Chill Wind

by Janet McDonald

Chill Wind is the 2003 winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award.

A tough and funny project girl manages to make that chill wind blow away in Janet McDonald's sequel to Spellbound .

The good life, according to Aisha Ingram, is easy. It's hanging with friends, dancing, listening to music, whatever . . . but it doesn't include worrying about the future. Chilling out is her mantra until she receives a sixty-day termination-of-welfare-benefits notice. Without her monthly food stamps and assistance checks and with no help from the father of her two children, Aisha's life threatens to become a little too "chilly."

The clock is ticking and she doesn't have many options, but one thing she knows for workfare is not for her. There's no way she's going to scrub subway cars or sweep city sidewalks. Aisha tries to come up with other ways to get money, but things don't look good. Soon another notice only thirty days left. Then she sees an ad on TV for BIGMODELS, and she figures she might as well check out the agency. After all, she is pretty enough. But just when it looks like Aisha's problems might be solved, things grow crazy again.

In Aisha, Janet McDonald has created a larger-than-life heroine who finds and succeeds at what is right for her.

Genres: Young Adult, Cultural, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, African American

144 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Janet McDonald was an American writer of young adult novels as well as the author of 'Project Girl', a memoir about her early life in the Brooklyn projects and struggle to achieve an Ivy League education. Her best known children's book is Spellbound, which tells the story of a teenaged mother who wins a spelling competition and a college scholarship. The book was named as the American Library Association's Best Book for Young Adults in 2002.

In addition to books, McDonald also wrote articles for publications such as Slate, including one in which she paid psychic Sylvia Browne $700 for a telephone reading. McDonald was a member of Mensa, the high IQ society.

After graduating from Vassar (1977), Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1984), and New York University Law School (1986), McDonald practiced law in New York City (1986-1989) and Seattle (1989-1991). She took a position as an intern at a Paris law firm (1991-1993) before moving to Olympia, Washington to work in the Attorney General's office and teach French language classes at Evergreen State College. McDonald settled in Paris in 1995 to work first as an international attorney and then as a writer, until she died of cancer in 2007


For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/janet-mc...

Reviews

[Jasmineelam11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel, "Chill Wind," is about a young, African American, woman, named Aisha, who lives in the complete projects and has two kids with no job, education, or money and lives with her mother. She is surrounded by the project life of "chilling" while letting welfare, food stamps and etc, handle her responsibilities. The area she is surrounded in effects her dramatically. The only life style that surrounds her or that she only knows of is the "project life" and that's letting the government take care of you and your responsibilities, not having a job, no education, having multiple babies and etc. She had a chance to change that stigma that was set upon her but she wanted to fit into it because she believed that was the easiest life style. Depending on where you live you will grow up differently to someone who lives somewhere else. An example of this is two different people, one has grown up in the hood or projects and the other has grown up in a great safe neighborhood. The reason that this occurs is because depending on where you live you learn differently and see different things and where you come from can sometimes determine who you are and what you can achieve if you let it.


(McDonald 37) "The mail carrier in Aisha's neighborhood was never more popular than on the first of the month. That's when folks gathered in lobbies waiting for him like for the messiah. Having food, paying rent, or simply replacing a burnt-out bulb all depended on the timely delivery of social security and welfare checks."

[Imani ♥ ☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't exactly like this book. I felt like the main character was too careless to be likable. She really got on my nerves. The only nice part was the author's dedication or whatever that talked about 9/11 since the book was published in 2002 or something. That's it.

[Nora Murad · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I love about Janet McDonald's "Chill Wind" is the way she brings readers into the world of a poor, Black, teenage mother. Aisha's fears and relationships and daily constraints come to life in way that's interesting and accessible for middle grade readers -- even if they aren't Black or poor. It's written with tremendous compassion and with enough detail so that Aisha's choices, even the bad ones, are understandable. It's not a fast book with adventure and action, but the fear of Aisha's impending homelessness will be enough to keep smart readers interested, and those who see it through will find it satisfying and hopeful. My only disappointment comes from the way that Aisha ultimately pulled herself from poverty -- by modeling. Although Aisha is a "big" model, it's still sad that she had to use her physical beauty to earn money selling products, some of which aren't healthy. If I had a group of kids to discuss this book with, I would ask about their ideas for ways out of poverty in a capitalist system that's structured to keep the majority from moving up too far, and whether or not individual attempts to hack the system make it more vulnerable or make it stronger.

[Alexia]

Basically this book is about high school drop out Aiesha who has two children. While depending fully on her welfare check for both of her children aiesha feels as of she can be a sucessful single paren.But she is wrong one day while home aiesha recieves a 60 day suspension notice from the welfare company now with this aiesha is left with nothing to do and no support from her ex boyfriend. And little help from her mother who suffers from a life of failure and lost love,so throughout the story aiesha trys to find diffrent ways to keep her benefits without having to work all her life.But so far things are'nt going so well for aiesha and to find out what happens then you would just have to read the book yourself:)

[Gemini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lowkey Offended

This book made me cringe. Like the first book, I was bothered by how the “project girls” felt like a parody of what teenage Black girls act like. It was even worse in the second book. It was full of nonsense like this quote from the book, “I get big bling, bling cash up front and zidjewels every time it be on TV. So they can keep their welfare and workfare and stick they check where the sun don’t shine!” The whole story was ridiculous and offensive. I don’t think I’m going to bother with the third book. The only reason that I gave this book two stars instead of one star is because I did appreciate catching up with the characters from book one.

[Jill]

Aisha is like many of the girls in her neighborhood- a single mom on welfare with no high school diploma. This is fine with Aisha until she gets the letter from social service stating that her welfare benefits will end in two months. From ther, she has the option to join a workforce training program that she says she absolutely won't do. After trying to weasel her way around the system, Aisha finally makes her own destiny.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this last year thinking it would be a good YA book. However, the plot is kinda serious and I had to wade through a lot of emotional turmoil to finally get to the part when Aisha gets the modeling job and achieve some stability in her life. Good lessons in here but not my type of YA fiction though hence the two stars.

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 3 out of 5]

C for effort
The 70s jive talk pissed me off
Aisha should've wanted more out of life if not for her then the sake of her children so they would not have to end up like their mother , grandmother, and lousy S.O.B of a father .
Toya seemed to be the only rational one out the bunch , well spoken, and grounded but her part in the book was a glim one.

I wish her mother could've got her act together instead of having her hand out one every other emotionally broken mother in the hood.

I really did not find a likeable character
The author could've turned this into a short story instead of a long one
The welfare problem has gotten better they give you better jobs & help.

I was happy for Aisha but I hated how everyone came in her life ONLY when she got her little model gig the author was VERY descriptive which was appreciated.

I wish this was turned into a series so they girls could learn, grow , and live better instead of being in the projects

[X'Oniyae · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I enjoy reading this book because ,I am able to understand and relate with the main character (Aisha).I like how the book tells us about how minority tend to struggle with the wale-fare offices, and yet they still have a good time.So far this book shows how and adolescent refuses to be a convalescent as time goes by.Although they over exaggerate the lifestyle of being "ghetto" I think that it shows a nice message that you don't always know what you got and get till its gone. Until then, I cannot wait till I finish the book so i can get more into the story.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a nice story with a lot of character evolution, there wasn’t a lot to it. There were a handful of beautiful lines of prose, but outside of that it was fairly forgettable.

[Bari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shouldn't have read this as a child, but still informative.

[Manushi · Rating 2 out of 5]

oopsy i read book 2

[Niah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the greatest. It's about a girl who's welfare checks is about to expire and she has to find a way to make money because her baby daddy, Kevin, isn't helping her and she isn't choosing welfare So she tries all kinds of ways to raise money like hairbraiding and babysitting. Then one day while watching tv she sees an ad fo rbig models so she decides to check it out. When she get's there she get's called names and get's into a fight. Will she ever find the right job, or will she be living on the streets with her two kids waiting for Kevin to come around?

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aisha Ingram has spent the last 5 years chillin on welfare with her two children. So much easier than staying in school. Now welfare is about to run out, and Aisha m ust figure out a way to support her family. None of her scams work, and her mom and siblings won't help. It's up to her to save the day.

[Hélène · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok but not very original...and people who live with the money of other people and just doesn't want to work make me feel a little angry...also she finally managed to live like a star with no real effort... Real life is rarely like that...this is not a very good example for young people in her situation I think...

[Carolynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coretta Scott King New Talent Award. Abandoned, unwed mother Aisha goes off welfare and tries to make a good life for herself and her two children. Relatable heroine finds unlikely success. Unfortunately, in 2007 McDonald, who grew up in a Brooklyn project, died of cancer. She was only 53.

[Artise · Rating 1 out of 5]

ITS ABOUT A SINGLE MOTHER OF TWO THATS 19 YEARS OLD.

[Charlene Skinner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it was a ok book

[Tatianna Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked it but it was a bit boring and very rushed and short

[GPPL Youth]

https://swanlibs.ent.sirsi.net/client...

[The Bookworms Nook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book. It's the story of Aisha a young mother of two who is about to have her welfare check stopped and her chance to change her life.

[JazzyRacquel · Rating 2 out of 5]

♥ Good Book ♥ Don't Be A Lazy Hoodrat Is The Moral ! ♥ The Ending Sucked ! ♥

[Debrarian]

Companion novel to Spellbound.

[Winona]

i had to read this book in school and i couldn't belivie it