BIBLIOGRAPHY
Woodson, Jacqueline. 1992. MAIZON AT BLUE HILL. Delacorte Press: New York. ISBN: 0-385-30796-9.
PLOT SUMMARY
Twelve year old Maizon has never left Brooklyn. Suddenly she wins a scholarship to a predominantly white all-girls’ boarding school in Connecticut, and her world is upside down. Maizon leaves her friends, her grandma, and her home. Despite her reservations, Maizon’s desire to live up to her grandma’s expectations propels her to attend Blue Hill School. Maizon is welcomed by the only 3 African American girls, Marie, Sheila, and Charli. But their efforts to protect Maizon alienate her from them. As Maizon explores other circles of people, she is confronted with conflicting emotions and “white curiosity” about her. Maizon realizes that she is not ready to deal with many of these emotions but understands the need for belonging somewhere. But her confusion about her fit in the world plagues her until she makes a difficult decision about her future at Blue Hill School.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
MAIZON AT BLUE HILL is the second book in a trilogy by Jacqueline Woodson. In the first novel, LAST SUMMER WITH MAIZON, readers are introduced to Margaret and Maizon. It focuses on Margaret and how she deals with her father’s death. This second book focuses on Maizon and her experiences as she leaves the comfort of her home to develop her gifted mind.
Ms. Woodson does an excellent job developing the main characters in the story. Readers watch all of the action of the story through Maizon’s eyes. Maizon and Margaret are typical twelve year olds. They are caught between childhood activities such as skipping rope and tickling each other and adolescent interests such as gossip and intense desire for peer acceptance. Even without reading the first novel, readers will see the love and companionship shared between Maizon and Margaret.
The other characters in the story are adequately developed. Marie, Charli, and Sheila are introduced to readers halfway into the novel. Their conversation, interaction, and casualness with one another provide insight for the readers and for Maizon. However, their insistence that Maizon limit her relationships to them and to avoid the white girls in the school offends Maizon. This presents an interesting dichotomy because Maizon had not expressed interest in developing friendships with her white counterparts. This can be seen in her interactions with her roommate, Sandy. Sandy is a friendly white girl who is also on scholarship. Maizon is moody and distant from her. It is not until the end of Maizon’s stay at Blue Hill that they develop a friendship. Maizon is independent; she will not allow anyone to limit her relationships. She is the only one who does that.
The events of MAIZON AT BLUE HILL flow together creating an original and credible plot. The plot is well constructed and logical. Encounters do not seem disjointed or artificial. Characters act and react within the personality restraints the author has established. Ms. Woodson uses action and dialogue to propel the storyline and create tension. The text is straightforward and direct. Readers do not need to interpret events and conversation. This is done for them. From the moment that Maizon steps onto the train toward Blue Hill and Connecticut, the text seems tense. Readers can sense Maizon’s feelings and apprehensions.
A sense of belonging is at the heart of MAIZON AT BLUE HILL. Everyone wants to feel that they fit in where they are planted. Maizon’s home is Brooklyn. Her best friend, her grandma, and her life are there. Throughout the novel, Ms. Woodson shows Maizon’s struggles with trying to find a place to fit in. This struggle can be clearly seen as Maizon visits the debate team’s meeting. Marie, Charli, and Sheila tell Maizon that debate team is nerdy and predominantly white. Maizon wants to investigate it for herself. The meeting does not go as Maizon expects. Maizon is drawn into a discussion about what Blue Hill “is like for her”. She plays with words and forces the girls to verbalize their curiosity about her because she is black. She does not fit in with the African American girls who have separated themselves from the rest of the students nor does she fit in with the white students whom she does not trust and does not want to entertain their curiosity. As Maizon’s feelings of disillusionment heighten, she proclaims, “I don’t not want to be a minority. I want to be in a school where that’s not an issue… I never had to think about it before and I don’t want to think about it now,” (Woodson 103). Maizon realizes that she does not belong at Blue Hill.
Ms. Woodson does an excellent job avoiding stereotypes and including cultural markers that add to the story’s authenticity. This novel does not contain any illustration. Ms. Woodson must only use her text to create authenticity. Word choice and description is incredibly important. Readers will use them to create their own pictures of characters. Ms. Woodson is deliberate to not use the same set of adjectives to describe characters, white or black. She uses, “caramel brown,” “brown-skinned”, “golden”, and “brown-haired”. It is evident that varying shades in both races exist in Brooklyn and at Blue Hill.
The tension that exists between white and black students also exists between the black students and one girl, Pauli, who is an “oreo”. Pauli is the child of an interracial marriage. Maizon is told that Pauli doesn’t “hang with the sisters” and that she “is assimilated” (Woodson 56). Marie, Charli, and Sheila resent Pauli’s decision to socialize with the white students and her lack of participation in Black History Month. However, Pauli didn’t want to hang with only three people. She saw herself as white and black and that she couldn’t choose between the two. She wasn’t “black enough” (Woodson 115). This viewpoint is authentic and valid. This situation is commonly faced by individuals of mixed ethnicity. This situation also weaves into Ms. Woodson’s overall theme of belonging.
Ms. Woodson uses language and conversation to combat stereotypes about how certain racial groups should speak. Most of the characters, white and black, speak correct English. “Yo! Margaret” is one of the only slang type sayings present in the text. Maizon and Margaret use proper English when they speak and write to one another. Charli, Marie, and Sheila use proper English when with the white students and when in private. There is no difference in how they talk. The three are more casual with one another, but the slang is limited in both conversations.
While this book does deal with tensions between the races, the situations presented are mild and would be an excellent book to read to young readers to begin a conversation about belonging and unity.
REVIEWS
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “…this book provides a provocative glimpse of the pain and beauty of a gifted girl's adolescence. Readers will eagerly await the third title from this articulate new voice”—Marie Orlando.
From PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “This simply told, finely crafted sequel to Last Summer with Maizon neatly avoids predictability while offering a perspective on racism and elitism rarely found in fiction for this age group”.
CONNECTIONS
Reading MAIZON AT BLUE HILL will begin an author study on Jacqueline Woodson.
http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com/
http://www.teenreads.com/authors/au-woodson-jacqueline.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Woodson
Students will read other books by Jacqueline Woodson and participate in Discussion groups with other students who have chosen the same book. NOTE: All students must read at least one picture book.
This novel is not illustrated. Characters are described with words not illustration. Students will draw the main characters: Margaret, Grandma, Marie, Charli, Sheila, Sandy, Sybil, and Susan.
Students will write at least two sentences expressing what made them illustrate the characters as they have. What text clues or references led them to this drawing?
Students will also draw an aerial map of Blue Hill School. Where do they imagine building locations?
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