Yolonda's Genius [Paperback]

Yolanda, 10 and her brother Andrew, 6 live with their widowed mother in Chicago. When Yolanda tells their mother that a classmate shot another child to death, that ends her days as a Chicago resident. Her mother, a paralegal, moves the family to a Michigan suburb with a good school system.

Yolanda quickly adjusts, after initially pining for the familiarity of her old neighborhood and the close proximity to her Aunt Tiny. Aunt Tiny is a large, husky woman with a large heart. She gives her piano to Yolanda, who is plainly talented and enjoys listening to and playing the classics. A delightful, intelligent woman, Aunt Tiny owns several hair salons in Chicago and her work has been featured nationwide and in magazines. Oprah Winfrey was a client at one of her shops.

Yolanda identifies with her aunt. Both are husky and buxom; both are outstanding cooks and both share a love for classical music and reading. Aunt Tiny as well as her sister-in-law, Yolanda and Andrew's mother are professionals who set their sights high.

Andrew, also is musically talented. A harmonica afficionado, the boy has been playing songs and setting background sounds to music since infancy. His harmonica was a gift from his late father, a police officer who died in a fishing accident. Yolanda was 4 at the time.

Andrew has a harder time in school; he rarely talks; cannot read and spends his free time thinking about music. A kind speech teacher takes Andrew under his wing and teaches him to read by applying the lessons to musical terms and interests, e.g. "B is for Bongo," etc. He also teaches Andrew how to read music.

Yolanda is fiercely independent and very bright. She can defend herself against any bully with reason, logic and a well applied foot in some cases. She is also very funny. When a group of older boys demolish her brother's harmonica, Yolanda comes up with a resourceful way of getting even with them and providing a new harmonica for her brother.

This is a wonderful story about a strong, intelligent black family with a very appealing cast of characters. The story ends on quite a blues note! I love it!

When Yolonda's mother, fearful of drugs and crime, drags Yolonda and her brother, Andrew out of Chicago, Yolonda is teased and starts to feels irritated in the her new town, Grand River. To make life easier, she starts going to the library, where she soon discovers something that is completely astonishing and unexpected. While flipping through the dictionary one day, she finds the word 'genius'. She finds that Andrew fits the description. Determined, she sets forth to convince everyone of her brother's musical talent on his harmonica. In spite of this, no one understands, not even her mother because they think Andrew is stupid, due to his weak reading skills. Then Yolonda's Aunt Tiny comes and whisks them back to Chicago. There they attend the famous Chicago music festivals, and Yolonda comes up with a risky plan to prove that Andrew indeed is a genius. Succeed she does, so Andrew hits the stage and performs for crowds of people. But in the end, he chooses a quiet life with his mother and Yolonda.

I would give this book a four out of ten overall. Carol Fenner came up with a decent story, but I didn't particularly like her style. The story was hard to follow since she switched scenes quite often without making good transitions. Neither was it a very suspenseful or exciting story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fabulous book. The main character, Yolanda is a character who has some amazing qualities for her young age. She is determined to prove that her younger brother is a genius and will stop at nothing to prove this belief of hers. This book is full of literary merit and is a real page turner. The characters and setting are very believeable.
I am sure that people of all ages can relate to at least one of the characters in this book. The language is very descriptive and paints a clear and vivid picture of the story to the reader. I couldn't put this book down because I was so interested in the outcome !. The author, Carol Fenner provides the reader with so much insight into the characters of her book, that you feel as though you've known them for years. This is why I felt as though I was alongside of Yolanda for every step of her mission, and this is why I wasn't able to put down this book until I found out if she was successful or not.
This book will appeal to children and adults ages 10 and up. It is not a very difficult book to understand, but it does contain many elaborate descriptions. This book deals with topics such as neighborhood violence, the importance of family, and the different intelligences in our world. It sends a very positive message to the reader as a result. This is why I am encouraging all of you to read this great book.