"Upstate" - Good for Some, But Not for All!

If you want to talk classic novels, I'm all over that!  Modern pop fiction? Bring it on.  Young adult? Erm, welllll, I'm not as strong with that category - unless it's Harry Potter. That's a pretty bad statement for a high school English teacher. Due to this deficiency, my colleagues constantly either give me recommendations or the actual books to read. My English content coach suggested I read Kalisha Buckhanon's freshman novel, Upstate - not to teach to my classes, but just as a reference for books and themes which might appeal to them.  

Synopsis: "Upstate is a powerful story told through letters between seventeen-year-old Antonio and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Natasha, set in the 1990's in New York. Antonio and Natasha's world is turned upside down, and their young love is put to the test, when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime. Antonio fights to stay alive on the inside, while on the outside, Natasha faces choices that will change her life. Over the course of a decade, they share a desperate correspondence. Often, they have only each other to turn to as life takes them down separate paths and leaves them wondering if they will ever find their way back together." (Amazon.com)

Review:  The novel opens with the following sentence:

"Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?"  

An extremely engaging opening and yet, I could not finish the novel. Generally speaking, I don't like to give reviews of novels that I haven't finished, but I'm going to make an exception this time and you'll see why.  Let me start by saying that this novel is well-written and, for the right reader, it's a powerful and compelling book.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. This book is written with a specific target audience in mind, which is perfectly fine. Written in ghetto-speak, Upstate appeals to the inner city teenager who understands poverty, drugs, the criminal justice system, welfare, teenage love, sexual awakening, etc. For a middle-aged, middle-class, white woman, I found it very difficult to connect to this world and these two characters.  Because I wanted to try to finish this book, I pushed myself through half of the story before giving up.  Although, I did spot read a few of the later letters. Overall, if you know of some inner city teens, this novel is a great recommendation. They would devour the book. A word of warning: it's very sexually explicit which doesn't offend me but it's a little too graphic for my tastes.  Not a book I would recommend for readers under 16.

Rating: 4 out 5 stars for a YA, 2 out of 5 for me.