook of a fourteen year old African American girl, living in Harlem, in the 1960's. It consists of her thoughts, feelings, experiences, and poetry that she writes herself. Jazmin lives with her sister because her father died in a terrible accident and her mother is hospitalized and unable to care for them. Jazmin and her sister don't have much, but they make do with what they have.

This book is all about an adolescent finding herself in the world. I was very happy to read such a positive tale of a young girl, until I got to the middle of the book. Jazmin is the type of girl that says she loves school, and her main worries in life are about her hand me down clothes and if she should contact her mother. She falls into peer pressure one day and skips school with one of her best friends. Instead of school, they go to a house that is well known for always being open for a constant party. Jazmin experiments with some drugs and ends up taking a nap in the house. She is woken up when a man comes into the room and tries to pressure her into having sex with him. She does escape the situation, but the whole incident seemed to be out of place in the life that Jazmin lives.

The more positive aspect of this book is that I feel other situations can be very easy to relate to for any teenager despite their background. Jazmin struggles with self esteem issues that I feel every teen goes through at some point. Her views include, "between these coke bottle spectacles, and these chicken legs of mine, ain't nobody inviting me out to dance", and "once again I'm the secondhand queen. Last Years styles, last years colors. I pray no one notices, but I fear the worst". Despite these factors, Jazmin carries on with her everyday life and does not let her self views get in the way of her overcoming obstacles.


Jazmin's Notebook is also a Coretta Scott King Award winning book.

For more information about Nikki Grimes please visit:
http://www.nikkigrimes.com/