Spellbound

Raven never expected to be a mother at sixteen. Is she going to be just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects?  Could be, except Raven has ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school?  Then her older sister tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a scholarship for college. Spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at.  But once Raven's got her mind set, nothing gets in her way...

Literature & Fiction

McDonald, Janet

Contemporary

Collins Flamingo

The story of Aisha, teenage mother of two from the New York Projects, who is going nowhere. But when her welfare benefits are stopped, she has to find a job. Chill Wind charts Aisha's struggle as she transforms herself from workshy teenager to TV star.Aisha is nineteen with two children and a no-good boyfriend. Her idea of the good life is hanging with friends, dancing and chilling to music. But things get a bit too `chilly' when she receives sixty days' notice of termination of her welfare benefits. No way is Aisha going to do menial work for WorkFare. Then she sees a TV advert for BigModels. Aisha is pretty enough, and big enough, is this the way out for her?

Chill Wind

Teen & Young Adult

Raven never expected to be a mother at sixteen. Is she going to be just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects? Could be, except Raven has ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school? Then her older sister tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a scholarship for college. Spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at. But once Raven's got her mind set, nothing gets in her way...

Speak

Raven Jefferson never expected she'd be a mother at sixteen like her best friend, Aisha. Now she's stuck being just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects. Or maybe not; Raven does have ambition. Still, when is she going to find the time to finish school? All her time is spent looking for a job or taking care of her son, Smokey. Then her older sister, Dell, tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner a full college scholarship. But spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at! Yet Raven is fiercely determined to find a way to get her life back on track. So she starts memorizing words. There's no reason not to try. . . .

Square Fish

Project Girl

An inspiring story of a black woman's coming-of-age. Project Girl is the powerful story of a black woman with a genius IQ whose coming-of-age in a Brooklyn public housing project locks her into a struggle with the growing poverty, drug abuse, and violence of a neighborhood in decline. Janet McDonald grew up in a family in pursuit of the American Dream, a dream that seemed within easy reach of the gifted student. In school, McDonald soared past her peers into a world of privilege--college at Vassar, studies in Paris, law school at Cornell--one she was prepared for only intellectually. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she held on emotionally to the project world she was poised to leave behind. Project Girl is a story of a divided life and of the struggle to reconcile two opposing worlds. In college, there was drug abuse. In law school, an arson arrest. She suffered a nervous breakdown after a rape. Only through brains, will, and support from friends and family was McDonald able to gain control of her life. Few books have told about the tensions of growing up gifted in the inner city so candidly, and few success stories seem as unlikely as the one narrated in Project Girl.

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Farrar. Straus and Giroux

Nate Whitely's life at a prestigious prep school in upstate New York takes him far from his Harlem home but not so far as to sever the strong bond he has to his neighborhood. Like his prep school friends, Nate is doing well academically and has his sights set on college. But complications from one life intrude into the other. His childhood friend Hustle won't give up his street-smart ways and doesn't want Nate to either. Nate's older brother, Eli, just can't seem to keep things together and is headed for major trouble. Will Nate be able to sustain these powerful ties without jeopardizing all that he's achieved? This provocative story about a young man straddling two very different worlds unfolds against a backdrop of brotherhood and betrayal, friendship and loyalty, and captures the dilemma of those who would carve out a unique destiny for themselves.

Brother Hood

Harlem Hustle

Hustle's personal Harlem was sorely in need of a renaissance. For him, it was the place where a scared kid named Eric Samson had been ditched by druggy parents and dismissed by frustrated teachers. 
Abandoned to the streets to raise himself, Eric Samson knows life won't be easy, beginning with the choices he must make. The fast cash of the streets still tempts him, but the threat of getting locked up – again – is daunting. Maybe Eric's way out is as Harlem Hustle, the rapper he dreams of being. At his side is Manley "Ride" Freeman, surrogate brother and best friend. And Jeannette Simpson, the college-bound "round-the-way" girl he hopes will be more than a friend. But does Eric have the strength to leave the familiar street life behind and the courage to reach for his dream?
In her companion to Brother Hood, Janet McDonald once again captures the rhythms of Harlem in this fast, funny story of a restless teenager who uses the power of words to rise above it all.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

A fresh new voice on the YA scene. Raven's life has been derailed. She never expected she'd be a mother at sixteen like her best friend, Aisha, and she's afraid she's going to be just another high school dropout, a project girl with few prospects. And although Raven is ambitious, when is she going to find the time to finish school in the few minutes she's not looking for a job or caring for her infant son, Smokey? Then her older sister, Dell, tells her about a spelling bee that promises the winner enrollment in a college prep program and a scholarship. But spelling? There isn't a subject she's worse at! Still, Raven is fiercely determined to win, and so she starts memorizing words. In Janet McDonald's powerful and funny novel, a smart and resilient young woman whose life isn't what she dreamed it would be learns that there are many ways to spell SUCCESS.

Children's Books

Arts, Music & Photography

Spunky and headstrong, Cameron blasts music, challenges adults, and cuts class when she feels like it. She lives with her single mom in Brooklyn and hangs out with best friends Amanda, P, and Crystal. Life in their working-class neighborhood is pretty cool until Cameron's mother suddenly loses her job and can no longer afford the rent. Move to public housing? YG2BK! But no one's kidding, and Cameron finds herself living in the projects. Can a white girl from across town hope to be accepted by the black girls in the projects? A revelation from the past forces Cameron to confront a startling truth that just might put things in perspective . . . that is, if Cameron can handle it. Hilarious, surprising, and defiantly candid, Off-Color is a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining new novel from Janet McDonald. Hip and wise, the author grabs the readers and doesn't let go.

Off-Color

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McDonald, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McDonald, Janet

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McDonald, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Spellbound

Chill Wind

Spellbound

Spellbound

Project Girl

Brother Hood

Harlem Hustle

Spellbound

Harlem Hustle

Off-Color