Marley is a 14-year-old girl who lives with her parents and brother in the small town of Heaven, Ohio. Her two good friends are Shoogy Maple, a rebellious teenager in a seemingly perfect family, and Bobby, a young man not a whole lot older than herself, who is raising a daughter on his own. Marley's other important person in her life is Uncle Jack, who she's never met, but with whom she's corresponded by mail for many years. He seems to just travel around the country with his dog, Boy, as a semi-vagrant.
But Marley's whole world is shaken to it's core when she learns that Uncle Jack is not her uncle, but her father. And her parents are actually her aunt and uncle. She has a difficult time coming to terms with this new reality.
I loved this short little book. It's got some powerful stuff in in it.

Side note: I did find it odd that it won the Coretta Scott King award. Although Marley and her family are black, there doesn't seem to be anything at all about the black experience in the book. If the characters had all been white, it could have been exactly the same tale. There was mention several times about black churches in around America being burned. This was odd. It didn't play a part in the story in any way. I couldn't figure out why it was mentioned at all. ( )

Heaven
Heaven, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: Picked up from the library for a Black History Month Readathon.

The Characters:

Marley:
Moms, Pops, Butchy, Uncle Jack

The Story:

I didn’t understand what was going on in this book, so much so that I skipped from page 86 to the last chapter in the book. It’s full of I guess poetic prose but to me it’s full of half thoughts and half stories. I prefer my writing more straight forward.

From what I gather, Marly is a young lady living in the town of Heaven. Through a happenstance she finds out her world isn’t really what she thought it was. Her moms and pops are actually her aunt and uncle. Her biological mother is dead and her father is a beloved uncle who has traveled the country in response to his grief. Marley understandably has a lot of emotions about this. In the end she seems to come to peace with her past and is looking forward to the future.

The Random Thoughts:

2.5 Stars ( )

I liked this book for three reasons. Heaven by Angela Johnson is relatable, brutally honest, and eye-opening for anyone that reads it. Marley, the protagonist of this chapter book, is a very raw character. Her whole world is turned upside down when she is told that her parents are really not her parents but her aunt and uncle. She also finds out that her Uncle Jack, who her family wires money to every week, is actually her biological father. Everything she's ever known has suddenly turned into a lie. Marley's experiences with other characters show true and realistic situations that most her age are faced with. What I love most about her character is that she is universal to many teens her age and older. The second reason I loved this book was the format. Johnson does an extraordinary job of organizing the text in a way that it flows so seamlessly. This chapter book is divided up into three parts and contains chapters within. The chapters are each uniquely titled. Although Heaven is an easy read, it shouldn't be downplayed. Much like her other books, Johnson hits home on the values of love and family and what it truly means. The last reason I enjoyed this book was the writing. Johnson is poetic in nature and that is proof in this text. Her rhythmic style contributes to the ease of reading this book. Readers can really feel the emotion that Marley, and even the characters surrounding her, experience throughout the book. Overall, Heaven hits home and sheds light on the true values of love and what really defines a family. It also focuses on the importance of finding who you really are even in the harshest turmoil.

ack - the library owns the third of this trilogy, and other assorted titles by Johnson, but not this one...