After clashing with her Catholic school teacher over Thomas Jefferson’s enslavement of people, thirteen-year-old Roberta Forest questions religion and adult hypocrisy at school, home, within her Philadelphia parish, and nationwide as the Watergate scandal unfolds. Young, gifted, Black and Catholic, Roberta is unsure about the Catholic part. Fixated on winning an essay contest to solve all her problems, setbacks teach the aspiring writer that solutions, like truth, can be complex. Gradually, Roberta learns to change course, embraces the power of forgiveness, and becomes a budding social justice activist with the help of the best teacher she never had: Malcolm X. Capturing the explosive and elusive nature of truth, Malcolm and Me is a gritty and graceful coming-of-age tale about truth, race, family and faith.
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Philly is funny like that. Go six blocks in one direction and the neighborhood takes on a new flavor—bright and fresh like a butterscotch Tastykake or as tough and unappetizing as a week-old pretzel.
About The Book
Philly native Roberta Forest is a precocious rebel with the soul of a poet. The thirteen-year-old is young, gifted, black, and Catholic—although she’s uncertain about the Catholic part after she calls Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite for enslaving people and her nun responds with a racist insult. Their ensuing fight makes Roberta question God and the important adults in her life, all of whom seem to see truth as gray when Roberta believes it’s black or white.
In this crowded room, it’s just Malcolm and me. He’s alive, wowing crowds and angering critics. He pumps me with pride and wonder until I get kicked in the guts seeing him dressed in all white and lying soulless in his coffin. Like Silly Putty, my feelings are easily pulled in many directions during the viewing.
An upcoming essay contest, writing poetry, and reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X all help Roberta cope with the various difficulties she’s experiencing in her life, including her parent’s troubled marriage. But when she’s told she’s ineligible to compete in the school’s essay contest, her explosive reaction to the news leads to a confrontation with her mother, who shares some family truths Roberta isn’t ready for.
Set against the backdrop of Watergate and the post-civil rights movement era, Malcolm and Me is a gritty yet graceful examination of the anguish teens experience when their growing awareness of themselves and the world around them unravels their sense of security—a coming-of-age tale of truth-telling, faith, family, forgiveness, and social activism.
Malcolm helps me better understand why I sometimes feel like an outsider in school, church, my neighborhood, and even my country.
Padma Venkatraman award-winning author of The Bridge Home
“We need more characters – in books and in real life – as strong and as willing to speak up as Roberta is.“
Lauren Francis-Sharma author of Book Of The Little Axe
“Farmer delivers a smart and timeless story that brilliantly captures the teenage angst of not only 1970’s America but of today.”
A.B. Westrick, author of Brotherhood
“Malcolm and Me reveals how relevant Malcolm X’s words remain today.“
“This book speaks directly to today’s spirit of protest and our reckoning with the mores and monuments of old”
“Historically rich and movingly told Malcolm and Me is a striking debut. You’ll root for its whip-smart protagonist Roberta at every turn as she explores familial scars, interrogates religious trappings, and awakens to her voice and power. Though set in the 1970s, this book speaks directly to today’s spirit of protest and our reckoning with the mores and monuments of old.”
Heidi W. Durrow, New York Times Best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
“Perfectly captures the confusion, pain and joy of a young teen becoming conscious of her racial identity and injustice. “
“Tender, humorous and timely, Malcolm and Me –Robin Farmer’s engaging debut–perfectly captures the confusion, pain and joy of a young teen becoming conscious of her racial identity and injustice. Farmer’s 13-year-old Roberta is a winning protagonist whose story will grab your heart. What a talented, fresh, new voice Farmer is!”
Robin Farmer
Author, Journalist, and Speaker
