false 1461204 1 <p>"Reading Dedra Johnson's Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow, I was fully in the presence of the mind, heart and soul of a richly rendered, fascinating fictional character. I knew I was also in the presence of the brillian voice and sensibility of a major new American writer. This is an important novel by a true artist."--<strong>Robert Olen Butler</strong></p><p>"Dedra Johnson has caught something wonderful in Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow. She writes brilliantly about childhood, New Orleans, the intricacies of a vexed family life. Sandrine is a remarkable debut novel that will catch your heart."--<strong>Frederick Barthelme</strong></p><p>Despite being a straight-A student and voracious reader, eight-year old Sandrine Miller is treated as little more than a servant by her mother, who forces Sandrine to clean house, do chores and take care of her younger half sister, Yolanda. On top of the despair of her life at home, Sandrine must confront growing up against the harshness of life in 1970s-era New Orleans, where men in cars follow her home from school and she is ostracized because she is a light-skinned black girl. The only refuge Sandrine has against her bleak world is spending summers with her beloved grandmother, Mamalita. After Mamalita&rsquo;s death, Sandrine realizes that she must escape from her mother, from New Orleans, from everything she has known, if she is to have any kind of future. In the tradition of Toni Morrison's <em>The Bluest Eye</em> and Alice Walker's <em>The Color Purple</em>, <em>Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow</em> is a brilliant debut from an important new African-American voice in literary fiction.</p><p>A native and current resident of New Orleans, Dedra Johnson received her MFA from the University of Florida, where she was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. <em>Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow</em> was a runner-up for the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Award in 2006.</p> 1452049 1 11 2007 Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow total:36|5:0|4:2|3:1|2:0|1:0| 36 141 77 17 4 9 false false Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 20:51:47 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 07:24:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 14 15:44:13 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 15:44:13 -0800 2008
"Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow" is the story of a young girl who grew up raising herself in a dysfunctional household. The book provided a perspective look into the childhood of young, light-skinned, African American female dealing with issues such ...more...]]> 0 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Jul 07 14:44:48 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 07 14:44:48 -0700 2007 my novel.]]> 0 0 false false Wed Apr 22 20:32:59 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 01 09:48:37 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 22 20:32:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 01 11:24:36 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 11:56:46 -0800 2008 "...the dialogue is fast and lively, and Sandrine’s first-person narrative delivers immediate, searing drama."—Booklist

"[An:] aching debut...[with:] echoes of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings..." —Publisher's Weekly

“Reading Dedra Johnson’...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 10:50:54 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 13:22:38 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 09 10:45:51 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 21 13:32:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 10 17:18:20 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 10 17:20:21 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 22:45:04 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 22:46:03 -0700 2009 one 4 0 false false Wed Oct 15 17:45:42 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 17:15:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 26 15:36:21 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 15:38:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 10:27:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 10:38:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 10:27:53 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 10:29:10 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jan 22 09:43:49 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 03 11:51:42 -0700 2008
Of course I don't don't recall how my mind worked as a 10yr old, but I felt like it was pretty close and that the characters were believable. ]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 20:19:41 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 18 17:47:34 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Wed Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 14:22:09 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 09:07:19 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sun Sep 21 18:20:39 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 18:21:04 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 13:49:42 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 13:49:42 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 11:28:05 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 11:28:05 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 25 12:32:52 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 12:32:52 -0700 2009