Let Me Hear a Rhyme

Let Me Hear a Rhyme

YA/adult fiction
"I thought I'd see some reporters and cameras at the church.
For the past few days, I flipped through channels waiting to see
Steph's photo cross the screen, but everyone was busy talking about
President Clinton hooking up with that intern. Like, damn, don't
murders make the news no more?
Don't they know who Steph was? I mean, yeah, folks die every
day. But it's not every day you lose your main man."
Quadir (quoted above), Jarrell, and Jasmine, narrators of
Tiffany Jackson's Let Me Hear a Rhyme, are seriously grieving. A
seemingly ordinary end of summer has been blasted to bits by the
bullets that took Steph's life before he even graduated high school.
Quadir and Jarrell are his best friends. Tiffany is his kid sister
who has also recently lost her father.
Hip hop had been Steph's passion. He'd been working on
developing his own material, planning on becoming a performer. His
room is full of CDs, tapes, and notebooks full of rhymes. Jarrell
comes up with an idea. Steph could become posthumously famous if he,
Quadir, and Jasmine get his music in the right hands while maintaining
the illusion that he's still alive. That will prove to be a very
dangerous endeavor. The teens are dealing with some very unsavory
characters with connections, people who might get mighty angry if they
think they're getting played. If you enjoy a spine chilling
contemporary narrative you will find Let Me Hear a Rhyme to be a must
read.
On a personal note, fall semester is winding down. Next week is
finals. I had a very hectic few days getting ready for my theories
final which was this week, writing a big paper, and sending in a
poster proposal for the big conference in March...and of course
working. It's harder being on my feet for hours when my knee hurts
from my falling running for the bus. I will be so glad when it heals
up. Today I was supposed to work supper shift. But Eugene would have
picked me up. No way could I have climbed into a high cab pick up
truck. So I called in sick and volunteered with an on campus blood
drive where I could be sitting down and resting my knee. I have a lot
more empathy for people with physical disabilities.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow students writing papers
and studying for exams and the profs who will have a whole lot of
grading to do.
jules hathaway


Sent from my iPod