Love and Consequences by Margaret B Jones
In an unforgettable voice that weaves stunning, forthright narration together with the distinctive, rhythmic slang of the street, Margaret B. Jones brings us movingly into the world of her youth - a world of gangs and poverty, but also of hope and survival - to create a memoir like no other. At age five, Margaret B. Jones was removed from her suburban California home and put into foster care. At age eight, after many relocations, she landed in a foster home in South Central Los Angeles, the region of gang-ridden neighborhoods made infamous by the Rodney King riots. A part white, part Native American girl, Jones grew up in the predominantly black community in an all-black household run by the formidable Big Mom, a stern, single, overworked woman raising four grandchildren for their absent mother. The family's street was ruled by the Bloods gang, and Jones watched as her beloved older foster brothers were jumped in at ages twelve and thirteen. She quickly learned to admire and emulate the lifestyle and within a few years was a member of the gang herself. Even through the cloud of danger and hardship that surrounds her story of life in the inner city, what resonates most is her portrayal of the human, emotional side of this world - the intimate family relationships and tensions, the life-changing lessons of friendship, and the passion and anguish of smart, philosophical kids like Jones struggling just to imagine a safer life waiting beyond their streets, let alone to find a way out. In visceral, cinematic storytelling, she shows us a world in which most of her friends and siblings followed a trajectory of crime, imprisonment, pregnancy - and too often, death. Jones herself, however, was determined to beat the odds: a combination of intelligence, will, tenacity, and pure luck provided her with a lifesaving opportunity, a college education, and a way out of the neighborhood. But she has never left behind the lessons and strength she learned there.| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781594489778 |
| ISBN 10 | 1594489777 |
| Title | Love and Consequences |
| Author | Margaret B Jones |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
| Year published | 2008-03-01 |
| Number of pages | 296 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |