Who am I Without Him? by Sharon Flake
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, New York: 2004
ISBN: 078680693-1

Plot Summary:
This is a book of short stories "about girls and the boys in their lives." Most of the stories are narrated by African-American teenaged girls, with the exception of "Jacob's Rules," which is told from the point of view of a teenaged boy forced to interact with girls in a life-skills class, and "A Letter to my Daughter," which is narrated by an absentee father writing to his teenaged daughter.
In the story "I Know a Stupid Boy When I See One," a pregnant teenager hatches a plan to sell her baby, moves into a boarding house where she sets her sights on a dim-witted neighbor. She manipulates him into giving her gifts and money and leads him to believe that he has purchased her baby. When she finally has it and refuses to give it to Willie, he strangles her to death.
In "Mookie in Love," the narrator goes against her family's plot to break up her cousin Mookie and his new love Shanna because she knows what they're doing isn't right. It takes some time and a lot of courage, but she learns a lot about herself in the process.

Critical Evaluation:
This book of stories is a mixed-bag. Some are extremely entertaining, such as "So I Ain't No Good Girl," where a girl decides she has to put up with her boyfriend's abuse in order to keep him, because after all, she isn't very good looking and probably doesn't deserve him anyway. Or "The Ugly One," in which a girl with boils all over her face is forced to confront another group of tormenters, and then escapes to an inner world with her imaginary boyfriend Ramon.

Many of the stories are blatantly didactic. In "Wanted: A Thug," an advice columnists warns a reader to keep away from thugs. In "A Letter to my Daughter," a father warns her about the boys he sees eyeing her on the street and gives her a list of what she should be looking for in a man. "Jacob's Rules," is yet another story that tries to show girls what boys really think about them, and why relationships go bad. However, I doubt that many teens would be put-off by the lessons Flake is trying to teach. Rather, I think they would eat these stories up. They're juicy and satisfying. Flake seems like an older sister willing to let you in on her experiences in order for you to learn from her mistakes.

Reader’s Annotation:
These girls might not need boys, but they sure do make life interesting.

Information about the Author:
Sharon Flake is a former youth counselor and mother. She is also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe award for The Skin I'm In.

Genre:
Short story/realistic fiction

Curriculum ties: When I taught 9th grade English, we incorporated health education into some of our lesson plans. We used stories from this book to teach about healthy and unhealthy relationships.

Booktalking Ideas:
I would read aloud one of my favorite stories from the book "So I Ain't No Good Girl" to pique the interest of the teens, then discuss the ending and why the narrator chose to ignore Raheem cheating on her. I might read off a few of the other titles because they are very intriguing, such as "I Know a Stupid Boy When I See One," and "Don't be Disrespecting Me."

Reading Level/Interest Age:
I would recommend this book for ages 14 through 17.

Challenge Issues:
Someone might challenge this book for its themes of young love and relationships. There is one pregnant teenager, but nothing is graphic, even the language is mild. I would have to point out the lessons that this book teaches as the reason to have it in the collection, and have the user fill out a challenge card.

Why I chose this book:
A fellow teacher gave me this book and said the stories made great read alouds, which they definitely did. I would read a story from it once in awhile during my advisory period, and it would create great discussions. I would not hesitate to recommend it to other teens.