Conception
Kalisha Buckhanon

Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen-year-old Shivana Montgomery, who believes all Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother.  Until the sudden visit of her beautiful and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and the growing pains of her environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey towards adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. When she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above their circumstances and move toward a more positive future.  Through the voice of the unborn child and a narrative sweeping from slavery onward, Buckhanon narrates Shivana’s connection to a past history of Black women who found themselves at the mercy of tragic circumstances.

Upstate
Kalisha Buckhanon

Set in 80's and 90's New York, Upstate, a coming of age novel tells the story of two young lovers, Antonio and Natasha. read more... >

Pub Date: 01/2006 | ISBN: 0-312-33269-6

About the Author

Kalisha Buckhanon was born in Kankakee, Illinois in 1977. She has taught literacy and writing to children on Chicago's South Side, in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Upstate is her first novel.

Author's Website: www.kalisha.com

Kalisha Buckhanon

Author Q&A

1. What do you like to do in your free time? 
I'm going to be in a PhD program and writing so I don't have much free time!  But I'm studying acting and theatre, and I love to watch great films.  I also like spending time with my family and friends.

2. What kind of music do you like to listen to? Why?
I love all music.  I'm a music junkie- from classical to world to rock to reggae to old school R&B.  My father was a DJ at parties on the side, and he loved music, so I got used to having it around all the time. I have to have music playing at all times when I'm driving or writing.  And all of my friends have great taste in music so I'm constantly being introduced to new artists.

3. What's your all time favorite movie? Why?
No all-time favorites because I love movies too much, but right now I'd say Closer, Love Jones and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind because they're all offbeat romantic tales.  I'm the consummate hopeless romantic!

4. What's your all time favorite novel and/or writer? Why?
Sula is my favorite novel because it most reminds me of the people I grew up around.

5. What do you like best about being a writer?
The freedom to use an infinite number of words to create any world you want.

Reading Group Guide Questions for
Upstate

1. Do you think Antonio and Natasha’s love was real or puppy love? If he had never gone to jail, would they still be together?

2. How do you feel about what Antonio did after his father’s murder? Given how things turned out for his family after his father’s death, do you think he should have confessed? Should Trevon have paid for his role?

3. Why do you think the author chose to set the book in the early nineties? How would the book have been different if it had been set ten years later?

4. What is symbolic about the white butterfly?

5. What do you think about Benito and Mohammed? What kind of influence did they have on Antonio’s transformation and vice versa?

6. How do you feel about prison conditions? Do you think that jail is an effective means of rehabilitation? Why or why not?

7. How do you think events in the early nineties, such as the release of Nelson Mandela, the Rodney King beatings, and the arrest of O.J. Simpson, affected the experiences of African American prisoners at the time?

8. If Natasha’s father had lived, how do you think her life would be different?

9. If things had not unfolded as they did, do you think Antonio would have carried out his plans to kill his father anyway?

10. What do you think about Natasha’s relationship with her mother? How do you feel about the way her mother handled conflicts in their home?

11. Do you think the death of Antonio’s mother was his fault? How could she have handled the events of that fateful night, as well as the aftermath, differently?

12. Do you think Natasha was able to let go in the end as Antonio did? How do you see their lives playing out?