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Ring around the Moon: A Novel Paperback – May 19, 2015

by Mary Burnett Smith (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings
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In this thought-provoking and powerful coming of age novel, a young girl must grow up too soon as she watches her family disintegrate around her.

A cry in the night awakens ten-year-old Amy Beale and alerts her to the difficulties in her parents' marriage. Earlier that steamy evening in July 1940, her mother, Arleatha, witnessed yet another of her husband's infidelities at one of his notorious "rent parties." Amy overhears her sobbing in the middle of the night, as Jack Beale begs for another chance. Arleatha agrees to give him one year. From her bed, a terrified Amy tries to strike a bargain with God: Keep the family together, and she will never do anything bad. Amen.

In Ring Around the Moon, an older, wiser Amy looks back on that pivotal year as she chronicles the family's move from a small colored community to an affluent town nearby; the conflict there as she and her brothers, Lonnie and James, adjust to new friends, a new school, and interfering relatives and neighbors.

As the months pass, the struggle between Jack and Arleatha continues. A proud man who feels trapped in his black skin, Jack wants a family but cannot help always looking for "the good life" for himself. Then a terrible incident threatens to break up the family once and for all.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 19, 2015
  4. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    068817227X
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0688172275
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Smith’s pleasantly meandering second novel, a sensitive coming-of-age memoir, charts the end of a miserable 14-year marriage in the black neighborhood of a small town outside Philadelphia during WWII…. Fine dialogue and vivid characters… make this a very welcome effort from veteran Philadelphia schoolteacher Smith.” — Publishers Weekly

“Smith’s second novel is the moving story of an African American woman who discovers more secrets about her family than she would like to know, which helps her to put her own life in order.” — Library Journal

“Smith’s strength as a writer lies in the relaxed complexity of her characters.” — New York Times Book Review

"An emotionally pleasing coming-of-ager. ... Smith does succeed in evoking the difficulties of a child’s dawning awareness of a pre—Civil Rights world, and the seeming truth that some differences cannot be overcome." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Back Cover

In this thought-provoking and powerful novel, a young girl must grow up too soon as she watches her family disintegrate around her.

A cry in the night awakens ten-year-old Amy Beale and alerts her to the difficulties in her parents' marriage. Earlier that steamy evening in July 1940, her mother, Arleatha, witnessed yet another of her husband's infidelities at one of his notorious "rent parties." Amy overhears her sobbing in the middle of the night, as Jack Beale begs for another chance. Arleatha agrees to give him one year. From her bed, a terrified Amy tries to strike a bargain with God: Keep the family together, and she will never do anything bad. Amen.

In Ring Around the Moon, an older, wiser Amy looks back on that pivotal year as she chronicles the family's move from a small colored community to an affluent town nearby and the conflict there as she and her brothers, Lonnie and James, adjust to new friends, a new school, and interfering relatives and neighbors.

As the months pass, the struggle between Jack and Arleatha continues. A proud man who feels trapped in his black skin, Jack wants a family but cannot help always looking for "the good life" for himself. Then a terrible incident threatens to break up the family once and for all.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks; Quill ed. edition (May 19, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 068817227X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0688172275
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

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Mary Burnett Smith

Mary Burnett Smith

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
5 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

delia simmons
4.0 out of 5 stars Deep, Very Deep
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2000
This sister does so much more than tell a story from a child's perspective. She speaks vividly, and candidly about how our own views of skin color and hair texture and our ability to express emotion shapes our lives and relationships.
Some aspects of this book are those that one can immediately relate to. Things like racial prejudice and In-law relationships.
But other aspects go very deep. This book is a learning opportunity for those of us who speak and act out of our childhood experiences without really thinking. It teaches us about our own prejudices, reminds us of the roots, and challenges us to be mindful.
An excellent book, Ms Burnett Smith.
7 people found this helpful
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Debbie Behan Garrett
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written 1940s Black childhood story
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2000
If you enjoy reading books about the childhood occurrences spoken from an adult's retrospective point of view, then you'll enjoy Ring Around the Moon.
The setting is the 1940s and the main character is Amy, which is short for Amelia. Amy recants her childhood struggles of growing up as a poor, redheaded Black child whose alcoholic father was also a womanizer and wife batterer. Her struggles include witnessing her father's drunkenness, his womanizing, and the battering(s) he gave her mother as well as her older brother Lonnie, with whom Amy also has issues.
Amy's childhood involves more downs than ups. Amy, however, is able to make the most of being a product of a dysfunctional, poor, 1940s Black American family.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Child's eye view of the triumphs and terrors of growing up.
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 1999
A ring around the moon means that "it's gonna rain the next day." Amy's world has a ring around it; we feel throughout the sense of foreboding that next page, next chapter it will rain on her always tenative happiness. Her father drinks, gambles and spends the weekends with his girlfriend. When he is at home, he quarrels with and beats her mother. Still Amy carries on - becoming a good student and befriending another "new girl" Mary Katherine Donovan, who is white. Mama supports the family by cleaning white folks houses, but she brings Miss Minnie to live with the family and care for and nuture Amy and her brothers, James and Lonnie. Written as an insightful child's cronicle of the last days and the horrifying end of her parent's marriage, Ms. Smith's second novel stirs us with laughter and tears. A wonderful read!!
5 people found this helpful
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