What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweet Thang
Growing up in Philadelphia in 1975, 14-year-old Charmaine Upshaw is obsessed with justice. Unfortunately, she gets none of it in her life: not from her parents, who make her share a room with her tap-dancing brother Leo; not at school, where light-skinned, Barbie-doll-haired Dinah Coverdale steals all the boys’ attention and makes sure dark-skinned Charmaine knows it; and certainly not from Tracy John, her six-year-old cousin who’s taken over the family. When Charmaine is charged with babysitting her spoiled cousin after school, that’s the last straw–something’s gotta give. And when Charmaine cracks, she starts to see the world in a whole new light. Can Charmaine learn to love herself, her mahogany skin, and her attention-starved little cousin? Sometimes when everything falls apart, putting it back together can help you see the truth.
From the Hardcover edition.
From the Hardcover edition.
149 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2006
6 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Allison Whittenberg
24 books23 followersAllison Whittenberg is the author of three young adult novels Sweet Thang, Life Is Fine and Hollywood and Maine. She lives in Philadelphia."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Read
February 4, 2016Charmaine lives with her family in 1970s Philadelphia. After her Aunt Karyn was killed by an abusive boyfriend, Charmaine's family took in her son, Tracy John. Now 6 years old, Tracy John is driving Charmaine crazy. All she wants is her own room, to someday be beautiful and for "African Greek god" Demetrius to pay attention to her. It takes the realization that Tracy John still misses his mother for Charmaine to see that family is the most important thing.
February 21, 2023
This book was a delightful surprise! It was on my shelf - I got it for $2.50 at a school book fair one year. Set in 1975, 14 year old Charmaine is such a delightful character. I enjoyed watching her relationship with her little cousin Tracy Jordan shift and change.
January 13, 2017
This book is a coming to age story of a young girl who is fifteen years old in the 70's who is dealing with the everyday life as being a teenager whether it's learning about loving herself , and how to be selfless. She goes through many heartbreaks from her cousin that is now being treated like the most important thing in her parents life and not her and from a boy that she's loved ever since elementary school who she would just do about anything for him and that means getting expelled for cheating on a test for him. To summarize this book it all begins when young Charmaine and her family attend her aunts funeral and have to take in her little cousin Tracy John who needs the most attention right now out of everybody because he just lost his mom. In the beginning its hard for Charmaine to get to the new ways of things and getting use to all the new adjustments in her life and learning to care for someone other than herself she is put to the test and is coming to terms that its time for her to grow up and start maturing. She later learns from her mistakes by risking her education for a boy that she claims to love. But all in all she learns in the very end that she must cherish everything that she takes for granted because just like Tracy john lost his mom she can lose someone who's really important to her in her life.
For me reading this book I was always kept on my toes and I just felt like I can relate with the character throughout this whole book. She deals with a lot of the same things that I deal with growing up as a teenager. The author Allison Whittenberg studied dance for years before switching her focus to writing. She has an MA in English from the University of Wisconsin and enjoys traveling to places such as the Caribbean and Russia. Sweet thang is her first novel. I think the author did such a good job on her first book it was a really good book for it to be her first, For instance connecting the main character to a normal teenage life she probably also connected it with her own. My only complaint is that I wish the book can be longer and talk more about the other characters in this book like they would have their own turns to talk. This is a book that I would recommend to any teenage girl.
For me reading this book I was always kept on my toes and I just felt like I can relate with the character throughout this whole book. She deals with a lot of the same things that I deal with growing up as a teenager. The author Allison Whittenberg studied dance for years before switching her focus to writing. She has an MA in English from the University of Wisconsin and enjoys traveling to places such as the Caribbean and Russia. Sweet thang is her first novel. I think the author did such a good job on her first book it was a really good book for it to be her first, For instance connecting the main character to a normal teenage life she probably also connected it with her own. My only complaint is that I wish the book can be longer and talk more about the other characters in this book like they would have their own turns to talk. This is a book that I would recommend to any teenage girl.
November 27, 2009
I totally ended up loving this! I admit that the book had kind of a slow start and it took me a while to feel invested in the characters but once I got into it, I could totally see the parallels to The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963. This book is set in 1975 and the protagonist is 14-year-old Charmaine. She lives with her mom, dad, brother, and 7-year-old cousin Tracy John (a boy). The story starts off with Tracy John being a huge pain in Charmaine's butt. She has to babysit him and she thinks that her parents favor Tracy John over her. Her younger brother Leo also seems to always take Tracy John's side.
As the story evolves and Charmaine grows (up and as a person), she starts to see that Tracy John isn't so bad and that her life and her dark skin are actually pretty cool. This is a great coming-of-age book and I love that it weaves in black history and the Civil Rights movement so well. I also thought the relationships in the book were the main reason why I felt so connected to the characters. Charmaine, Tracy John, Leo, Horace, Ma, and Dad were all very memorable. The dialogue was sharp yet heartfelt. Definitely something I'd recommend to many of my middle school students.
As the story evolves and Charmaine grows (up and as a person), she starts to see that Tracy John isn't so bad and that her life and her dark skin are actually pretty cool. This is a great coming-of-age book and I love that it weaves in black history and the Civil Rights movement so well. I also thought the relationships in the book were the main reason why I felt so connected to the characters. Charmaine, Tracy John, Leo, Horace, Ma, and Dad were all very memorable. The dialogue was sharp yet heartfelt. Definitely something I'd recommend to many of my middle school students.
July 7, 2007
In her young adult novel, Whittenberg views sometimes tragic events through a lens of humor. Additionally, she accurately displays the dynamics between siblings, as she does with Charmaine and her cousin Tracey John while doing the same for the middle school experience.
Furthermore, the author did not base the book on her own life -- and she's adamant about this ;-)
Furthermore, the author did not base the book on her own life -- and she's adamant about this ;-)
February 23, 2010
Great. However, I was a little disappointed in the sequel :(
April 9, 2011
This book was heart filling. It makes you want to change your ways and treat people better even if you don't really like them.
June 7, 2014
It took a little while to get into the book, but the moments that were amazing were worth it!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews