Heaven

Bibliography:

Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN: 0689822294.

Summary:

Marley is 14, and she lives in a small Ohio town named Heaven. Her Momma tells her that she saw a postcard for Heaven and knew she just had to live there. Marley likes her life in Heaven, she likes her friends, and she even likes her family. She knows that not everyone likes their family; her friend Shoogy can’t seem to stand hers. But then one stormy summer night, everything changes for Marley. A letter arrives in the mail and it prompts her parents to finally tell her that they aren’t her real parents. Her dad’s brother – known to her as Uncle Jack – is actually her father, but when her mother died in a car accident, Jack couldn’t take care of her. Marley is angry and sad and confused; she feels that she can no longer trust those she used to trust the most. It takes her some time to process this knowledge and come to terms with her life as it is. Her family and friends are supportive and loving through it all.

Analysis:

Most of the book is written in first person, like a journal entry by Marley. It’s interspersed with letters from her Uncle Jack, who drives around the country in a truck with his dog Boy.

Angela Johnson is an award-winning African-American author. The cover illustration is the first indication that the book is about an African-American girl, but the text refers within the first few pages to an “afro.” The dialogue and phrases used by the characters seem authentic for an African-American family and community. The emotions seem authentic and realistic, too, for a teenage girl who finds out that she’s adopted.

Shoogy helps Marley release anger and tension, and Bobby tells her that family is family and adoption doesn’t change that. Marley’s real father – her Uncle Jack – finally comes to see her. And Momma and Pops continue to show her the love they always have had for her.

The book also brings in current events from 1996, when the book is set. One of the plot catalysts is the burning of black churches in the South that took place in the summer of 1996; “flames that I can feel sitting a thousand miles away,” writes Marley.

Reviews/Awards:

Coretta Scott King Award Winner

“In this montage of Marley's changing perceptions, Johnson presents fragments of the whole picture a little at a time: images of people, places (the Western Union building "1637" steps away from Marley's house) and artifacts (a box filled with love letters between her birth parents) gain significance as Marley begins to make sense of the past and integrate her perceptions into her new identity.” Publisher's Weekly

“Life is Heaven in Heaven, Ohio for 14-year-old Marley until she discovers that the people she thought were her parents are actually her aunt and uncle. The man she thought was her Uncle Jack turns out to be her biological father. Angela Johnson (S&S, 1998) takes Marley on a journey of self-discovery as she must redefine who she is, and who her family is. Marley becomes an astute observer of other families and their relationships with one another.” School Library Journal

Connections:
* Read Angela Johnson’s The First Part Last, which tells the story of Bobby and Feather, Marley’s friends in Heaven. It deals with teen pregnancy and single fatherhood.