There's been a bit of steadily-growing drama going around social media (both on blogs and on
twitter) about e. E. Charlton-Trujillo's upcoming YA novel
When We Was Fierce, a novel about an African-American youth trying to survive in his crime-ridden neighborhood after a friend was murdered by a local street gang called The Jives (yes, really). It was inspired by Trayvon Martin's murder.
While mostly-white dominated companies/websites such as
Kirkus,
Booklist and
Library Journalhavepraised the novel for it's
lyrical prose and
propulsive, staccato language and intense imagery, many authors and book reviewers tell a different tale.
People are taking special issue with the vernacular used, a style of speaking the author made up despite the story being set in a contemporary urban black neighborhood and despite her saying that she wanted the piece to be an 'authentic experience'. She is quoted as saying:
“Right from the jump, I could hear the music of T’s world that hadn’t existed in YA before. Slang can become dated quick, so I had a unique opportunity to incorporate some slang along with a new vernacular.” Some examples:"Broad on the daylight" (p. 67)
"I was midspeak when I got an interrupt." (p. 73)
"My think go to racing" (p. 82)
"So, you aren’t worried about Catch in speak with Nacho?" (p. 129)
"We just holdin’ time." (p. 129)
“We all held our wait.”
"Don’t talk slaves to me." (p. 7)
"Man, my pain ached!”
Other reviewers criticize the insinuation in the novel that the residents of the neighborhood (called 'The Split') are responsible for the poverty and bad perception of their area + the depiction of most of the female characters (minus the MC's love interest) as frequently-pregnant, loud and unattractive.
There haven't been any comments on the backlash from the author or the publisher (Candlewick) as of yet.
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