Historical Awesomeness

Elliott, Zetta. A Wish After Midnight. Las Vegas, NV:
AmazonEncore, 2010. Print

A Wish After Midnight tells the story of a teen named Genna who is living in the slums of Brooklyn in the year 2000. She paints a vivid picture of her life living in the projects, of race relations in the 21st century, of how she doesn't fit in anywhere because she is smart and shy and wants to go to college. She hasn't a friend in the world until she meets Judah, a beautiful boy who finally sees her as she is and loves her for it. Judah encourages her to explore her African roots, but his disparaging remarks about the state of race relations in the U.S. leave her conflicted, since after all she is American as well as African. One night seeking refuge from a fight with her mother, Genna escapes to the Botanic Gardens and travels back in time to 1863 after a magical encounter near the park's fountain. Once she is in 1863, Genna blossoms into a young woman with views of her own after living life as a newly freed slave working as a maid in a home of rich whites.

Zetta Elliot does a fantastic job of giving a voice to the unseen and stereotyped youth of lower class New York, and gives biting and truthful renditions of what life in the projects is like for these kids. Genna is a strong female character who often doesn't back down from her views even in the face of violence. There are two items that sour this story however, and that is the very rushed ending (supposedly setting up for a sequel) and the fact that Genna seems to lose some of her own fiery personality in the face of Judah's convictions. She loves Judah, this much is clear, but she doesn't share some of his views. The fact that she seems to move toward giving up her dreams in order to stay with him doesn't quite fit with the strong young woman she is without him. Hopefully these issues will be addressed in the second book.

"...it was really interesting to get moved into the older New York and kind of see what life was like then..." ~ Traci, 15

Abstract (thanks to OCLC World Cat): "Genna Colon desperately wants to escape from a drug-infested world of poverty, and every day she wishes for a different life. One day Genna's wish is granted and she is instantly transported back to Civil War-era Brooklyn."

OCLC World Cat Record ~ Holdings, Abstracts, Further Info