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Title details for Conception by Kalisha Buckhanon - Available

Conception

by Kalisha Buckhanon
Bahni Turpin
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
In the same vein as her critically acclaimed debut novel, Upstate, Kalisha Buckhanon again shares an emotionally beautiful story about today’s youth that magnifies the unforgettable power of hope and the human spirit.
Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen-year-old Shivana Montgomery, who believes all Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her beautiful and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and confront the challenges she faces growing up in a tough environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey toward adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. Then, when she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above their circumstances and move toward a more positive future.
Through a narrative that sweeps from slavery onward, Buckhanon unveils Shivana’s connection to a past filled with tragedy, courage, and wisdom.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 12, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415948460
      • File size: 273001 KB
      • Duration: 09:28:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A fetus that has opinions and tells its own story is one of the characters in this novel. Its mother is 15-year-old Shivana Montgomery, of Chicago's South Side, who babysits for the couple upstairs and has sex with the husband. As she considers whether or not to have an abortion, she falls in love with a neighborhood boy--and with her own unborn baby. The emotional changes Shivana goes through make the listener tremble. Bahni Turpin conveys every nuance of her joy and sorrow. The voices of her mother, aunt, impregnator, best friend, and her aunt's lover are also perfectly rendered. The story itself is clichéd, but Turpin's delivery makes this audio production something between being a gem and a miracle. R.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 8, 2007
      Abandoned by her father and having unfulfilling sex with the married man whose children she babysits, Shivana Montgomery, 15, “already knew what it felt like to feel nothing.” Living in subsidized housing on Chicago's South Side, Shivana is soon enough pregnant. She fears confessing to her mother, considers abortion and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a neighborhood boy who just might be her “heart love”—and also with her own unborn baby. The spirit of this unborn child is a character in its own right, telling a story that spans centuries and offers tragic glimpses into the truncated lives of black children. The fetus's wise, sometimes heavy-handed narration grounds Shivana's story within a sad legacy, through slavery, lynching and ongoing racism to a modern world where reproductive choice is a myth, virtually all children are unwanted, and The Cosby Show
      is the ultimate fairy tale. At its best, the novel balances a bitter stocktaking with a sorrowful lyricism.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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