Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl

by Catherine Ross-Stroud

Overview

Much has been written about the state of Black adolescence—often from a sociological point of view situating Black teens in an at-risk category. However, through her characters, young adult author Janet McDonald (1954-2007) presents the wide range of adolescent life. McDonald especially presents to readers the multifarious views of society in relation to the self-efficacious drive of urban teens to rise above their circumstances by any means necessary.

Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl is a bio-critical study of McDonald and her work as it relates to the contributions she has made to the genre of teen fiction. It explains McDonald's profoundly realistic fiction, which holds wide appeal for teens in search of answers to the coming of age mystery. Catherine Ross-Stroud, in her study of McDonald's works and interviews with the author, has put together a comprehensive resource that will be a useful research tool.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810858022
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/24/2008
Series:	Studies in Young Adult Literature , #28
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Catherine Ross-Stroud is assistant professor of Language Arts and Literacy at Cleveland State University.

Table of Contents

Chronology xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxi

Chapter 1 The Original Project Girl: Humble Beginnings 1

Chapter 2 On Becoming a Writer: Project Girl 19

Chapter 3 Real Project Girls: A Literary Journey of Discovery 35

Chapter 4 Harlem Boys: Brother Hood and Harlem Hustle 55

Chapter 5 Shifting Gears: Girls of Color 75

Chapter 6 Urban Fiction: Answering the Call 93

Chapter 7 I Write Stories with Happy Endings 109

Epilogue 117

References 119

Index 129

About the Author 137