Upstate

by Kalisha Buckhanon

Book Overview

"Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?"

So begins Upstate, a powerful story told through letters between seventeen-year-old Antonio and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Natasha, set in the 1990's in New York. Antonio and Natasha's world is turned upside down, and their young love is put to the test, when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime. Antonio fights to stay...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312332696
• ISBN13: 9780312332693
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

True

This book first caught my eye because of the title "Upstate". I was in Tempe, Az at the time, but I instantly knew the author was referring to New York. To be more precise, I knew that she was referring to prison in upstate New York. I am not a black women. I am a white women. I was a teenager in the Bronx, in the 70's. before the author was born. At seventeen the love of my life went to prison. I then went on to live the life she described as Natasha and Antonio's. The only difference was that I married my young love, and spent many years visiting him in prisons upstate. Thirty years have past, we are not together now, but we have never gotten over each other. I cried when I read the progression of Antonio and Natasha's relationship. I cried, because I lived it. Because I read and wrote those same letters, and because I utimately let it go. I cried because it was so bittersweet, and so very true. I would have never believed that anyone could have known how it felt, and how it still feels, without actually having lived it. Thank you Kalisha for telling my story so elegantly. Rita

Baby, Do You Believe in Us?

Poignant, compelling, luminous, this novel told in epistle form is a moving account of a young couple in love and their struggle to maintain a relationship while the young man, seventeen years old, is incarcerated for a horrendous crime. The first words Antonio writes to Natasha is "Baby, do you believe I killed my daddy?" Thus begins a correspondence that spans almost ten years. In their letters beginning in January 1990, Natasha and Antonio look back at their courtship against the landscape of their beloved Harlem. Their escapades on the subway, their favorite playing fields, and their indifference to their school assignments are now precious memories. Both of them, products of working-class families, have had less than favorable living conditions, Natasha is frustrated as she witnesses her mother's diminishing self-image caused by her live-in boyfriend. There was a time before the death of Natasha's father that they were a nuclear family and had happy times. Antonio has a depressed father who hid his pain with alcohol, lashing out at his family. Natasha is part fly girl but with one foot in church as she struggles with the values of her religious grandmother. Over the next several months, the couple's love is tested time after time compounded by Antonio's trial, loneliness for the both of them and tragic family situations. Antonio fights to maintain his sanity as he is befriended by two hard-core cons that protect and school him in how to sustain prison life. Natasha, now more focused on school, is rewarded with opportunities that expand her view of a world beyond Harlem. Antonio is no longer ashamed of his thirst for knowledge and book learning, devouring every text he can get his hands on. As the months grow into years the questions remains, can love conquer all? How well does Natasha know the boy to whom she has pledged her heart? This book moved this reviewer on so many levels as this novel, little more than 200 pages, addressed issues of social, economic, inequities of the judicial system and matters of the heart. It was a pleasure to meet the author, Kalisha Buchanon, at her book signing in Oakland. A gracious young woman, she is to be commended for bringing dignity and integrity to urban fiction at a time when so much of this genre is thrown at us with sensationalism and caricature like images. The language is beautifully crafted, realistic and the voices distinct. Though it is only February, this book will easily make my list of top ten favorites for 2005. Dera R. Williams APOOO BookClub Marcus Book Club (Oakland)

the best book of the year!!!

I was so pleased with this book. Even though this book was fictional, the author made you think that the characters were so real and that this is a true story. You were embraced by the chacters. The book is different because its a bunch of letters two teens are writing back and forth to each other or a spand of 10 years but it is very good and well put togehter.this is a must have and i hope the author get her recognition and either make a sequel to the book or start writing her second book. cant wait for another great one!!!!

Captures the Essence of Young Love and Heartbreak.

The story of Natasha and Antonio is true to life and heartbreakingly beautiful. This is real literature at its finest! With a lot of garbage books flooding the market, I sincerely hope this one doesn't get lost in the shuffle. This is a true gem - the real deal. Simply put - just a phenomenal story.

Great Pick

I loved this book, not only because I'm facing a lot of what Natasha was but because it is real. I've read so many books lately that were supposed to be "real" but had instances that could only be found in books. Everybody has a closed opinion about our black men in prison. Every man is not defined by his inmate number. We have smart, intelligent, strong black men behind the gates that may not even deserve the sentences imposed on them. This book opens the minds of young love and growth between two individuals on different sides of life. It shows what life is mostly like for men locked up and not the grimy version TV always portrays. As a woman you have a choice to stay down or to stay around. This story shows a young girl turning into a woman's challenge to make her decision with love standing in the middle. Good pick!