Middle graders will laugh and cry with thirteen-year-old Vanessa
Martin as she tries to be like Vanessa Williams, the first black Miss
America.
In this semi-autobiographical debut novel set in 1983, Vanessa Martin's
real-life reality of living with family in public housing in Newark, New
Jersey is a far cry from the glamorous Miss America stage. She struggles
with a mother she barely remembers, a grandfather dealing with addiction
and her own battle with self-confidence. But when a new teacher at
school coordinates a beauty pageant and convinces Vanessa to enter,
Vanessa's view of her own world begins to change. Vanessa discovers that
her own self-worth is more than the scores of her talent performance and
her interview answers, and that she doesn't need a crown to be
comfortable in her own skin and see her own true beauty.
It's such an honor to be the focal point of this wonderful book!
Without a doubt, it will be inspiring to a new generation of young,
talented girls well on their way to promising careers. --Vanessa
Williams, Multi-Platinum Recording Artist, New York Times Best-Selling
Author, Fashion Designer and star of Television, Film and the Broadway
Stage
Like Vanessa has it all and then some! Gritty, poetic, emotionally
true, Tami Charles wrings out every hope, every stumble and every
triumph of a girl on an uneasy road to possessing her self, her strength
and her own beauty. An unforgettable debut. --Rita Williams-Garcia,
author of One Crazy Summer and P.S. Be Eleven
♦ This debut is a treasure: a gift to every middle school girl who ever
felt unpretty, unloved, and trapped by her circumstances.-- Kirkus
Reviews STARRED REVIEW
♦ Charles evades the clichés and imbues Vanessa with an inner life
that's so real and personal it's hard to deny the charm, heartbreak, and
triumph of her story. . . . Superb.-- Booklist STARRED REVIEW
♦ Like Vanessa is an emotionally potent, engaging young adult story
with a heroine whom it is impossible not to root for. The life lessons
that Nessy learns are relevant and worthwhile for everyone.-- Foreword
Reviews STARRED REVIEW
