CANR
WORK TITLE: The Go-Between
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1970
WEBSITE: http://www.veronicachambers.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: LRC 2012
https://simons-rock.edu/giving/donor-stories/veronica-chambers.php * http://www.stanforddaily.com/2017/02/06/qa-with-veronica-chambers-author-of-the-meaning-of-michelle/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 21, 1970, in Panama; daughter of Cecilia Chambers; married Jason Clampet, 2002; children: one daughter.
EDUCATION:Simon’s Rock College, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, journalist, editor, novelist, memoirist, educator, and photographer. Has been a contributing and senior editor for Glamour magazine; a senior editor at Premiere, Newsweek, and New York Times magazines; and an executive editor of Savoy magazine. Worked as a culture writer for Newsweek for three years and has also worked at Sassy, Seventeen, Essence, Life, and MTV. Glam Latina magazine, founding editor. Worked as a creative writing instructor and writing coach. Worked as a director of brand development at Hearst magazines. Writer for UPN television series Girlfriends. Photographs exhibited in a group show in Los Angeles, CA, spring, 1990. Founder of a campus lecture series, editor of the Simon’s Rock College (Great Barrington, MA) literary magazine, and cofounder, with husband Jason Clampet, of the Simon’s Rock College Dorothy West Scholarship.
AWARDS:Selected as one of the year’s top ten college women, Glamour magazine, 1990; James Beard Award for Writing and Literature, 2013; John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship, Stanford University, 2017; received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; received the Hodder Fellowship for Emerging Artists at Princeton University.
WRITINGS
Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Seventeen, Los Angeles Times Book Review, Kirkus Reviews, Us, Glamour, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, New York Times Magazine, and Essence. Also contributor to anthologies, including The Bitch in the House: Twenty-six Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage, edited by Cathi Hanauer, Morrow (New York, NY), 2002; Growing Up Ethnic in America: Contemporary Fiction about Learning to Be American, edited by Maria Mazziotti Gillan and Jennifer Gillan, Penguin Books (New York, NY), 1999; Becoming American: Personal Essays by First Generation Immigrant Women, edited and introduced by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000; Black Hair: Art, Style, and Culture, edited by Ima Ebong, Universe (New York, NY), 2001; and Body.
SIDELIGHTS
Veronica Chambers is one of the more striking youthful success stories of the 1990s. Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s, she experienced economic difficulties as her mother, a secretary who had emigrated from Panama, tried to raise Chambers and her brother. Chambers’s parents were divorced, and her father was not supportive of his children. During one period when Chambers, after fighting with her mother, fled to her father’s apartment, she suffered not only from her father’s indifference but also from an abusive stepmother. At the age of sixteen, however, Chambers entered a new life when she enrolled in Simon’s Rock College, in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, on a scholarship. Far more than just another successful undergraduate, she also edited the campus literary magazine and established a lecture series on campus.
In her 1996 memoir, Mama’s Girl, Chambers recounts her personal history and more. Early in her life, her father had quit his job to attempt a career as a ventriloquist, in which he apparently did not prosper. Her mother moved the family to the south- central area of Los Angeles, then back to Brooklyn after Chambers’s father left. Chambers’s brother fell into a life of street crime and was imprisoned. The focus of the book, however, is on the mother-daughter relationship, a complicated one because the author’s mother had aspired to become a lawyer but had not had the opportunity. The book ended on a warm note: Chambers’s success has enabled her to support her mother not only emotionally but financially.
The book was well received. A Kirkus Reviews critic called it “an absorbing, often perturbing chronicle … valuable … as a commentary on growing up African American and on … those who leave poverty behind and move into the middle class.” A Publishers Weekly contributor stated that the book is “an impressive debut” and a “remarkable story—told with admirable if sometimes frustrating control,” and Library Journal reviewer Jeris Cassel termed Mama’s Girl “an honest, open, and ultimately warm memoir.”
In 1998, Chambers tried her hand at writing fictional children’s books. In Marisol and Magdalena: The Sound of Our Sisterhood, Chambers introduces thirteen-year-old best friends Marisol and Magdalena, two Brooklyn natives of Panamanian ancestry. Chambers, who is also a Brooklyn native of Panamanian descent, explores loss of ancestral identity through these characters who do not speak Spanish like their relatives and struggle to find their place within both society and history. Marisol has an especially difficult time, being a Latinegra, or a heritage blend of black and Latina. Marisol is sent to Panama to live with her grandmother for a year, where she begins to connect with the culture and people. She also searches for her father, Lucho, whom she has never seen, and acquires her first boyfriend, Ruben, who teaches her Spanish. Marisol and Magdalena’s friendship is tested, though, as they must endure being separated from each other.
Marisol and Magdalena return in Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen. The book highlights the quinceañera parties that mark the girls’ coming of age at fifteen and also addresses some of the hardships of such an age. Back in the United States, Marisol must deal with disappointment when her mother informs her that she cannot afford to give her an elaborate and expensive birthday party. She is further disenchanted when she realizes the changes that have taken place during the time she was in Panama. Magdalena has made two new affluent, manipulative, and ne’er-do-well girlfriends who make fun of Marisol and demand all of Magdalena’s time. Magdalena’s loneliness and sense of abandonment upon Marisol’s journey to Panama is subdued by her desire to be accepted by the promise of wealthy and “powerful” friends, and Magdalena begins to question Marisol’s worth. She learns her lesson at a price, however.
“This sense of justice is achieved without affectation,” wrote Roger Leslie in Booklist. Leslie described Marisol as a “decent person with a kind heart” and Magdalena as a “believable, multifaceted supporting character.” School Library Journal contributor Trish Anderson commented, “Marisol’s thoughts and worries … flow realistically.” Anderson also noted that “Spanish phrases add flavor to the dialogue.”
Children’s writing having proven itself a successful venture, Chambers next compiled a social history of the jump rope game double Dutch in her children’s book Double Dutch: A Celebration of Jump Rope, Rhyme, and Sisterhood. In this work, Chambers traces the origins of double Dutch back to ancient civilizations in Egypt, China, and Phoenicia, relating developments of the game from a recess activity to a competitive team sport. She highlights the accomplishments of enthusiast double-Dutchers Tahira Reed, who invented an automatic rope-turning machine to aid the game, and Miho, who started the first Japanese double-Dutch team.
Double Dutch is interspersed with pictures and rhymes, making it “a vibrant collage,” according to School Library Journal contributor Kathleen Whalen, who also commended the book for being “as snappy and fresh as its subject.” A Black Issues Book Review contributor also commented on the book’s pictures: “Color and black- and-white photographs … make this high-energy book not only fun to read, but also fun to look at.”
Chambers veered away from children’s writing with Having It All? Black Women and Success. In this work, she examines some of the historical and social issues facing the upwardly mobile, modern, middle-to upper-class African American woman, a category to which Chambers belongs. Chambers compiles interviews with fifty exceptional black women and supplements them with statistical information on the rise of the black woman in America. By doing this, Chambers gains insight into black women’s thoughts about their respective societal positions, their struggles to achieve, their successes, and the areas of their lives still lacking.
Chambers finds that black women are often stifled by stereotypes of black culture, such being perceived as single mothers on welfare or as living in neighborhoods of crack addicts. Chambers’s interviewees do not live in the ghetto, though many of them started there. For the most part, they travel, leisure shop, attend artistic and cultural events, dine out frequently, and have degrees and moderately dispensable incomes. They are lawyers, business owners, television producers, and business executives. Some are financially secure stay-at-home mothers. These women represent a class all their own, a class that has overcome both racial and gender-based oppressions to find themselves at the top of their career ladders. However, their societal reallocation has not been smooth. They struggle to find counterparts in their careers, and even more so in their personal lives, which may be the aspect of Having It All? that causes the question mark of its title to resound most appropriately. Many of these women who “have it all” find themselves without a partner with whom they can share their successes. Some of the women interviewed for Having It All? also expressed a feeling of alienation within their own families, as many find themselves the first in their families to graduate from high school and college, secure a sizeable salary, and acquire properties. To add to their distress, as a whole, the black community does not identify with their problems and therefore often rejects or dismisses them.
Having It All? struck various chords with critics. Some reviewers praised the author for her insights, while others looked for deeper, more meaningful answers to the problems of these women. In a review for Library Journal, contributor Douglas C. Lord praised the book as “extremely well written and at times revelatory,” stating that “this narrative isn’t out to draw hard conclusions. Instead, it’s a cogent, eye-opening exploration.” Conversely, Debra J. Dickerson wrote in a Washington Monthly review that the stories in the book are “somewhat feel-goody and superficial, like a public service announcement for Black History Month.” Dickerson did admit, however, that “[the interviewees’] anecdotes live and breathe our complicated racial and gender realities as no pile of statistics ever could.” Susan Salter Reynolds concluded in the Los Angeles Times that this is “an uplifting book, chock-full of role models. Real ones. Like Chambers herself.”
In 2004, Chambers entered the adult fiction arena with When Did You Stop Loving Me?, the story of a young girl abandoned by her mother. A sixth grader, Angela Davis Brown returns from school one day and realizes that her mother is gone, an absence her father attempts to hide. Confused by her mother’s actions and her lack of a good-bye, Angela keeps an unusual memento with her, an X-ray of her mother’s teeth, “to remind myself of the pain: of how she bit me and the way she left me to live, part of me breathing, part of me dead.” Unfortunately for the young girl, her father dreams of success as a magician but never seems to find his way, compounding Angela’s unstable home life. Yet he does, though his unorthodox behavior, show his daughter that she can rise above her poor, inner-city surroundings, that life hold no limits for her.
Reviewing When Did You Stop Loving Me? in Kirkus Reviews, a contributor thought the author “gives us a good glimpse of the inner life of a talented girl making her way in the world, but she shows us too little of the world itself to make us feel the true drama of the rise.” However, because “very little actually ‘happens’ to Angela,” Newsweek contributor Sean Smith thought that “all that frustration and impatience, that need to comprehend why and how a mother could leave her child, seeps through every page.” Of all the elements in the book, Booklist reviewer Hazel Rochman remarked most favorably on “the unsentimental picture of the loving, messed-up, single-parent dad,” predicting that “teens will want [When Did You Stop Loving Me?] for the heartfelt coming-of-age story.”
Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa, illustrated by Julie Maren, is a children’s book about the life of the Cuban singer, tracking her from her earliest days as a child in Havana all the way up to the explosion of her career onto the international stage, leaving her with the title of the Queen of Salsa. Celia got her start singing to her siblings, focusing primarily on lullabies. But by the time she was in high school, both her vocal talents and her tastes had matured, and she started singing in local clubs, having moved on to songs with a strong Afro-Cuban beat. She spent a decade singing professionally in Cuba, having been given a break by a major band, but in 1960 she left the country. In Hollywood, Celia’s career continued to blossom, and she became one of the most influential proponents of salsa music in the United States. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found the book “an inspired and inspiring introduction to a Latina idol.”
The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Life, and Foolish Bravery is a collection of essays in which Chambers illustrates all the reasons why it is important to simply move forward and take risks without fear of looking bad or making a mistake, because life is short and you never know what it might bring. She recounts various experiences, ranging from the light and frothy, such as the reasons behind her enrollment in an African dance class, to the more serious, including the story of her cancer scare. Emily Cook, in a review for Booklist, remarked: “Bursting with strong-willed, fiery spirit, Chambers is at the top of her game.”
Kickboxing Geishas: How Modern Japanese Women Are Changing Their Nation addresses the enormous cultural changes in Japan since the collapse of the economy. Traditional gender roles, so important to Japanese culture for many centuries, have begun to change far more radically than ever before. In the wake of the financial issues in the nation, men are no longer considered as all-powerful as they were previously, particularly as many have ceased to be completely financially stable. Contrasting the fates of the men in many ways, women have gained more power, both in the workplace and at home, with society beginning to acknowledge women’s strengths and abilities. More and more, Japanese women are traveling, working, and handling the money. Particularly in the younger generations, this clash between the sexes has resulted in women finding it difficult to respect men, especially when they stubbornly cling to traditional roles and behaviors. This disparity in turn has a profound effect on women and their social interactions. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote: “Chambers fluently places the courage and isolation of these women in a briefly sketched social and economic context.”
In Chambers’s next novel, Plus, seventeen year old Bee is a premed freshman at Columbia University. Just after starting college her boyfriend, Brian, dumps her, and Bee becomes horribly depressed. She drowns her sorrows in junk food, takeout, and sweets, and before she knows it has packed on twenty-five pounds. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing; her new weight and body shape gets her noticed. Her life changes overnight when a booking agent spots her in a café, and launches her into plus size model stardom. Suddenly Bee is jet-setting from country to country for photo shoots, and appearing on the pages of glossy magazine ads. She lands a Prada campaign, and almost instantly has a major fan base. Yet, despite her new glamorous life Bee cannot stop thinking about her ex-boyfriend Brian, even though he never treated her very well. Bee’s journey can be considered a coming-of-age tale. Through the process of learning how to juggle fame and wealth she does mature a great deal. On top of her modeling career, she is still striving to do well at Columbia and maintain personal time for her friends as well.
Many critics have stated that Plus makes for an entertaining read. Reviewing the work, a contributor to Seventeen described the work as a “must-read summer book for all girls who have ever felt less than gorgeous.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor assessed: “Bee’s rollicking, name-brand-laden story is fizzy and funny, dissolving like cotton candy but enjoyable.” The contributor stated that the novel is unrealistic and shallow, but entertaining. The contributor also noted that Bee’s self-centered attitude is a bit of a turn-off, and that the book should have been edited more closely. The contributor claimed that a major fault of the book is that it is a wish-fulfillment novel that is supposedly grounded in realism, but the two cannot co-exist. Sarah Krygier, a contributor to School Library Journal, noted: “Contemporary music and fashion-label references will date this title, but it is still a first purchase.”
In Chambers’s next novel, edited by Elizabeth Rudnick, Fifteen Candles, Alicia is on the brink of her fifteenth birthday or quince anos. Despite the fact that her parents took her on a trip to Spain to celebrate her fifteenth, which, in most Latin American cultures is viewed as a girl’s entry into womanhood, Alicia finds herself jealous of all of her friends that are having elaborate parties. Being an ambitious teen, who at fifteen is already interning at city-hall, Alicia does a lot more than sit idly by while all of her friends get to plan outlandish parties. When one of her friends needs some help with the planning, Alicia is inspired to set up a quince anos planning company with her three best friends. They call themselves Amigas Inc. Each of the friends have a distinct personality, and bring different strengths to the table in the business. Things start of smoothly enough, but as their first party approaches teen drama begins to flare up. This book is the first of a proposed series.
Reviewing the work Booklist contributor Frances Bradburn called it “A warm celebration of Latin culture, especially the traditional quinceanera.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor labeled the work “A frivolous but charming story that accurately presents the antics, motivations and dreams” of some Latina teens living in Florida. The contributor explained that this book is probably target at, and will attract Latina teens who adore American music and fashion, but are still deeply entrenched and invested in the customs of their native culture. School Library Journal contributor Emily Garrett Cassady described Fifteen Candles as “a light read that will be of most interest to Hispanic populations.” Cassady also praised Chambers’s characterization, but claimed that there might be too many descriptions of food and designer clothing in the novel.
Chambers’s novel The Go-Between centers on protagonist Camilla “Cammi” del Valle, the daughter of a highly successful and wealthy couple who work in the entertainment industry in Mexico. Cammi’s mother, Carolina del Valle, is the most famous of telenovela (a type of over-the-top soap opera) performers in Mexico. Her father, Reinaldo, is a sought-after voiceover actor who dubs Hollywood movies into Spanish. When the family moves to Beverly Hills to let a minor scandal die down, Cammi finds herself in a thoroughly unfamiliar world. While her mother takes on roles that she might not have accepted in Mexico, such as the part of a maid, Cammi struggles to adjust to life in a city and school where wealth and privilege are used to define a person more than character and ability.
At school, the upscale private Polestar Academy, Cammi befriends Rooney, the African American chef of the cafeteria. When the other students see that the two have become friends, they assume that Cammi is a scholarship student, most likely the daughter of a “domestic” whose family is certainly not rich. As a sort of social experiment, Cammi decides to go along with the case of mistaken identity to see how perceived “lower class” individuals are treated. She assumes a role that makes everyone believe she is from an impoverished background. Soon, however, she finds that she has played this part for too long, and even if she wants to, she can’t reveal her true circumstances without evoking surprise, resentment, perhaps even hatred from her classmates. In assessing The Go-Between, A Kirkus Reviews contributor stated: “There’s much to appreciate in this teen soap with heart,” further remarking that “it’s the story’s exploration of stereotypes that makes it memorable.”
Chambers served as the editor of The Meaning of Michelle: Sixteen Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own. In this book, Chambers “collects essays from sixteen writers, many of them African-American women, about what it’s been like to witness Michelle Obama in the White House,” noted New York Times Book Review contributor Dwight Garner. The authors of the essays include scholars and academics, performers, musicians, political figures, and film industry professionals. Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York City, describes being awe-struck during her first meeting with Obama. Tanisha C. Ford, an associate professor at the University of Delaware, considers the political effects of Michelle Obama’s well-toned upper arms, a physical feature that drew inexplicable criticism from conservatives. “In what might be the finest essay here, Sarah Lewis, an assistant professor at Harvard, writes about the overlapping meanings of what it means to gaze at a public figure, and to be gazed upon,” Garner stated. Library Journal reviewer Jill Ortner remarked that The Meaning of Michelle is an “engaging and delightful collection” that will “help readers recognize that Michelle Obama is a distinct American icon.”
In addition to her own work, Chambers has assisted several celebrities and high-profile experts with their memoirs and autobiographies. For example, she worked with celebrity chef and restaurant owner Marcus Samuelsson on his memoir Yes, Chef; with television broadcaster and host of ABC’s Good Morning America Robin Roberts on her memoir Everybody’s Got Something; and with former football pro and television host Michael Strahan on his inspirational book Wake up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life. In Make It Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life, a follow-up to Samuelsson’s earlier volume, the authors revise the chef’s memoir into a form more suitable for teen readers. The book covers Samuelsson’s birth and early life in Ethiopia, the tragedies he endured while growing up, and his rise to stardom as a Food Network star and restaurateur. Samuelsson and Chambers relate how his parents died of tuberculosis and how he and his sister were adopted by a Swedish couple who allowed him to thrive. Samuelsson was physically too small to become a soccer player, as he wanted, but instead he channeled that energy and drive into studying cooking. His “incomparable work ethic would help him rise to the highest echelons of European cuisine,” commented Maria Alegre, writing in School Library Journal. Alegre called the book a “delightful read” and an “enjoyable memoir.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Chambers, Veronica, Mama’s Girl, Riverhead Books/Putnam (New York, NY), 1996.
Chambers, Veronica, When Did You Stop Loving Me?, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2004.
PERIODICALS
American Visions, December, 1999, review of Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom, p. 37.
Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2003, E. Assata Wright, review of Having It All? Black Women and Success, pp. 56-57, and review of Double Dutch: A Celebration of Jump Rope, Rhyme, and Sisterhood, p. 68; July-August, 2004, Denise Simon, “Strange Lives and Loves Left Behind,” review of When Did You Stop Loving Me?, p. 44.
Booklist, May 1, 1996, Donna Seaman, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 1486; October 1, 1998, Sally Estes, review of Marisol and Magdalena: The Sound of Our Sisterhood, p. 324; February 15, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Amistad Rising, p. 1068; March 15, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 1391; February 15, 2002, review of Marisol and Magdalena, p. 1028; October 15, 2002, Jean Franklin, review of Double Dutch, p. 402; January 1, 2003, Vanessa Bush, review of Having It All?, pp. 818-819; April 15, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of When Did You Stop Loving Me?, p. 1422; March 15, 2006, Emily Cook, review of The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Love, Life, and Foolish Bravery, p. 12; May 15, 2010, Frances Bradburn, review of Fifteen Candles, p. 33; April 15, 2017, Caitlin Kling, review of The Go-Between, p. 50.
BookPage, Jaunary, 2017, Alice Cary, review of The Meaning of Michelle: Sixteen Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own, p. 25.
Book Report, May, 2001, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 57.
Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books, January, 1999, review of Marisol and Magdalena, p. 162; May, 2001, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 332.
Ebony, March, 2003, review of Having It All?, pp. 22- 23.
Entertainment Weekly, August 16, 1996, Megan Harlan, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 56.
Essence, November, 2002, review of Double Dutch; March, 2003, Harriet Cole and Veronica Chambers, “A Delicate Balance: Interview,” p. 116; June, 2004, review of When Did You Stop Loving Me?, p. 136.
Good Housekeeping, January, 2003, Julia A. Savacool, “A New Generation Finds Sweet Success: After Years of Fighting the Stereotypes Pinned on AfricanAmerican Women, Author Veronica Chambers Celebrates Her Sisters’ New Freedom and Achievements,” p. 85.
Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 1996, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 656; February 1, 2001, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 180; December 1, 2002, review of Having It All?, p. 1745; March 15, 2004, review of When Did You Stop Loving Me?, p. 237; May 15, 2005, review of Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa, p. 585; April 1, 2009, review of Plus; April 15, 2010, review of Fifteen Candles; April 1, 2017, review of The Go-Between.
Library Journal, July, 1996, Jeris Cassel, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 126; November 1, 2002, Ann Burns, review of Having It All?, p. 115; January, 2003, Douglas C. Lord, review of Having It All?, pp. 138- 139; January 1, 2017, Jill Ortner, review of The Meaning of Michelle, p. 116.
Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2003, Susan Salter Reynolds, review of Having It All?, p. R-15.
Ms., July-August, 1996, Jill L. Petty, review of Mama’s Girl, pp. 84-85.
Newsweek, July 12, 2004, Sean Smith, “The Lady Vanishes: In This Debut Novel, It’s Not the Dad Who Leaves the Family,” p. 64.
New York Times Book Review, March 14, 1999, review of Marisol and Magdalena, p. 30; March 30, 2003, Diane Scharper, review of Having It All?, p. 16; January 5, 2017, Dwight Garner, “Review: The Meaning of Michelle, a First Lady Unlike Any Other,” review of The Meaning of Michelle.
People, July 1, 1996, Claire McHugh, review of Mama’s Girl, pp. 29- 30.
Publishers Weekly, May 6, 1996, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 63; March 16, 1998, review of Amistad Rising, p. 64; February 5, 2001, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 90; September 9, 2002, “Girl World,” review of Double Dutch, p. 70; December 9, 2002, review of Having It All?, p. 75; November 20, 2006, review of Kickboxing Geishas: How Modern Japanese Women Are Changing Their Nation, p. 55.
School Library Journal, July, 1996, Dottie Kraft, review of Mama’s Girl, p. 109; April, 1998, Shirley Wilton, review of Amistad Rising, p. 97, Marilyn Heath, review of The Harlem Renaissance, p. 142; December, 1998, Sylvia V. Meisner, review of Marisol and Magdalena, p. 121; August, 1999, review of Marisol and Magdalena, p. 38; June, 2001, Trish Anderson, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 144; December, 2002, Kathleen Whalen, review of Double Dutch, p. 157; June, 2009, Sarah Krygier, review of Plus, p. 118; July, 2010, Emily Garrett Cassady, review of Fifteen Candles, p. 54; May, 2015, Maria Alegre, review of Make It Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life, p. 142.
Seventeen, August 6, 2010, review of Plus.
Social Education, May, 1999, review of Amistad Rising, p. 8.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 2001, review of Quinceañera Means Sweet Fifteen, p. 273; April, 2017, Bethany Martin, review of The Go-Between, p. 56.
Washington Monthly, April, 2003, Debra J. Dickerson, “Post-Ghetto Fabulous: Coming to Grips with Black Women’s Success,” pp. 50-51.
Women’s Review of Books, October, 2003, E. Frances White, “The Price of Success,” review of Having It All?, pp. 17- 19.
ONLINE
Eye on Books, http:// www.eyeonbooks.com/ (June 9, 2003), Bill Thompson, “Interview with Veronica Chambers.”
Hypable, http://www.hypable.com/ (May 9, 2017), Ariana Quinonez, “Author Interview: Veronica Chambers Questions Mexican Immigrant Stereotypes in The Go-Between.“
John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship Website, http://jsk.stanford.edu/ (September 16, 2017), biography of Veronica Chambers.
Lordly & Dame Web site, http://www.lordly.com/ (January 26, 2004), “Veronica Chambers.”
National Public Radio Web Site, http://www.npr.org/ (January 26, 2004), “Veronica Chambers, Rita Dove: Conversation between Writer and Poet.”
NJ.com, http://www.nj.com/ (May 28, 2017), Jacqueline Cutler, “Veronica Chambers’ Latest Crosses Borders, Builds Bridges,” review of The Go-Between.
Rhapsody in Books Weblog, http://rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com/ (August 4, 2017), review of The Go-Between.
Utne, http:// www.utne.com/ (January 26, 2003), Veronica Chambers, “Dreadlocked: You See My Hair, but Do You See Me?”
Veronica Chambers Website, http://www.veronicachambers.com (September 16, 2017).
Xpresso Reads, http://www.xpressoreads.com/ (May 17, 2017), review of The Go-Between.*
Veronica Chambers is a prolific author, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir, Mama's Girl which has been course adopted by hundreds of high schools and colleges throughout the country. The New Yorker called Mama's Girl, "a troubling testament to grit and mother love… one of the finest and most evenhanded in the genre in recent years." Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, her work often reflects her Afro-Latina heritage.
She coauthored the award-winning memoir Yes Chef with chef Marcus Samuelsson as well as Samuelsson’s young adult memoir Make It Messy, and has collaborated on four New York Times bestsellers, most recently 32 Yolks, which she cowrote with chef Eric Ripert. She has been a senior editor at the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Glamour. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, she writes often about her Afro-Latina heritage. She speaks, reads, and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish. She is currently a JSK Knight fellow at Stanford University.
Veronica Chambers is an Afro-Latina writer who was born in Panama.[1] She edited the 2017 collection of essays on Michelle Obama, The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own,[2] and co-wrote Marcus Samuelsson's 2012 memoir Yes, Chef,[3] which became a New York Times best-seller[4] and won the 2013 James Beard Award for Writing and Literature.[5] Chambers' own memoir Mama's Girl was published in 1996 with Riverhead; reviewing the book in the Los Angeles Times, Michelle Huneven described it as the account of "a black Caribbean immigrant family whose daily life is fraught with financial hardship, leavened with the comradeship of spirited, Spanish-speaking black women, and disrupted by harrowing and violent domestic warfare."[6]
Chambers is a 2017 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.[7]
Veronica Chambers
Veronica Chambers ('17)
Journalist and author, Hoboken, N.J.
vvc1@stanford.edu, @vvchambers
Question: How can journalists imagine new roles and create new opportunities using the wealth of skills that our industry requires?
Veronica Chambers deepened her passions for innovation and collaboration while at Stanford. During her fellowship, she took classes at the Graduate School of Business and taught workshops and gave lectures at the GSB, as well as in the fields of narrative nonfiction, gender studies and science writing. A longtime fan of graphic novels, she took a class in the subject and engaged in projects that strengthened her skills as a visual storyteller. Veronica is looking forward to jumping into new projects in the year ahead: both in long form journalism and new digital platforms as well as continuing the peer mentoring of helping journalists pivot and find new outlets for their storytelling skills.
About Veronica
Veronica Chambers is a prolific author and journalist, best known for her critically acclaimed memoir Mama’s Girl and The New York Times Bestseller Yes Chef, which was co-authored with chef Marcus Samuelsson. She has taught creative writing and worked as a writing coach for Senator Cory Booker on his nonfiction debut, United. She is the editor of the upcoming anthology, The Meaning of Michelle: 15 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own. Chambers has held numerous leadership positions at magazines. She was a culture writer at Newsweek, a story editor at The New York Times Magazine and as a director of brand development at Hearst magazines. She was also the founding editor of Condé Nast’s Glam Latina. Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, much of her work is rooted in her Afro-Latina heritage. In 2017, she will publish The Go-Between, a young adult novel. Her husband Jason Clampet is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Skift.com. Veronica and Jason have a 9-year-old daughter.
Information on this page is from the fellowship year.
Author Interview: Veronica Chambers questions Mexican immigrant stereotypes in ‘The Go-Between’
9:00 AM EDT, MAY 9, 2017
BY ARIANA QUIÑÓNEZ
AUTHOR INTERVIEW, BOOKS, INTERVIEW
Critically-acclaimed author Veronica Chambers talks to us about her new YA novel The Go-Between, a high school dramedy that questions Mexican American immigrant stereotypes amidst a telenovela and Beverly Hills background.
The Go-Between comes out today, Tuesday, May 9, 2017! Here’s what author Veronica Chambers had to say about her novel’s mother-daughter love story, as well as the importance of finding joy and beauty in one’s cultural heritage:
Give us your elevator pitch for ‘The Go-Between’!
Cammi is the rich daughter of a telenovela actress. In Mexico City, everyone knows her Mom and her family. When they move to LA, Cammi discovers the joys of anonymity. She also realizes that the kids at her new fancy prep school think she’s a scholarship student from East LA. As she goes along with their assumptions, she begins to wonder: is she playing them or is she playing herself?
Where did the initial spark of your story stem from?
Initial spark for story came from me wanting to write a Latina mother-daughter story but in a totally different setting than one I’d ever created before.
You have a background as a television writer. How do you think your work in television has influenced your novel writing, particularly in regards to ‘The Go-Between’?
Writing for TV was a huge influence on this book, partly because you realize in casting what a vast gap there was between who people are and who they play. You sometimes see Shakespearan trained actors playing janitors. And at the same time, I’ve seen actresses who are really well known for playing wealthy, super cultured women come in and they are well, let’s just say the exact opposite.
In your book, Camilla’s mom is a telenovela star! Were you a fan of telenovelas growing up? If so, what are some of your favorite telenovelas?
My Mom and my abuelas watched telenovelas constantly. The thing is that they were so short, six months at a time — I never got attached to any one series. As a kid, I loved series— like Nancy Drew — I love following the same characters over a long, long arc.
Writing Camilla’s story requires an understanding of two very specific experiences — the “Rick Kids of Mexico City” perspective, as well as the Mexican-immigrant experience in Los Angeles. How did research play a role in your creative process while writing ‘The Go-Between’?
I definitely had to research parts of this. I studied in Mexico when I was in college but the Rich Kids of Mexico City wasn’t a phenomenon back then.
I’m from Panama but I’m very inspired by Mexico — always have been.
It means the world to me that Karla Souza, who stars in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, reads the audio of the book and that she loved it. She’s from Mexico and that it rang true to her — as well as to my own friends from Mexico City — means a lot.
Considering the current political climate in the United States regarding Mexican immigrants in particular, what do you hope young Latinx readers, or young adult readers in general, get from your book?
I finished The Go-Between over a year before this last presidential election. I seriously could never have imagined this particular climate. I hope that the book makes young readers question the stereotypes, but also more than anything, I hope readers of color feel emboldened by the message at the heart of the book which is that all immigrants may not be as wealthy as Cammi and her family, but our culture and our heritage is a rich, valuable inheritance that we bring wherever we go.
This novel explores the theme of racism by highlighting the stereotypes put upon Latinx immigrants. What do you think are some of the most important issues regarding diversity in the media and young adult literature today?
I just think we need more voices and more stories. And it’s okay if some of those stories poke fun at the issues. Not everything can and should be so serious. Laughter and humor is part of our legacy too.
You and your husband have endowed several scholarships to students in the fields of music and literature. Why is education, particularly education in the arts, so important to you?
Scholarships to writing programs and different arts programs gave me everything I have today. It created a tremendous sense of opportunity in my own life and helped bolster me against the hardship of my own situation so I could move forward with a sense of possibility and imagination. I have to try to give that back in every way that I can.
Finally: what makes you passionate about Camilla’s story?
I love that Camilla is trying to figure it out. We tell kids there are no stupid questions. But when you throw race in the mix, there are a lot of questions — some are painful to ask, some are painful to answer and we all say stupid things sometimes. I hope readers feel after reading Cammi’s story that it’s not about one moment or interaction, it’s about staying heart strong and moving forward. Like Maya Angelou used to say, when you know better, you do better.
ABOUT ‘THE GO-BETWEEN’
Fans of Jane the Virgin will find much to love about The Go-Between, a coming-of-age novel from bestselling author Veronica Chambers, who with humor and humanity explores issues of identity and belonging in a world that is ever-changing.
She is the envy of every teenage girl in Mexico City. Her mother is a glamorous telenovela actress. Her father is the go-to voice-over talent for blockbuster films. Hers is a world of private planes, chauffeurs, paparazzi and gossip columnists. Meet Camilla del Valle — Cammi to those who know her best.
When Cammi’s mom gets cast in an American television show and the family moves to LA, things change, and quickly. Her mom’s first role is playing a not-so-glamorous maid in a sitcom. Her dad tries to find work but dreams about returning to Mexico. And at the posh, private Polestar Academy, Cammi’s new friends assume she’s a scholarship kid, the daughter of a domestic.
At first Cammi thinks playing along with the stereotypes will be her way of teaching her new friends a lesson. But the more she lies, the more she wonders: Is she only fooling herself?
The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers comes out today, Tuesday, May 9, 2017! You can order the book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local independent bookstore.
Chambers, Veronica. The Go-Between
Bethany Martin
40.1 (Apr. 2017): p56.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
2Q * 3P * J
Chambers, Veronica. The Go-Between. Delacorte/Penguin Random House, 2017. 208p. $16.99. 978-1-101-93095-3.
Camilla del Valle leads a seemingly charmed life. The daughter of one of Mexico's biggest telenovela stars and the most successful voice-over actor, Cami enjoys material comforts and luxuries most people only dream of--private planes, chauffeurs, an AmEx Black card--but she has trouble making friends, never sure who actually likes her and who is just in awe of her mother. When Cami's mother lands a role on an American television show, the family moves to L.A. While Cami misses her Mexico City home, she is excited to create a new, American version of herself with people whose friendship she can trust. When school friends assume she is a poor, scholarship student, Cami goes along with it as a sort-of sociological experiment; however, she soon finds herself going to great lengths to keep up the charade.
The feeling of being caught between two worlds is one to which many young adults, particularly those from immigrant backgrounds, will relate. Issues of subtle (and not-so-subtle) racism, assimilation, and social class are addressed. Most characters, though, including Cami, and the relationships among them are not developed, leaving readers unsure if any particular action is in-character or represents change or growth. Some characters who are introduced, like the chemistry teacher, have no relevance to the plot. Descriptive passages are wordy and repetitive. More young adult books addressing the issues in The Go-Between are needed, but flaws in the writing and lack of character development make this a secondary purchase.--Bethany Martin.
QUALITY
5Q Hard to imagine it being better written.
4Q Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses.
3Q Readable, without serious defects.
2Q Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q.
1Q Hard to understand how it got published, except in relation to its P rating (and not even then sometimes).
POPULARITY
5P Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
3P Will appeal with pushing.
2P For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject.
1P No YA will read unless forced to for assignments.
GRADE LEVEL INTEREST
M Middle School (defined as grades 6-8).
J Junior High (defined as grades 7-9).
S Senior High (defined as grades 10-12).
A/YA Adult-marketed book recommended for YAs.
NA New Adult (defined as college-age).
R Reluctant readers (defined as particularly suited for reluctant readers).
(a) Highlighted Reviews Graphic Novel Format
(G) Graphic Novel Format
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Martin, Bethany. "Chambers, Veronica. The Go-Between." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2017, p. 56+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA491949470&it=r&asid=5b834922da701d704027ff4a22295779. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491949470
Chambers, Veronica: THE GO-BETWEEN
(Apr. 1, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Chambers, Veronica THE GO-BETWEEN Delacorte (Children's Fiction) $16.99 5, 9 ISBN: 978-1-101-93095-3
The daughter of a Mexican telenovela superstar pretends to be a poor scholarship kid at a posh Los Angeles prep school. In Mexico City, everyone knows Camilla's A-list family: her mother, Carolina del Valle, is a paparazzi-besieged leading lady, and her father, Reinaldo, is a voice-over actor for Hollywood movies dubbed in Spanish. When the tabloids find out Camilla's mom is on anti-anxiety meds, the family decides to temporarily move to Beverly Hills, so Carolina can work on her first English-language project: an American sitcom. At tony private school Polestar Academy, Camilla befriends Rooney, the sweet and talented African-American school chef--causing two classmates (one biracial, one white) to mistakenly believe Camilla is a low-income student--and the daughter of "a domestic." Equally annoyed and amused, likable if naive Camilla plays along with their misconceptions, since her mom is a maid...on television. A bottle blonde with designer clothes, Camilla never thought of herself as a person of color in her native Mexico, but pretending opens her eyes to how Latinos in the U.S. are treated and underestimated. There's a well-researched authenticity to the author's descriptions of everything from Mexican culture to couture clothing, but it's the story's exploration of stereotypes that makes it memorable. One misstep, however, is the romance, which is so light it's ultimately unnecessary. There's much to appreciate in this teen soap with heart, even if it wraps up a little too neatly. (Fiction. 12-16)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Chambers, Veronica: THE GO-BETWEEN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA487668425&it=r&asid=d991b2e2f332ab8c66bce950068965af. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A487668425
The Go-Between
Caitlin Kling
113.16 (Apr. 15, 2017): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
The Go-Between. By Veronica Chambers. May 2017.208p. Delacorte. $16.99 (9781101930953); e-book, $16.99 (9781101930960). Gr. 7-10.
Chambers' CPlus, 2010) latest offers a distinct perspective on the complex and current issue of Mexican immigration to the U.S. Cammi's mother is one of the most famous telenovela stars in Mexico, and her family enjoys a decadent lifestyle in the heart of Mexico City. The problem is, she has never quite fit in with the other #RichKidsOfMexicoCity at her school, who flaunt their wealth on social media for attention. When Cammi's mother lands a role on a popular American sitcom, the whole family gets the opportunity to reinvent themselves in L.A. After she arrives at her new school, Cammi must decide how to confront being stereotyped. Cammi's sharp but sincere voice guides readers through her reasoning to, at first, play the part of "poor housemaid's daughter," but eventually explore her identity as both a Mexican and an American. Cammi's is a short but rich tale that illuminates the nuanced experience of a girl who, despite her privilege, still grapples with who she is and where she belongs. --Caitlin Kling
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Kling, Caitlin. "The Go-Between." Booklist, 15 Apr. 2017, p. 50. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA492536241&it=r&asid=cb182d3dad04317fde0cdded35baf70f. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A492536241
The Meaning of Michelle
Alice Cary
(Jan. 2017): p25.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
THE MEANING OF MICHELLE
Edited by Veronica
Chambers
St. Martin's
$24.99, 240 pages
ISBN 9781250114969
eBook available
ESSAYS
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
As the Obamas leave the White House, their departure saddens many, as evidenced by the essays in The Meaning of Michelle, a diverse collection united by admiration in a "praise song" anthology. Whether discussing Michelle Obama's shapely arms, her fashion sense or her "Evolution of Mom Dancing" with Jimmy Fallon, these 16 writers would all agree with chef Marcus Samuelsson's observation: "It's nothing short of stunning the way she manages a 24/7 news cycle."
Samuelsson got to know the first lady in 2009 while planning and cooking the Obamas' first state dinner, for the prime minister of India and 400 guests. He concludes, "I think she embodies the ability to shape the conversation around her better than any person that I know."
Here and there, we learn interesting tidbits of Michelle's past, such as the horrifying fact that when she attended Princeton as an undergraduate in the 1980s, the family of her first roommate protested to the administration that their daughter had been assigned to room with a black person. (It would certainly be interesting to check in on this family now.) We're also reminded of smile-worthy moments, such as the self-proclaimed mom-in-chief's response that if she could be anyone other than herself, it would be Beyonce.
Those who feel despondent about FLOTUS leaving the White House are likely to rally behind novelist and essayist Cathi Hanauer's closing plea: "She has said she'll never run for president herself. To that I say: Never say never, Michelle. Let's just see where we all are a decade from now."
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cary, Alice. "The Meaning of Michelle." BookPage, Jan. 2017, p. 25. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA475225451&it=r&asid=3f7b6b2b8db8ae7f0918674169a75e41. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A475225451
The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own
Jill Ortner
142.1 (Jan. 1, 2017): p116.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own. St. Martin's. Jan. 2017.240p. ed. by Veronica Chambers, notes. ISBN 9781250114969. $24.99; ebk. ISBN 9781250114976. POL SCI
Editor Chambers (Mama's Girl) has assembled an engaging and delightful collection to help readers recognize that Michelle Obama is a distinct American icon, welcomed for her fresh approach to the role of First Lady. The essayists in this collection include women's studies and African American scholars, musicians, film industry leaders, and best-selling authors. For example, Hamilton star Phillipa Soo describes Obama's visit to her dressing room at the Public Theater, saying "this is the best piece of art I've ever seen." Many essays are lighthearted tributes to the ability of the author to relate to the experience of the First Lady as a black female professional, a "mom-inchief," or a devoted popular culture and pop music fan. Several express their admiration for Obama's ease and refusing to give in to pressures and expectations to be someone she is not. Most express a belief that she is an example for African American girls and women to refuse limitations to dreams and goals. VERDICT Readers who wish to know more about the First Lady's influence and who want to understand her impact will enjoy the perceptions expressed in this unusual collection. [See Prepub Alert, 7/18/16.]--Jill Ortner, SUNY Buffalo Libs.
Ortner, Jill
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Ortner, Jill. "The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own." Library Journal, 1 Jan. 2017, p. 116. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA476562420&it=r&asid=2a68b94e99f4820d812b671c5e08e305. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A476562420
Samuelsson, Marcus with Veronica Chambers. Make It Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life
Maria Alegre
61.5 (May 2015): p142.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
SAMUELSSON, Marcus with Veronica Chambers. Make It Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life. 224p. ebook available, photos. Delacorte. Jun. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780385744003.
Gr 8 Up--Aspiring chefs and fans of the Food Network will appreciate learning about the incredible journey of celebrity chef Samuelsson from this new edition of his autobiography Yes, Chef (Random, 2012), adapted for a teen audience. Samuelsson's perfectly imperfect life began in Ethiopia. An orphan whose parents died of tuberculosis, Samuelsson and his sister were adopted by a couple living in Sweden, where they thrived under the warmth and protection of their new parents. The Samuelssons instilled in him a strong work ethic, while his beloved grandmother nurtured his interest in food and cuisine. Devastated by his failure as a soccer player due to his slight weight and stature, Samuelsson instead decided to train as a chef. His incomparable work ethic would help him rise to the highest echelons of European cuisine, while a chance opportunity would elevate him to become the youngest chef ever to receive three stars from the New York Times. This new edition is a delightful read, and Samuelsson effectively connects his love of food to his personal journey. He is a clear and thoughtful storyteller, conveying his frustration about how his race made him an outsider. His refusal to quit amid adversity is admirable. In adjusting his book for teenage readers, however, Samuelsson leaves out many compelling chapters about his life, including the experience of meeting his biological family in Ethiopia and winning the covetous award for the best chef in the United States. VERDICT While this is an enjoyable memoir, libraries would be better served by purchasing Yes, Chef.--Maria Alegre, The Dalton School, New York
Alegre, Maria
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Alegre, Maria. "Samuelsson, Marcus with Veronica Chambers. Make It Messy: My Perfectly Imperfect Life." School Library Journal, May 2015, p. 142. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA413169638&it=r&asid=3fabd799dc3d6b92adfb5cb4b4a14e20. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A413169638
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017
Review: The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers
Posted by Rashika
Review: The Go-Between by Veronica Chambers
The Go Between
Veronica Chambers
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Publication date: May 9th, 2017
by Delacorte Press
GoodreadsPurchase
Fans of Jane the Virgin will find much to love about this coming-of-age novel from bestselling author Veronica Chambers, who with humor and humanity explores issues of identity and belonging in a world that is ever-changing.
She is the envy of every teenage girl in Mexico City. Her mother is a glamorous telenovela actress. Her father is the go-to voice-over talent for blockbuster films. Hers is a world of private planes, chauffeurs, paparazzi and gossip columnists. Meet Camilla del Valle Cammi to those who know her best.
When Cammi s mom gets cast in an American television show and the family moves to LA, things change, and quickly. Her mom s first role is playing a not-so-glamorous maid in a sitcom. Her dad tries to find work but dreams about returning to Mexico. And at the posh, private Polestar Academy, Cammi s new friends assume she s a scholarship kid, the daughter of a domestic.
At first Cammi thinks playing along with the stereotypes will be her way of teaching her new friends a lesson. But the more she lies, the more she wonders: Is she only fooling herself?
-A copy was provided by Delacorte Press for review-
The Go-Between is part fluff and part social commentary. It is this incredible feel good book about a girl has to leave her home country behind to move to America because her mom has landed a roll in American TV. What The Go-Between really tries to break down intersectionality and explore various privileged and oppressed identities.
How does Cammi’s life change when she moves from Mexico City to LA? Her family still has enormous socio-economic privilege but her life does change. The way her classmates interact with her changes and the way she is perceived and stereotyped by her classmates completely changed. Without even getting the chance to introduce herself, her new rich, white classmates craft an identity for her based on racist stereotypes.
And yet even though for the first time in her life Cammi has to deal with oppression and racism, she still have socio-economic privileges she has always taken for advantage and continues to take advantage of when her family moves to LA. She plays along with the poor, scholarship kid that works multiple jobs identity that has been crafted for her while undermining her classmates who are actually poor and have to have a job.
Her transition to LA is more than just her becoming aware of what its like to be Latinx in America, its about her realizing the enormous socio-economic privilege she does have and balancing her various identities.
The Go-Between is a thought-provoking book and yet I feel like the writing falls just a little short for me. The book is quick and easy to read, and maybe it is because I read an arc and not a finished copy, but I feel like the book needs so much more polishing. There are ragged sentences and some minor plot arcs that aren’t quite wrapped up within the book. I usually don’t even notice editing/writing things (hell, I am probably not going to be proof reading this post because I am exhausted all the time and need sleep) but it really stood out to me with this book and I think it did dampen the reading experience for me. But do remember that I read an ARC and for so many books, the ARC and finished copy are worlds apart so who knows what changes were made.
Overall, I do think The Go-Between is a book worth taking a chance on (especially since it is #own voices) and one that many people will enjoy.
Veronica Chambers' latest crosses borders, builds bridges
Comment
Updated on May 28, 2017 at 9:22 AM Posted on May 28, 2017 at 7:00 AM
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By Jacqueline Cutler
For NJ Advance Media
"The Go-Between"
By Veronica Chambers
(Delacorte Press, 197 pp, $16.99)
About a decade ago, my local library finally added a young adults section and my daughter went on a binge, making her way through all of the shelves within a year.
When I was a teen we went from children's to adult books. Curious about this genre, I read a bunch, and since have reviewed some. Too often they're drowning in teen angst or suffering in some dystopian outpost. Yet their popularity meant everyone, from internationally acclaimed authors to self-publishers, churned them out.
The trick with young adult literature as with any great book, is that there is no trick. Layered characters, interesting dynamics and a solid story make the book. And "The Go-Between" is terrific. Veronica Chambers, of Hoboken, takes us into a life not often imagined.
Cammi is a daughter of tremendous privilege in Mexico City, where her glamorous mother, Maria Carolina Josefina del Valle y Calderon, is the top telenovela star. For those unfamiliar with the genre, Chambers explains: "The thing about telenovela culture is, it's all about bigger is better. Shoulder-length hair isn't good enough. Your hair has to be Rapunzel-long, for when the wind machine gets going. It's ultra-dramatic. The dresses are tight, the heels are high, and the makeup is two ticks away from being drag-queen worthy. My mom does it well. She's considered to be the best telenovela actress in Mexico because no one can out-bombshell her."
Paparazzi wait outside their gates but the bigger threat is kidnappers. Chambers doesn't go that route, though. As privileged as Cammi is growing up with servants, and a black American Express card to buy whatever she wants, her parents and adored older brother keep her grounded.
The family moves when Cammi's mom takes a job in Los Angeles, playing a maid on TV show. They buy a house in Beverly Hills and Cammi enrolls in private school. She didn't have many friends in Mexico City; most girls wanted to be Cammi's friend to meet her mother, take selfies and get autographs. The one girl Cammi thought was her best friend did something atrocious to the family, prompting their move.
Cammi is a teenager of privilege but because she's Mexican her new classmates in Califonia assume she's poor.
Cammi is a teenager of privilege but because she's Mexican her new classmates in Califonia assume she's poor.
In Los Angeles, Cammi has no one and so she sits alone at lunch, enjoying the cafeteria food. No wonder, the menus are inventive.
Cammi starts to read the chef's blog and the chef invites Cammi to hang out in the kitchen and begins teaching her how to cook.
When other students see Cammi in the kitchen, they assume that because she's from Mexico, she's a poor scholarship student who must work in the kitchen.
A lot of assumptions are made about her. And Cammi - seething with the unadulterated self-righteousness burnished to such a glorious sheen in teenagers - lets them think that.
Soon, two girls befriend her. They're not bad kids, just extraordinarily sheltered in that way the rich can be, yet are charitable and want to help Cammi. The problem is everything they do is based on assumption. And rather than correct them that she comes from just as much money as they, Cammi lets them believe she is a poor kid from East L.A. The one girl in their class, who really is a poor girl from East L.A., knows who Cammi's mom is and threatens to out her if she doesn't come clean.
Chambers' deftly inhabits Cammi's psyche and seamlessly weaves in Spanish phrases, which are translated. As the school year continues, Cammi knows she's wrong but justifies her lies because of the other girls' inherently racist assumptions.
"I am what clinical psychologists refer to as a relaxed liar. I was enjoying myself. I was comfortable with my material and my audience. I didn't give any tics because the lies flowed easily and I felt good about them. Slightly psychopathic, I know."
Of course a lie this complicated is bound to fall apart and being self-aware isn't going to prevent the fall-out. Cammi misses her brother, studying abroad, and is close with her dad, also an actor. Still, she's in everyone's shadows and had hoped life would be easier and different in America.
"But maybe the truth was that I'd done a better job of blending in with the stereotypes than blending into any crowd."
And that's the beauty of the lesson of this book: Believing the stereotype is easy, understanding the truth takes work.
Review: ‘The Meaning of
Michelle,
’ a First Lady Unlike Any
Other
Books of The Times
By DWIGHT GARNER JAN. 5, 2017
Who will Americans miss more, Barack or Michelle Obama? He needs her, it’s
become clear, the way ivy needs an oak. As this estimable couple shift into private
life, others may need her as well, and lonely eyes will increasingly turn in her
direction.
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is all of 52. She has, you suspect, a
memoir to write. And after that? Whether or not she ultimately enters politics, her
every move will be political in a way it has rarely been for most of this country’s first
ladies.
She will be watched for lessons in how to speak for certain values, in how to
behave, in how to live a meaningful and expressive and nondull life. The most
interesting things she has to offer might still be in front of us.
A new book, “The Meaning of Michelle,” collects essays from 16 writers, many of
them African-American women, about what it’s been like to witness Michelle Obama
in the White House. “Witness” is the correct word. The first thing most of these
This is because, first of all, she so resembles them. The novelist Benilde Little, in
her essay, notes that Mrs. Obama is entrancing, partly because she is “a darkskinned
woman without ‘classically’ beautiful features and no social provenance.”
Damon Young, the editor of the digital magazine VSB (Very Smart Brothas), suggests
that while Mrs. Obama’s hair is full and stylish, it is not what is commonly and
perversely referred to as “good hair.” He writes: “It was black hair, the type of hair
that communicated to us all that she knew what her ‘kitchen’ was, was very well
acquainted with the nap, and had a back-and-forth relationship with hot combs.”
Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York City, describes meeting Mrs. Obama
and simply “looking up in awe at a whole lot of tall and gorgeous.”
Many of the contributors to “The Meaning of Michelle” linger upon Mrs.
Obama’s toned upper arms. At least one of them, this book’s editor, Veronica
Chambers, admits to waking before 5 a.m. two days a week to try to get guns like that
herself.
Tanisha C. Ford, an associate professor at the University of Delaware, considers
the political implications of those arms. While Jackie Kennedy also wore sleeveless
frocks, she writes, “her milky arms were read as lithe and petite, nonthreatening.”
Conservative pundits found Mrs. Obama’s arms too masculine, Ms. Ford writes,
and this fixation allowed them to “have a conversation about the whole of her body
and the ways in which it was out of place in the White House.”
In what might be the finest essay here, Sarah Lewis, an assistant professor at
Harvard, writes about the overlapping meanings of what it means to gaze at a public
figure, and to be gazed upon.
“Authenticity is not an achievement,” she writes. “Yet authenticity does take
effort if you are upending centuries of history with your mere presence. It takes work
to let people stare, wonder, probe and prod to determine the veracity of your life.”
Mrs. Obama performed an odd sort of service, Ms. Lewis writes, by “donating her
body to the nation’s gaze for constant assessment for us all.”
Several of the writers in “The Meaning of Michelle” assess Mrs. Obama’s
initiatives while first lady, especially her work to understand and prevent child
obesity. Many seem more impressed by her work as a mother.
“When she declared herself mom-in-chief to the chagrin of many white
feminists who felt that she should ‘lean in,’ many black women celebrated,” writes
Brittney Cooper, an assistant professor at Rutgers University. “For once, AfricanAmerican
motherhood would be center stage in American politics in a celebratory
manner. As mom-in-chief, Michelle Obama could correct decades-long stereotypes
of black women as neglectful parents and money-grubbing welfare queens.”
Social class emerges frequently in this volume. Mrs. Obama does not come from
money. Her father, who had multiple sclerosis, tended boilers at a water-filtration
plant. The writer Ylonda Gault Caviness says that Mrs. Obama’s style and cadences,
born during a childhood of modest means, are “as familiar to me as stovetop hot
combs and fried chicken gizzards.”
Ms. Little notes that the members of Mrs. Obama’s family did not belong to the
black bourgeoisie in Chicago. She contrasts Mrs. Obama’s upbringing with that of
her fellow Chicagoan Valerie Jarrett, the Obamas’ political godmother, “who grew up
going to her family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard,” and who “introduced that Black
Bourgeois mecca to Michelle and Barack.”
When the essays here don’t work, it is generally because the contributor
absorbed this book’s subtitle, “16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her
Journey Inspires Our Own,” and took its second half too literally. The most firstperson
of the essays here are deeply solipsistic and third-rate. It’s Mrs. Obama these
writers admire, but it’s themselves they wish to emote about.
Other contributions, such as Roxane Gay’s, seem to have been dashed off in the
back seat of an Uber. The chef Marcus Samuelsson’s tepid essay may not have been
literally phoned in, but it reads as if Ms. Chambers — she is the co-author of “Yes,
Chef” (2012), his very good memoir — had merely transcribed a telephone
conversation with him.
Mrs. Obama is compared to many historical and contemporary figures in this
book, from Sojourner Truth and Zora Neale Hurston to Beyoncé and Angela Bassett.
The best thing about her, though, nearly all of these writers contend, is that
she’s been like no one else at all.
Follow Dwight Garner on Twitter: @DwightGarner
The Meaning of Michelle: 16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey
Inspires Our Own
Edited by Veronica Chambers
Illustrated. 220 pages. St. Martin’s Press. $24.99.
A version of this review appears in print on January 6, 2017, on Page C23 of the New York edition with
the headline: Eyes on a First Lady Unlike Any Other.
Review of “The Go-Between” by Veronica Chambers
Posted on 08/04/2017 by rhapsodyinbooks
Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, this author writes often about her Afro-Latina heritage. She speaks, reads, and writes Spanish, but she is truly fluent in Spanglish, which she demonstrates ably in this novel for young adults.
This is a coming-of-age story about a rich Mexican teenager, Cammi – she is the daughter of a famous wealthy telenovela actress – who moves to LA with her family. At her new school, she is stunned by the stereotypes about Mexicans with which she is confronted, and decides to “reinvent” herself by playing along with them. Her motives are mixed: for one thing, she always felt stifled by the restrictions and expectations that being the daughter of a famous mother imposed on her life and how that affected her friendships. She also liked being someone new and different; it was like starring in her own telenovela. Third, she wanted to find out just how racist her new friends could be. Unfortunately, as time went on and she no longer wanted to lie, it had gone on for too long; she didn’t know how to climb out of the hole she had dug for herself without making everyone hate her for the deception.
Milly, a Latina at the school, knew who Cammi really was because she read the Spanish edition of “People Magazine.” She was furious at Cammi for living this lie that she felt did not help the dangerous situation of immigrants in the U.S. She told her:
“You’re an educated Mexican who came here with buckets of cash. You could change the minds of kids at this school who think we’re all one stereotype after another. Maybe those same kids would go home and talk to their parents. The parents at this school have influence. They get it done. But instead of being a force for good, you’re fake slumming it and perpetuating stereotypes.”
Milly challenged her to tell her friends, but Cammi was basically chicken, so one day Milly just “outed” her.
Her new friends were justifiably hurt and angry, and Cammi didn’t know if or how she could ever make it right again.
Discussion: There is much to like about this book. As the author stated in the forward, she wanted to shed light on “…the struggle for a sense of self and place for Latinas in this country . . . regardless of your class.” She made a good start on showing how that problem affects immigrants.
I appreciated the insertion of so many Spanish phrases, followed by their translations. (Humorously to me, I had more trouble with the California slang!) I also loved Cammi’s father, who taught her that their elite status was “a fabrication of a culture that makes the little people you see on your TV screens into BFDs….”
Lastly, I liked that the author brought up the idea of the social construction of race, although she didn’t go too deeply into the concept.
Cammi learns, for example:
“. . . since we’d moved to the U.S., I’d come to think that not having to think about skin color was a way of being white – regardless of your skin color. In America, and in Los Angeles specifically, if you were Mexican, you were ‘brown’ – no matter how white your skin was. Whiteness, I came to understand pretty quickly, was something you were given – like a passport or a green card. It wasn’t actually a visual reality.”
[As sociologists have established, the norms and definition of “whiteness” in the U.S. were developed and refined as part of a system of racial oppression, the necessity for which arose during the early years of slavery. Prior to that time, although Europeans recognized differences in the color of human skin, they did not categorize themselves as white. But in the U.S. such distinctions were deemed necessary beginning as early as 1662, after challenges of legal status by mulattos (people of mixed race). Virginia passed laws establishing that the legal status of the mother, not the father, as stipulated in Britain, determined the legal status of the child. Annette Gordon-Reed explains in her Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Hemingses of Monticello, that this change from British law ensured that white masters could retain the value of “increase” when these female slaves gave birth, because as long as the child’s mother was a slave, it wouldn’t matter who the father was. Masters could therefore continue to exploit the popular option of using female slaves for sex without having to worry that this would cause them to lose their “property.” Other states, particularly in the South, quickly followed suit. Further laws were passed to ensure that even “one drop” of “black blood” made the difference between slavery and freedom. You can read more about the history of the “one drop rule” (and its uniqueness to the U.S.) here.
Before long, “whiteness” came to signify the supremacy of one socially and legally defined population over others, while simultaneously inculcating notions that character, intelligence, and other traits were associated with whiteness or non-whiteness. Today, as the New York Times recently observed, “whiteness continue[s] to be defined, as before, primarily by what it isn’t. . . “]
One negative aspect of the story for me is that the two romances involving Cammi and her brother make “InstaLove” look like slow motion. NanosecondLove would be more like it.
Evaluation: I think young adults will enjoy this book. Although the ending was probably a bit too much “and everything worked out great” that might have been an ironic wink at the telenovela genre.
Rating: 3.5/5