Bibliography:
Woodson, Jacqueline. 1992. MAIZON AT BLUE HILL. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-30796-9.
Plot Summary:
Seventh grader Maizon has been accepted to the prestigious boarding school Blue Hill. She will have to leave her best friend Margaret and her beloved Grandmother and venture away from Brooklyn for the first time and move to Connecticut. Her Grandmother wants opportunities for Maizon that few African-Americans get; a great education that will lead to a top college. Maizon is scared to leave home, her best friend and everything she has ever known but she does it for her Grandmother. Maizon's biggest concern is fitting in, she's worried about being a minority amongst a school that is made up of mostly white girls from wealthy families. Once Maizon is at school there are four African-American girls, three of them basically threaten Maizon into being friends with only them while the three girls make fun of the fourth calling her an "Oreo" because she is only friends with the white girls. Maizon decides not to be friends with the African-American girls or the white girls, she chooses to not have friends and this makes for a horribly lonely first year at Blue Hill.
Seventh grader Maizon has been accepted to the prestigious boarding school Blue Hill. She will have to leave her best friend Margaret and her beloved Grandmother and venture away from Brooklyn for the first time and move to Connecticut. Her Grandmother wants opportunities for Maizon that few African-Americans get; a great education that will lead to a top college. Maizon is scared to leave home, her best friend and everything she has ever known but she does it for her Grandmother. Maizon's biggest concern is fitting in, she's worried about being a minority amongst a school that is made up of mostly white girls from wealthy families. Once Maizon is at school there are four African-American girls, three of them basically threaten Maizon into being friends with only them while the three girls make fun of the fourth calling her an "Oreo" because she is only friends with the white girls. Maizon decides not to be friends with the African-American girls or the white girls, she chooses to not have friends and this makes for a horribly lonely first year at Blue Hill.
Critical Analysis:
This is a beautiful story about a brave African-American girl who tries to be strong for her Grandmother and get the amazing education she deserves. Even though this story is about an African-American girl I feel like many girls can identify with Maizon because they have all done things they aren't comfortable doing but do it because someone they love and respect expects them to. It's sad that Maizon decides to distance herself from everyone at the school, I feel like if she had opened up a little and made friends, regardless of color, she would have learned so much academically and about the different cultures all of the girls come from. It was almost infuriating reading how much she distanced herself especially since her teachers wanted her to fit in so much, I think they saw something in Maizon she didn't see in herself. I also feel if she had opened up to her best friend, Margaret, and her Grandmother they could have helped give advice as to how to deal with the segregation situation and encourage her to stay. She distanced herself on purpose and that was frustrating to see.
When Maizon is in literature class and she suggests the book The Bluest Eye for the class to read she is excited to re-read it but she also wants to see how the girls around her react to it. She thought the girls would be ignorant to the true meaning of the book and was surprised to learn that some actually understood the book in the same way Maizon did. I felt this would have been a great opportunity for Maizon to see some of the girls looked beyond skin color and she could have made a friend or two. It did get to be a little frustrating that there were opportunities for Maizon to fit in and be liked regardless of being a minority but she wouldn't allow it to happen, that is sad, she forced herself into loneliness.
I love how Brooklyn is described, sitting on stoops, watching neighbors but then I love how Connecticut and Blue Hill are described too. Both descriptions are polar opposites of one another but spot on in what it's like in both of those worlds. You can tell by the way the buildings and school uniforms are described this is an upper crust boarding school for the wealthy. The way buildings, locations, cars, the way people are dressed I am unsure of the time period, it's not distinctive. I would hope a boarding school back east wouldn't have so few African-American students today so I hope that is an indication of this book actually taking place back in the 1960's possibly.
I would love to read the first installment of this story, Last Summer with Maizon, because I feel it might give me a better understanding of Maizon and why she deliberately didn't allow herself to find happiness and make friends. Based on the reviews of the first book the characters are complex and rich and I feel like not reading the first book I don't have a true sense of who Maizon is.
When Maizon is in literature class and she suggests the book The Bluest Eye for the class to read she is excited to re-read it but she also wants to see how the girls around her react to it. She thought the girls would be ignorant to the true meaning of the book and was surprised to learn that some actually understood the book in the same way Maizon did. I felt this would have been a great opportunity for Maizon to see some of the girls looked beyond skin color and she could have made a friend or two. It did get to be a little frustrating that there were opportunities for Maizon to fit in and be liked regardless of being a minority but she wouldn't allow it to happen, that is sad, she forced herself into loneliness.
I love how Brooklyn is described, sitting on stoops, watching neighbors but then I love how Connecticut and Blue Hill are described too. Both descriptions are polar opposites of one another but spot on in what it's like in both of those worlds. You can tell by the way the buildings and school uniforms are described this is an upper crust boarding school for the wealthy. The way buildings, locations, cars, the way people are dressed I am unsure of the time period, it's not distinctive. I would hope a boarding school back east wouldn't have so few African-American students today so I hope that is an indication of this book actually taking place back in the 1960's possibly.
I would love to read the first installment of this story, Last Summer with Maizon, because I feel it might give me a better understanding of Maizon and why she deliberately didn't allow herself to find happiness and make friends. Based on the reviews of the first book the characters are complex and rich and I feel like not reading the first book I don't have a true sense of who Maizon is.
Review Awards and Excerpts:
"Deeply felt and intelligently written, a book that stands fairly well alone, though it is enriched by knowing Maizon's earlier background." - Kirkus Review
"Deeply felt and intelligently written, a book that stands fairly well alone, though it is enriched by knowing Maizon's earlier background." - Kirkus Review
Connections:
- If I had a group of pre-teens in classroom setting I would ask them what opportunities did Maizon have to fit in and make friends? Could she have found happiness at Blue Hill? How would they have handled Maizon's various situations? Would they have sent letters to their best friend for advice? This type of book is great to have an open discussion about having people feel welcome regardless of skin color or back ground.
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