When You Look At Me by Undra Biggs
By Yasmin Coleman • Nov 28th, 2009 • Category: Book Review 2002 •
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From the 2002 Archives
When You Look At Me is a bittersweet and emotionally charged debut novel from Undra Biggs. Tamlyn Blake is an underage, unwed single mother who is forced to move out of her parent’s house and live on her own after having two children out of wedlock. She’s a high school dropout, a welfare recipient and living in one of the worst inner city projects. Along comes a potential suitor….Hassan Colbirth. Colbirth at 23-years old, is living large as an ex-convict, drug dealer, with a phat automobile and baby mama drama. Even though Tamlyn appears to be just another welfare mom, she and Hassan really come from different worlds and one has to ask the question…”Will their relationship be able to last in spite of their different backgrounds”?
When You Love at Me is an impressive debut novel from Undra Biggs. Biggs gives a realistic and emotionally honest portrayal of what can happen when a smart, middle-class girl risks it all in the name of passion or lust which she unfortunately mistook for love. The hard-knock reality is that it was not an easy pill to swallow when Tamlyn make the same mistake twice and it appeared that her family had turned their back on her. However, Biggs also shows that with persistence, sweat, tears and determination one can still grow up to be all they can be. My only disappointment with the novel was the ending which seemed a little too reminiscent of a fairy tale. That aside, I really enjoyed this provocative and poignant storyline.
When You Look at Me is a fast paced, engrossing and compelling read with a significant social message from an author with a fresh new voice. Biggs has shown that she’s a name to be remembered and I look forward to future novels from this talented author.
Reviewed by Yasmin
APOOO BookClub
Visit amazon to order a copy of When You Look at Me.
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Yasmin Coleman is a literary publicist and promoter, book reviewer and founder of APOOO Books and BookClub. In 2000, she founded APOOO, www.apooobooks.com, an online author and reader community dedicated to advancing African-American literature.
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