Who Am I Without Him? - Sharon G. Flake

Who Am I Without Him? turned out to be a little different than I imagined! A Coretta Scott King Award Winner, this book was very centered on African American teenagers, which was a positive attribute, but I was unaware before I read the book! The culture was made to seem extra dramatic and was almost over the top with the different type of dialogue. It was easy for me to follow, I'm just not sure whether it was an accurate representation. I would have enjoyed it a little more if it wasn't so heavy and was a little more flighty and innocent. Sorry to sound so negative at first! Let's get to the good stuff!
The stories were good and most of them were pretty fun to read! Characters like Mookie, (who is the cousin of the narrator in the story Mookie In Love), go through the ups and downs of relationships at an adolescent time in life. Mookie falls for a new girl and his family full of women wants to keep him to themselves, but the couple makes it through all the trials. They really are cute stories! Some of them have a lot of association with behavior in school, contrasting between girls and boys, which I found really interesting. The characters were believable and honest about themselves and their feelings, while the stories were of experiences that were definitely relatable and could be easily connected with by the reader.
These elements are what made me believe some of these stories could be useful in the classroom for showing my students examples of narratives or short stories. They contain strong elements such as voice, tone, characterization, dialogue, and perspective.
This book was honest and at times shocking and though it was not always incredibly memorable, it was different! I enjoyed the read for the most part and if there are ways I can use it to teach, I will probably keep it around as reference! It may not be the most reliable source for accurately portraying African American community, but it gives a very good idea of perspective and personalities!