Black Ice

by Lorene Cary Narrated by Lorene Cary

Overview

In 1972 Lorene Cary, a bright, ambitious black teenager from Philadelphia, was transplanted into the formerly all-white, all-male environs of the elite St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, where she became a scholarship student in a "boot camp" for future American leaders. Like any good student, she was determined to succeed. But Cary was also determined to succeed without selling out. This wonderfully frank and perceptive memoir describes the perils and ambiguities of that double role, in which failing calculus and winning a student election could both be interpreted as betrayals of one's skin. Black Ice is also a universally recognizable document of a woman's adolescence; it is, as Houston Baker says, "a journey into selfhood that resonates with sober reflection, intelligent passion, and joyous love."

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Cary, a black woman, recounts her challenging years as student and teacher at an elite prep school. Author tour. (Feb.)

Library Journal

In 1972, Cary left her black suburban Philadelphia neighborhood to attend St. Paul's, an elite, formerly all-male prep school in New Hampshire. In these memoirs she describes the tumultuous transitions this new life engenders, as well as the inevitable racism over which she triumphs. After graduating, she returns to St. Paul's as a teacher. Cary tells her story well and with great description, but only at the book's end does the reader understand what she gained and lost as a result of her experience. Given her unique perspective, her narrative would have been much more interesting had she concentrated more on her tenure as a teacher and trustee, and how she responded to people as a result of her experience, instead of relying so much on recounting her school days. For large collections only.-- Danna C. Bell, Marymount Univ . Lib., Arlington, Va.

School Library Journal

YA-- A streetwise kid from West Philly, Cary was the first African-American female to attend St. Paul's, a prestigious New England prep school. With tremendous drive, she set out to achieve self-imposed academic, athletic, and social goals. Although she believed she owed it to the school that accepted her on scholarship, to her family who encouraged and sacrificed, and to those who will come after, she found that the price was great. The emotional distance from her family widened with the geographic separation, and their deep love and pride could not make up for their blindness to her discomfort. While Cary achieved most of her aims, thus justifying the experience to herself, perceptive readers will be pained at her need to do so. Broader in scope than most coming-of-age memoirs, this candid account is sure to strike a sympathetic chord.--Jackie Gropman, Richard Byrd Library, Springfield, VA

From the Publisher

"Probably the most beautifully-written and the most moving African-American autobiographical narrative since Maya Angelou's celebrated I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."
—Arnold Rampersad

Product Details

BN ID:	2940174833982
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos