I have not been so struck by a book in a long time. IA: Initiate is set in the Exclave, the bad part of town. All the characters are there--the nuclear families, the broken families, the shop owners, the bullies, and the bullied. But Naz struck me.
I should let you know, in case you didn't, that I used to spend hours on Saturdays while I was in college in Glen Park which is a neighborhood in Gary, Indiana. It wasn't the worst neighborhood; it wasn't the best. The thing I know is that I know Naz and Meri. I met them there in Glen Park. I loved them with my whole heart. Granted, Meri was only 3 and her name was Athena. But I can only imagine the spunk she had at 3 translated into "firecracker" by age 9.
But Naz. Naz is so many of those kids. They were full of hopes and dreams and wishes and desires. The circumstances of their lives hadn't squashed all that joy out of them yet. I don't know if they knew their lives were hard or not. I can't say because they were happy.
They had huge televisions in their living rooms but their coats were threadbare. They grabbed what they could to feed themselves and their siblings--often Twinkies or chips. Their mamas had been squashed and squished and their dreams were gone; but the kids' dreams lived and bubbled inside them. Their mamas hardly had a reason to get out of bed some days; but the kids could still dream.
As I read Initiate, I was back in Glen Park. I saw those kids again. And I wondered what ever happened to them. Did any of them have dreams survive? Did they become the hero that was inside their minds? Did any of them succumb to the same fate that squished their mamas?
I'll likely never know. Where is Athena now? Did she maintain her spunk? Did she grow up and become a teacher? A mother? She had so much life in that little body. And my boys? What became of them? Did they excel in school? Did they get to college?
When an author writes kids you know or knew once upon a time, and when he grabs your soul because you knew those kids, you know he's done a good job.
My, my, my, Jennifer, you have me all emotional. I'm glad I struck a cord in you somehow and you could relate. I think I see those kids, Meri, Athena, and Naz in some form or another every day at work as a public school teacher in Detroit and have been seeing them for many years now. They've become a part of me somehow. Thanks so much reading and sharing. You are appreciated.
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