The Awakening of Malcolm X is a powerful narrative account of the activist's adolescent years in jail, written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz along with 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe award-winning author, Tiffany D. Jackson.
No one can be at peace until he has his freedom. In Charlestown Prison, Malcolm Little struggles with the weight of his past. Plagued by nightmares, Malcolm drifts through days, unsure of his future. Slowly, he befriends other prisoners and writes to his family. He reads all the books in the prison library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm grapples with race, politics, religion, and justice in the 1940s. And as his time in jail comes to an end, he begins to awaken -- emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little: Now, he is Malcolm X. Here is an intimate look at Malcolm X's young adult years. While this book chronologically follows X: A Novel, it can be read as a stand-alone historical novel that invites larger discussions on black power, prison reform, and civil rights.Author: Ilyasah Shabazz, Tiffany D. Jackson
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 01/05/2021
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.70w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780374313296
Age Range: 12-18
Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 12/01/2020
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2020
Booklist 12/01/2020 pg. 49
Publishers Weekly 03/22/2021
School Library Journal 04/01/2021 pg. 126
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2021 pg. 141
About the Author
Ilyasah Shabazz, third daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, is an educator, activist, motivational speaker, and author of multiple award-winning publications, including her books, Betty Before X and X: A Novel. She is also an active advocacy worker and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.
Tiffany D. Jackson is the critically acclaimed author of YA novels including the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly and Monday's Not Coming, a Walter Dean Myers Honored Book and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner, as well as Let Me Hear a Rhyme (HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books). She received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade in TV/Film experience.