Compton Chick

by Alex Tyson

16-year-old Jackie Small's father has just walked out on his family, leaving Jackie and five other siblings to be raised by a newly single mother. In addition, Jackie is pregnant and facing single... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1893196771
• ISBN13: 9781893196773
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Urban Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Review from a Houston chick!!

This book was actually pretty good,It started off kind of slow at first but when it picked up after the first chapter or so I was hooked!Jackie really had a troubled childhood and just needed to find her self and pave her own way throughout life, I was happy that she found a sweet and loving guy like Roger who accepted her and her daughter,But a huge mistake he made cost them their happily ever after.Soon she meets Brett, whom I could tell from the start was no good and would be her downfall, and I was right.Her life soon began to spiral out of control when something tragic happens to her brother then she is introduced to drugs and her life was never quite the same after that. I wont spoil the ending for those who havent read it, but trust me it will leave you wanting to appreciate life, freedom, family and your children more than ever.

An uncommon view of a good family in a bad situation

Compton Chick is a great slice-of-life story of how good people love, struggle, and survive or fail to triumph in the throes of the ghetto. The Smalls family is a typical, hard-working family, trying to overcome issues such as abandonment by the father, teenage pregnancy of one of the daughters, and the onslaught of crack on the fictional community of Lincoln Projects, among other obstacles. This story shows that low-income black families are not all fatherless and that the father's role is important to a family. If anything, the absence of the father brought on a gaping hole, which later rendered a tale of redemption when he did return, sick, and dying of cancer. This is a tale of betrayal, forgiveness and redemption among other things. Although the story is painfully real, the love within the family is undeniable. Love has been the web, which have helped many African American famiies survive the worse of conditions in America.

painfully good

I can't see giving Compton Chick a lower score simply because the story left me feeling pained inside at the end. I believe that was the point of the story--the failing of the system to catch a fallen life before it hit bottom. The fact that the story showed a family stitched tightly into fabric premolded by a pattern of self-distructive behavior was nothing to cause a demerit. Sometimes as readers if we don't walk away smiling we feel as though the book didn't do its job, but in this case Compton Chick was true to the life and story it set out to portray. It wasn't about grammar, or editing or cover design... it was about the story and I feel the story accomplished its intent.

family affair

i just want to start out by saying this is a really good book .if u have a teenager he/she needs to read this book and others that think they have friends ..... THIS BOOK IS BEST KNOW AS A FAMILY AFFAIR...