rv6ch (Library ebook) Virgin Soul: A Novel Online [rv6ch.ebook] Virgin Soul: A Novel Pdf Free Judy Juanita ebooks | Download PDF | *ePub | DOC | audiobook Download Now Free Download Here Download eBook #838173 in eBooks 2013-04-18 2013-04-18File Name: B00AFPVNME | File size: 43.Mb Judy Juanita : Virgin Soul: A Novel before purchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth my time, and all praised Virgin Soul: A Novel: 0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A debut with soulBy Read-A-LotThe story of a young Black woman in Bay Area California going through college and not only being schooled academically, but learning street smarts as well. In fact the book is broken into four parts, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. Each part serves as a backdrop for that particular year of College, but this is not a novel about education and the university. The main character Geniece happens to be attending school around the time that the Black Panter party is taking shape in Ca.What happens when kids go off to school, apparently of one mind set, but come back with an entirely different one? What influences young folk to act? Well, there are no easy answers and this novel does a great job of delineating the various options open to young and ambitious students. Although the novel is set in the time period of 1966-69, the themes are not limited to those years. And parents everywhere are still asking their college age children, How did you get into this or that?So what we get are historical figures mixed into the novel, to lend authenticity to the work. Huey Newton is a character, Bobby Seale and others from that time period grace the pages. This mostly works, as long as you are clear it is all fiction. The author does a good job of showing what choices might have been available for someone like Geniece, and how one might have decided to join with the Panthers at a time that was fraught with danger for anyone calling themselves a Black Panther.The writing is good and the story is engaging. Although you may differ with some of Geniece's choices, you won't get the sense of her decisions just being arbitrary. It's all in context and the energy of that period is justly captured. The only annoyance, was toward the end of the novel. There is an incident of an inapposite nature. Didn't seem necessary, and may serve as a distraction from an otherwise very good debut.Of course you will have to read the novel to discover what I'm referencing. A good solid debut novel and I'm looking forward to more from this author.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A NOSTALGIC TRIP BACK....By Laurel-Rain SnowGeneice Hightower, a young black woman who grew up in Oakland, CA, learned one very important thing from her family: get an education.Determined to do just that, she begins by attending community college in Oakland, works part-time for the Welfare Department, and commences to learn some new ideas from her boyfriend and a group of friends surrounding him.It is the 1960s, and things are heating up all over the US, even in the world around Geneice. By the time she transfers to San Francisco State in the mid-sixties, her ideas have become radical, and she finds herself immersed in the Black Panther party and all that comes with that membership. Guns, shoplifting, and more...all unimaginable to the girl she once was, but life has changed for her.How does a spirited young woman with goals become such a different person? Is it simply peer pressure, or is there more involved? How does she change so radically? Could it be the glow of power she feels when she meets people like Stokely Carmichael, Huey P. Newton, and Bobby Seale? Or is it her need to take back some personal power that has been squashed out of her by the culture? Maybe it was about social change for her, but she got in over her head. And how does she find out who she is, without the movement, after following the revolution to the last rung of the ladder?Having grown up in those times, even living in the Bay Area during the sixties, I can understand it completely, even though my perspective was more of the white anti-war protestor. College experiences, the times in which we lived, and the ability to open one's mind to new things can have a big impact on a young person. Geneice's story is emotional, charged with adventure, energy, fear and loss, and as the consequences unfold, we will completely understand another meaning of the title Virgin Soul: A Novel.A mind that is pure and open and accessible to new experiences.I felt as though I had been transported back to those times. A book I recommend for those who lived those times and want a nostalgic trip back...and for those who did not, but want to understand, from the point of view of a character living it. 4.5 stars.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Wonderful coming-of-age novel that really captures the Bay Area during the 1960sBy Julia Stein"Virgin Soul" is a terrific coming-of-age novel that really captures the Bay Area during the 1960s. The novel's heroine African-American Geniece Hightower starts Merritt Junior College in Oakland in 1964 dedicated to her academics but fascinated by white and black radicals including two future leaders of the Black Panther Party talking on the college lawn. In the first two sections "Freshman" and "Sophomore" the novelist wonderfully describes how her heroine begins to strike out for her independence, having her first lover, meeting black radicals at the Black House in San Francisco, changing her hair style so she wear a natural. Juanita does more than just show one young woman's individual changes but brilliantly ties Genieces's changes from 1964-1968 to the country's changes with the Vietnam buildup, the murder of Malcolm X, and the growth of Northern black militancy increasingly affecting Geniece. In her "Junior" section as she starts her junior year at San Francisco State Geniece says, "State was pulling students like me. I was a junior facing a cast of thousands wanting to be right where I was, part of something big, essential, swimming in the big ocean."This novel's brilliantly captures a young woman who like thousands of others joined the huge tides of change. In Genieces's sake she joined the Black Panther Party where she assisted "behind the lines, transcribing the men's stories, tutoring the young and making potato salad" as well as at one point becoming editor of its newspaper. She learned how to swim in the swirling rip tides of change around her in this fine novel. From a lauded poet and playwright, a novel of a young woman's life with the Black Panthers in 1960s San FranciscoAt first glance, Geniece’s story sounds like that of a typical young woman: she goes to college, has romantic entanglements, builds meaningful friendships, and juggles her schedule with a part-time job. However, she does all of these things in 1960s San Francisco while becoming a militant member of the Black Panther movement. When Huey Newton is jailed in October 1967 and the Panthers explode nationwide, Geniece enters the organization’s dark and dangerous world of guns, FBI agents, freewheeling sex, police repression, and fatal shoot-outs—all while balancing her other life as a college student.A moving tale of one young woman’s life spinning out of the typical and into the extraordinary during one of the most politically and racially charged eras in America, Virgin Soul will resonate with readers of Monica Ali and Ntozake Shange. From BooklistRaised by her aunt and uncle, Geniece has always felt like a bit of an outsider. But when she goes to college, she begins a journey of personal discovery that takes on a highly political edge. Set in the Bay Area in the 1960s, Juanita’s novel portrays Geniece’s life as an African American woman at the time of the black-power movement. As Geniece becomes more involved with the Black Panthers, she becomes increasingly militant, which prompts conflict with the family who raised her. Juanita shows Geniece’s evolution by contrasting her gradually shifting positions on a variety of personal matters and social issues, from hair styles to sexual relations, racism, and oppression. This blend of personal and political drives the narrative and makes for an intriguing look at coming-of-age in the 1960s. --Eve Gaus "Funny and wise . a captivating tale about self-love told through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine." --Essence"Witty and deeply engaging . about ideas and the passions generated by revolution and romantic love." --Los Angeles Times"Electrifying . Virgin Soul yields an engaging coming-of-age story, one that recalls a turbulent era in captivating prose." --San Jose Mercury News"Juanita's prose immediately immerses the reader in the time and place of its lead character....The unique perspective she offers on a volatile period of American history gives the narrative immediacy and authenticity." --Publishers Weekly"[With] rhythmic language and nervy dialog . this wild ride through the rise of the militant Black Panther Party highlights differing viewpoints within the civil rights movement of the Vietnam era. Fans of Bernice McFadden will enjoy discovering this new author." -- Library Journal"An intriguing look at coming-of-age in the 1960s." --Booklist"Virgin Soul is first class awesome, every page a crackling hungry flame.