| Sweet Thang |
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Charmaine Upshaw comes of age in the year 1975. Her bratty cousin Tracy John is her frustration and ultimately her heart.
Reviews for Sweet Thang
Well-crafted entertainment grade books about African American teens are all too rare and this is a solid contribution to the genre
- Kirkus Review
Sweet Thang reads a bit like Christopher Paul Curtis’s The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 with its frequent shifts from the humorous to the serious and its attention to the details of its historical period
- The Horn Book
Charmaine’s growth through mistakes and her upbeat acceptance of herself may lead readers to some ordinary epiphanies of their own
- The Bulletin.
Solid, loving parents and a home that is a secure place provide a welcome respite for readers whose own lives are chaotic or who have had to read one too many problem novels.
- School Library Journal.
Charmaine is an appealing character, intelligent but capable of bad choices, and Tracy John is similarly realistic; their slowly evolving affection makes for a feel-good read.
– Booklist
An appealing, highly readable novel about an African American teen who is spirited, intelligent, self righteous and, to her own chagrin and occasional dismay, not immune from making mistakes.
- CCBC Choices 2007
Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but honest throughout, this book is a delight to read.
-- BRB Review
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A CCBC Choices Book
Paterson Prize (Runner up) |
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| Life Is Fine |
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Samara's 15. Mr. Brook's 72.
She's got a chrush on him.
Reviews for Life is Fine
Whittenberg takes on serious issues here without being messagy, and Samara's clipped, colloquial, first-person narrative is fast, funny, and poetic.
- Booklist
This compact tale has many elements of the classic teacher-crush story, but Whittenberg's spare prose and taut, underplayed emotionality makes it a dramatric and contemporary variant.
- The Horn Book
Whittenberg has penned an overall hopeful tale for Samara, like the Langston Hughes poem for which the novel was named.
- Kirkus Review
Whittenberg's writing evokes stark images, and the poetic, often-staccato prose provides an interesting counterpoint between Samara's inner and outer world.
-- School Library Journal
A newly discovered love of poetry helps to lighten a teen's decidedly dark life, in this story which is both raw and sensitive.
-- Teenspace
Samara’s voice is sharp and convincing, and disguises any whiff of the Dead Poets Society/Mr. Chips sorts of familiarity about the plot.
- Publishers Weekly
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Reader Nominee.
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Nominee.
Carolyn W. Field Award Honor |
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| Hollywood and Maine |
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Does Charmaine have what it takes to see her name in lights? Only if she can survive the 9th grade. . . .
Reviews for Hollywood and Maine
Grounded by a loving family with a down-to-earth set of priorities, Maine faces her problems with dignity and grace. Girls of all ethnicities will cheer her on as she forges a place for herself in the world
- Children's Literature
Whittenberg's follow-up to Sweet Thang captures life in the late 70s from the point of view of a black teenager who lives in a close community and finds herself negotiating with the larger themes in the world—such as redemption, doubt, and acceptance.
-Alan Review
Zinger dialogue and clever narration promise laughs and an enjoyable read, but some readers might feel compelled to read Sweet Thang for better insight.
-School Library Journal
Maine’s loving exasperation with her brother and little cousin
sparkle with life (evoking memories of Lois Lowry’s Anastasia
and Sam Krupnik).
—Kirkus Reviews |
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