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    Like Vanessa
    Like Vanessa
    Like Vanessa
    Audiobook7 hours

    Like Vanessa

    Written by Tami Charles

    Narrated by Channie Waites

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss America, by reluctantly entering her own beauty pageant. In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles with an incarcerated mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter, Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMar 13, 2018
    ISBN9781501991318
    Like Vanessa
    Author

    Tami Charles

    Tami Charles is a former teacher and full-time author of picture books, nonfiction, middle grade, and young adult novels. As a teacher, she made it her mission to introduce her students to all types of literature, particularly diverse books. Doing so reignited Tami’s passion for writing and childhood dream of becoming an author. She lives in New Jersey with her family.

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    Reviews for Like Vanessa

    4.5/5

    34 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      This is one I had a hard time booktalking based on the flap copy. The kids would go, "...beauty pageants?" and pass. Vanessa Williams is not a person they've heard of and pageants aren't part of their world. Now that I've read it I can give them a quickie plot summary and add, "This is a book about a Black girl figuring out that she's beautiful just the way she is," and they are IN. There's so much more going on than that -- friendship, serious family struggles, the complications of a mentor teacher who doesn't seem to come from your world, the pain of being a queer kid of color in the 1980s -- and every bit of it manages to be hopeful yet honest. Nothing resolves too easily.

      I struggle with pageants as a way to self-confidence. The author's note talks about her positive experiences as a contestant, and I want to be open-minded, but it's hard to deny that the girls are being judged as objects of beauty and entertainment. This book also could have been more fat-positive...but it also could have been a lot less so. It's not a weight-loss makeover story; Vanessa's fat re-positions itself as she goes through puberty and as she builds a healthy walking habit, which is also meditation and bonding time with her cousin (as opposed to an unhealthy exercise obsession that's focused on losing weight). By the end she speaks of her big hips and boobs and rounded belly with approval. I'm going to give it a cautious thumbs-up on that front, but I would welcome conversation about that.

      I've seen reviews that say her queer cousin's assault just happens to teach Vanessa lessons, but I think I disagree. His story is a subplot all along; everything in his life is seen through her mostly clueless eyes. She struggles with who he is, as will some readers. Nothing happens to him that isn't, tragically, realistic (to my knowledge). His character arc is about the readers' emotional growth more than Vanessa's, and isn't that a goal of YA? Side note: at the end he moves to San Francisco to live as an openly gay man in the mid-80s, and it broke my heart because, statistically, there's no way his story ends without a lot of pain. It's an invisible epilogue the reader has to know a bit of history to notice.
    • 4/5
      Personally, I do not agree with the practice of beauty pageants so I was not excited about reading this book, but I was engaged from the beginning and I was relieved by the end. This is not just some boring tale about the ugly duckling who turns into a swan through the magic of cosmetics and diet... it's about the metamorphosis of the protagonist into something bigger, better and more beautiful than she expected. It's a story that is more about the beauty within, of love, family and acceptance of all it's forms. A must read for anyone who needs a boost of confidence but definitely for girls who need to know that beauty is more about your inner self, rather than what's on the outside.
    • 5/5
      LIKE VANESSA by Tami Charles tells the story of an African American eighth-grader pursuing her pageant dreams.Set in 1983, Vanessa Martin is thrilled when Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America. When her music teacher encourages her audition for the school’s pageant, she’s reluctant. However, over time she develops the confidence to compete. Told through first person narratives along with beautiful poetry and journal entries, readers will be drawn into Vanessa’s quest.Librarians will find a large audience for this story of family and friendship. The elements of poverty, racism, and family secrets add depth to the story. Of particular note is the evolving relationship between Vanessa and her music teacher.Published on March 13, 2018 by Charlesbridge. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
    • 4/5
      Many other reviewers stole my adjectives I would use for this book. As a coming of age tale I found it enlightening, and encouraging, that it took place in 1980s Newark, New Jersey. Not exactly the easiest place to grow up in. Hopefully this will encourage other writers to take on coming of age stories that are set in lower income cities and the like.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book!Thirteen-year-old African American, Vanessa (Nessy), overcomes family, friendship, and self concept problems as she participates in the first ever Miss King Middle School beauty pageant in Newark, New Jersey. Nessy comes from poverty and is inspired by the first black Miss America, Vanessa Williams. The reader is taken on a thrill ride of highs and lows.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      This book is a wonderful, inspiring story about a smart, talented girl who over comes self-doubt, poverty and awkwardness to reach out to attain the goals she has set for her self. Vanessa Martin is an African American girl living in poverty in Newark in 1983. Her father is hard-working but aloof and seldom speaks directly to Vanessa. Her grandfather is loving but drinks heavily and is disabled from a war injury. Completing the family in their small apartment is her closeted cousin, who is using his creative and artistic talents to try to escape to a better future. Vanessa is an honor student and has a beautiful singing voice. But she is awkward, has few friends, and is often bullied at school. When Vanessa Williams becomes the first black woman to be crowned Miss America, Vanessa is inspired to see possibilities in her life and future that she never before imagined. Encouraged by a caring teacher, Vanessa dares to enter the first ever talent pageant at her Middle School, and her life begins to change. Narrated in the first person, we are able to learn not only what Vanessa does, but also what she thinks and feels. Highly recommended, especially for tweens and teens and others interested in an inspiring, moving, and often funny story.
    • 4/5
      Middle school student Vanessa doesn't consider herself extraordinary by any measure. Her family of her father, grandfather, and cousin struggle with poverty. Vanessa is overweight and her clothes reflect her family's lack of resources. Her dad doesn't talk much, especially about her missing mother. Her grandfather is supportive, but drunk most of the week. Her cousin is gay, but that isn't acknowledged by the family. Vanessa excels at school, but skims under the radar with only one friend, who might not be as much of a friend as Vanessa wants. The middle school talent show is coming up and thoughts of it alternatively thrill and terrify Vanessa. Who will support her if she tries out?This historical, realistic fiction embraces acknowledging our strengths and weaknesses.
    • 4/5
      At 13, Vanessa Martin has experienced more hardship in her short life than any girl her age should ever have to and she’s “surviving on empty, waiting and hoping to be filled again.” Poverty, racism, alcoholism & family dysfunction are all too familiar to Vanessa and her family in 1983 Newark, New Jersey, but Vanessa is determined to rise above the hardships and shoot for the stars. In this inspirational coming of age story, Vanessa, her grandfather, Pop Pop, and cousin, TJ watch Vanessa Williams crowned as the first black Miss America and this momentous event plants a seed of hope in Vanessa’s mind that maybe, just maybe, her dreams can come true too. When Mrs. Walton, the new music teacher at school announces that she’s going to run the school’s first ever pageant, Vanessa begins to consider that this may be her opportunity to re-examine everything she’s ever believed about herself, her family, and her future. Follow Vanessa’s moving journey as she rises to meet each and every challenge that comes her way with grace, courage, and determination. Wonderfully written, author Tami Charles challenges us to re-visit our own concepts of beauty, self-esteem, and friendship. An important, relatable story that is sure to appeal to a wide range of readers from every walk of life.
    • 5/5
      A wonderful coming of age novel set in Newark New Jersey in 1983, just after Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America.Vanessa Martin, Nessy to her Pop Pop, lives in the projects with her grandfather, cousin, TJ, and her reclusive father. Her mother left when she was 4 or 5. No one will talk about her, but Nessy remembers a light-skinned, beautiful woman who could be Miss America herself. The new music teacher at King Middle School is Mrs. Walton and she takes an interest in Vanessa after hearing her sing and after Tanisha reveals Nessy's dream to become Miss America. Mrs. Walton encourages and helps Vanessa become more confident.Vanessa's cousin, TJ, is in fashion school and agrees to make dresses for Vanessa to participate in the first King Middle School beauty pageant. For three months, Vanessa practices her modeling moves, her singing - at school, at home, and at church - and her interview skills. But she has to hide it all from her Daddy who refuses to let her participate in the pageant.Meanwhile, her best friend, Tanisha, has moved on to a new friend on her basketball team. Feeling abandoned, Vanessa allows Beatriz, the most popular Latino girl in school, to befriend her. Beatriz's mother cooks her fabulous Spanish meals and Beatriz folds her into her clique of girlfriends.Will Beatriz turn out to be a true friend?Will TJ be able to complete the dresses while hiding his affair with Junito, Beatriz's gang banger brother?Will Mrs. Walton's generosity be in vain?The novel is full of Vanessa's thoughts on her mother, her skin color, her fears, her hopes, her dreams. Wonderfully written characters and intense scenes make this novel a success. .