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Liked It “Passin' is a story of Shanika Jenson who was born fair skin and blue eyes of the African American culture. She doesn't have problem letting everyone know that she is proud of her race. A graduate of Delaware State, Shanika applies for a public relations position in New York but is turned down...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Passin' is a story of Shanika Jenson who was born fair skin and blue eyes of the African American culture. She doesn't have problem letting everyone know that she is proud of her race. A graduate of Delaware State, Shanika applies for a public relations position in New York but is turned down because she wasn't "black enough". Never giving up she applies again under the alias of Nicole Jensen, letting everyone assume she is Caucasian. Disappointing her family back in Detroit, she wasn't about to fess up about her enthicity until she meets the man of her dreams Tyrone Bennett. Karen E. Quinones Miller really out did herself on this novel. It reminds you of the movie "Imitation to Life". The story is thought provoking, and very real. As the saying goes "Its not always greener on the other side of the fence". Tangerine Reader's Paradise Book Club ”
tangerine588 wrote this review Wednesday, June 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“another story of self inflicted pain but a well written book.”
Rosa wrote this review Wednesday, April 23 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Excellant book, loved it. Is there a sequel to this book?”
sweetcakes wrote this review Wednesday, April 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I started this book Friday evening as was done by Sunday morning. I agree the book did start out a bit slow, but once it got to the nitty gritty of the book, I couldn't put it down. I was just waiting to find out when and how the details of her real life were going to come out. It really did remind me of the movie Imitation of Life and I thing I have a better understanding of why people do it. Who all wish we could see and live how the other half lives without getting caught, if only for a moment. Great book!!!”
Sunnygirl wrote this review Tuesday, April 15 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Shallow and spoiled Shanika "Nikki" Jenkins is used to getting her way. All she has to do is pout her pretty lips or flash her big baby blues and her family, especially her older brother, is like putty in her hands. But this all changes when Shanika is turned down for a job that she really wants at a New York City PR firm.
Gracie wrote this review Monday, April 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
When Shanika finds out from Ms. Randolph, an assistant at the firm, that she didn't get the job because she wasn't black enough, she's torn between feeling sorry for herself and anger at the injustice.
Soon-to-be retired Ms. Randolph has an agenda of her own, however, and approaches Shanika with an offer she can't refuse and a golden opportunity to get back at the old (white) boy network while she moves up through the ranks of the firm: re-apply for another trainee position with the firm, but this time as someone else--specifically an alter-ego, white persona named Nicole Jenson.
Shanika too-easily digs herself into a social and professional hole living a lie and being someone she really isn't, first at work where she only associates and makes friends with her white co-workers and takes a white man as her "boyfriend"; and at home when she shares an apartment with the Jewish friend of a friend from work.
She too-late realizes that the proverbial grass is NOT greener on the other side when she falls for and begins dating a successful black man who believes she is white. She thinks that Tyrone will be her ticket out of the hole she is in and help her cross back over to her heritage and home, but has dug herself too deep.
This was an excellent, EXCELLENT book! I absolutely loved it! Quinones Miller handles contemporary social issues like affirmative action and racism, to name a few, with an engaging balance of humor and gravity.
Shanika/Nicole/Nikki is at once exasperating and sympathetic as she navigates through the everyday minefields of living undercover among "the enemy" and having to keep her mouth shut at the blatant inequality and injustices she daily encounters. Her character is a perfect example of why we shouldn't prejudge until we have walked in another's shoes, and how quickly a lie can snowball into an avalanche of trouble.
A colorful cast of secondary characters round out this multi-layered plot perfectly and add to the story's realism and verisimilitude.
Did I mention I loved this book and highly recommend it? Go out and get it today!”
“I enjoyed this book. Although I was angry when Shanika decided to 'pass', in the end I was rooting for her. My family on my mom's side is verh fair skinned, and could relate as I have relatives who tried to pass. It was hilarious. The book clearly showed that AA men, although they have money and power don't feel they've arrived unless they have a white woman on their arms. I was so disappointed in Tyrone. I would have like to have seen how Nikki adjusted when she went back to Detroit. ”
Vanessa A Johnson wrote this review Wednesday, March 12 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It start off slow and pick up at the end Shanika was a blonde blue eyes that was pass down but when she gos to new year for a job and they tell her she was black. And noe everyone thinks she white this story takes use back when this has happen.”
Casanegra wrote this review Thursday, February 28 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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idrissa wrote this review Thursday, February 28 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Is The Grass Any Greener On The Other Side?
That is what Shanika Ann Jenkins seeks to find out as she applies for a position at a prestigious PR firm in New York City and fails to answer the race question in order to be considered for the entry-level job. After failing to be hired for the Affirmative Action slot she first applied for because she doesn’t “look Black”; Shanika returns as Nicole Jensen and purposely goes along with the assumption that she is a Caucasian. She gets the job but it propels her into the world of an African American woman who is passing for white.
Essence best selling author Karen E. Quinones Miller has written another entertaining and compelling novel that chronicles the experiences of a Black woman posing as a Caucasian in today’s society. The main character finds that the sense of entitlement that comes from being the minority race in America is not worth the pain and self-loathing that comes from denying one’s racial ancestry.
Nicole a.k.a. Shanika discovers that although the grass may look greener on the other side; it grows faster and higher and threatens to bury her under a mess of lies and deception that hurts those she loves and causes her new best friends to loathe who she has become. It also teaches her to value her own self-worth in the end and forces her to return to the person she was born to be. But this growth does not come without loss and pain.
Nikki, as she likes to be called was born in Detroit of African American parents. The blue-eyed blond beauty is the pride of her family, the end result of “marrying well” and marrying light skin Blacks with “good” hair. Her paternal grandmother is delighted at her birth when she is born with those characteristics unlike the other Black babies in the nursery. Her mother is insulted by the grandmother’s delight and raises Nikki to be proud of her African American heritage.
Going through life in the Black community of Detroit, looking like a white child was not easy for her. Nikki’s choice; much to the displeasure of her mother and her older brother Joseph who did not inherit the white side of his family tree, causes her a great deal of internal pain. Nikki does well on a professional level and also on a social level hanging out with the rich white socialites. Her mother continually advises her to come clean and admit to who she is and her brother disowns her because of her betrayal even after her mother dies in a tragic car accident.
When Nikki finally is forced to end the charade; she finds herself in dire straits due to her lies and deception. She loses a man who she really and truly loves and her white friends and co-workers are none to happy to have been fooled. I just loved this story. I read it in one day because I was just so interested in what was going to happen next. I won’t give away any more of the storyline but I am sure others will be as engrossed in the story as I was.
Karen’s old fans will enjoy this new release by a writer who manages give us one good story after another. Just like she finally gave us a sequel to her first novel, Satin Doll in her book, Satin Nights; I am hoping she will do the same with Passin’. I would love to find out how Nikki returns to the Shanika of her youth and if she is able to reconnect with her family in Detroit.
Go right out and buy this book as soon as it is released.
”
“Imitation of Life
OOSA Online Book Club wrote this review Wednesday, February 6 2008. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Most families have traditions. Well, the Jenkins family has a tradition of sorts - keep it light-bright and damn near white. With that in mind, Mother Jenkins was not too pleased with her son Peter's choice of a mate in Rina as she doesn't fit with her darker skin. At forty-eight years of age, Rina thought she was long past child bearing years, so she was surprised to learn of her pregnancy. She was even more surprised when she gave birth to a fair-skinned daughter with blond hair and blue eyes. Determined to keep her husband's family from negatively influencing her child, Rina instilled important values and principles in young Shanika Jenkins.
All grown up and proud of her African-American heritage, Shanika is ready to step out in the real world with her newly earned college degree. She runs smack dab into a brick wall when she doesn't obtain the job of her dreams because she is not "black" enough. She flips the script and decides to pass as a white woman. Quickly she finds herself deep into a world that there is no easy way out of. With her family disappointed and upset by her actions but her career on the rise, which world will Shanika choose?
Karen E. Quinones Miller paints a vivid portrait of the practice of "passing" by lighter-skinned blacks. She has shed light (no pun intended) on a topic not often addressed. PASSIN' is brave, written with style and has a message, and makes some sharp observations about race. It's well worth the read.
Reviewed by: Toni ”
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