Mama's Girl

by Veronica Chambers

Book Overview

On the streets of Brooklyn in the 1970s, Veronica Chambers mastered the whirling helixes of a double-dutch jump rope with the same finesse she brought to her schoolwork, her often troubled family life, and the demands of being overachieving and underprivileged. Her mother--a Panamanian immigrant--was too often overwhelmed by the task of raising Veronica and her difficult younger brother on her meager secretary's salary to applaud her daughter's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573225991
• ISBN13: 9781573225991
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

An Adult's Review...

An incredibly moving, REAL memoir. Veronica takes you right beside her as she grows-- through every bit of ugliness and hardship growing up in her family all the way to seeing a dream come true. I could read this again and again. I first read it in college when I was 24. Hard to put down. Very compelling and sincere-- made me want to jump in and be her friend. If you are a high school age girl, I suspect you will really enjoy this book.

Very inspiring

This is now my favorite book, I couldn't put it down.I can relate to the story because I've gone through similar situation, and I've learn that I can do anything I want to do regardless of my environment.This book give me hope for the future.

Very, very moving

This book had me in tears. I think I drove all my friends insane- i picked up this book and read it through lunch, recess, bus rides, everything for 2 days straght 'till I finished it. Veronica made you one of her close, personal, friends- she spilled her guts. It's totally AWESOME!!

An all too familiar story...

I saw myself in almost every line of this book. It has let me know that there is hope...

Powerful tale of Overcoming Adversity and Forgiveness

I found Mama's Girl enjoyable reading. Ms. Chambers' writing style is wonderfully descriptive, while maintaining a tone of informal conversation. I think a lot of reviewers missed the point of Ms. Chambers' novel, which was that the power of forgiveness is possible, no matter what you have faced and it is possible to overcome no matter what has been thrown in your path. Although I can relate to Ms. Chambers in many ways, including age, I personally found more of the story in the tale of her mother's ability to overcome early in the novel. Anyone who is or has struggled with family issues, should read this book. I personally, got more out of Mama's Girl than the two novels I have read by author April Sinclair who also writes coming of age novels.