X: Library Edition

Ilyasah Shabazz, third daughter of Malcolm X, is an activist, community organizer, motivational speaker, and the author of Growing Up X, for which she received an NAACP Image Award nomination. She says, “My father and I both lost our fathers to assassination at an early age, but my father’s voice, his beliefs, and his lessons remained a vital part of my childhood. I consider it an honor and a privilege to tell the story of his life and work.”

Kekla Magoon is the author of several young adult novels, including The Rock and the River, for which she received the 2010 Coretta Scott King—John Steptoe New Talent Author Award and an NAACP Image Award nomination. Kekla Magoon lives in New York City.

A completely absorbing novel... Readers for whom pre-civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting.
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
This fictionalized account of the boy who became Malcolm X maintains a suspenseful, poetic grip as it shifts among moments in his life between the years 1930 and 1948. ... A compelling coming-of-age story.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
An eye-opening look at an important historical figure. The author s honesty about his early troubles serves to convey that it is possible to rise through adversity to make a positive difference in this world. A worthwhile addition to any collection.
School Library Journal (starred review)
Although this is a work of fiction, it's strongly tethered to the facts, to the people and events that contributed to Malcolm's world view and his path to becoming a leader. Malcolm's voice is often funny, always perceptive, and as appreciative of beauty as he is critical of the disparity between the rights of whites and blacks.
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
Shabazz and Magoon bring energy, immediacy, and emotional power to Malcolm s first-person, present-tense voice. Often painfully candid, the authors effectively depict Malcolm s lifetime of racial slurs and casual injustices, symbolized by the image of a lynched man hanging from a tree. It s a satisfyingly complete, never simplistic story of one young man s journey through trouble to the promise of a life of purpose and meaning.
Booklist (starred review)
Riveting. ... Vivid. ... Malcolm's voice is often funny, always perceptive, and as appreciative of beauty as he is critical of the disparity between the rights of whites and blacks.
Shelf Awareness
Malcolm inspired me with his eloquence, his wisdom, and his thirst for truth and righteousness. This powerful, page-turning story tells us how he discovered these qualities within himself.
Muhammad Ali
Shabazz and Magoon do a remarkable job generating atmosphere, balancing family love in the face of dire circumstances against the pulsating energy of a self-assured young man swaggering through Harlem streets in a fine zoot suit and a conk.... The story of a reckless young man finding himself, X: A Novel is historical fiction at its best --- an artistic exploration of a part of a renowned person's life, one that stays true to his time and place.
Huffington Post
Powerful and charming makes you see things in a whole new way. One of the best books I've read in quite some time.
Chris Rock
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