Color Me Jazzmyne

by Marian L. Thomas

Color Me Jazzmyne, is a fictional account of awoman who rises up from a troubled past to become a well-known jazz singer.

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Marian L. Thomas is an award-winning author known for crafting emotionally rich, character-driven women’s fiction. Her novels explore themes of love, resilience, motherhood, and second chances, earning praise from readers and critics alike.

Marian’s work has been featured in USA Today, Black Enterprise, Southern Writers Magazine, and on media outlets including Fox, NBC, and CBS. She is the author of several novels, including Saving Raine, Someone Like Me, and The Caged Butterfly—recipients of the USA Best Book Award for African-American Fiction.
With a passion for storytelling that touches the heart,

Marian writes to inspire women to embrace their own strength, healing, and joy. She lives in a suburb of Atlanta with her husband of over 20 years and is an avid fan of classic films like Pride and Prejudice—and firmly believes popcorn should be its own food group.

Reviews

[B.K. Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Color Me Jazzmyne by Marian L. Thomas is an excellent read. From beginning to end it will definitely stir emotions, as you feel Naya Mona's story, and feel her pain.

Naya Mona' lived a life that no child should ever have to endure. As a child she had a father that loved her, went to every play, loved to hear her sing.

That was, until she became a young woman. Then her life took a drastic turn, as her father forgot to be a father, and she ends up pregnant. Forced to succumb to her father's touch and harsh rules, and having her baby torn from her when her father was mad it wasn't a girl, Naya dreams of the day that she could leave the darkness and be free.

Searching the colors of her crayon box, Naya finally finds her escape. Young, and no clue where to go, who to turn to, she finds her way to New York.

Through a series of events that quickly have her searching her crayon box again, she finds her voice, becomes Jazzmyne the jazz singer, and she is faced with the son she never had the chance to know.


Her son arrives, demanding answers, wanting to know his roots. The problem is, she is not sure she wants to open her crayon box, to bare all those nasty colors to someone she doesn't even know.

Follow Naya as she tells the story of her life. She is speaking to her son, but you will be drawn in and will feel her pain as she hesitantly relives her past, as she adds new colors as well as pulls the old ones.

Thomas did an excellent job describing this tale, pulling you in from beginning to end. This is one story you won't be able to put down until you have finished it in its entirety.

I give Color Me Jazzmyne ***** (5) Stars, BK Walker

[Stacia McFadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a book discussion with the author, Marian L. Thomas; therefore I am changing my review from a four to a five. I had never before heard of this great storyteller (who by the way only writes clean fiction, which is quite admirable). My first thought was to give the book a four, simply because there were so many unanswered questions and I was disappointed in the way the story left me hanging. But after learning how this story was conceived and first written when the author was a teen and that it's the beginning of a sequel, I immediately found hope and downloaded "My Father's Colors," book two. Readers, I think you will love this book. It's difficult and dark, yet offers light in the unexpected.

[African Americans on the Move Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book was pretty good with the exception of a few spelling errors(i.e the use of the word “glazed” instead of “gazed”.I did like how the author correlated a box of crayons and its colors to life.The flow of the storyline was smooth and didn’t jump all over the place. I do wish Jazzmyne’s mother had more of a role in the book.
The quotes in the beginning of each chapter caught my eye as well.I felt that they were indicators of what was coming next.
The only thing I would suggest is a proofreader to avoid spelling errors,etc.

zandra d. barnes
AAMBC Reviewer

[Lucinda Gainey]

This was my very first audiobook. I found the story incredibly moving.