Imani All Mine

by Connie Rose Porter

"With authority and grace" (Essence), Imani All Mine tells the story of Tasha, a fourteen-year-old unwed mother of a baby girl. In her ghettoized world where poverty, racism, and danger are daily struggles, Tasha uses her savvy and humor to uncover the good hidden around her. The name she gives her daughter, Imani, is a sign of her determination and fundamental trust despite the odds against her: Imani means faith. Surrounding Tasha and Imani is a cast of memorable characters: Peanut, the boy Tasha likes, Eboni, her best friend, Miss Odetta, the neighborhood gossip, and Tasha's mother, Earlene, who's dating a new boyfriend.
Tasha's voice speaks directly to both the special pain of poverty and the universal, unconquerable spirit of youth. Authentic in every detail, this is an unforgettable story. As Seventeen declared, "Porter's candid narrative will have you hooked from the opening sentence."

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, African American, High School, Class, Teen

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Connie Rose Porter is an American author best known for her books for children and young adults. She was the third youngest of nine children of a family living in a housing project.
She has since taught English and creative writing at Milton Academy, Emerson College, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She was a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and was a regional winner in Granta's Best Young American Novelist contest.

Reviews

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was pregnant and this book had me in tears. This book really helped me get through my own rape. Tasha was a good mother (She really reminds me of myself , just younger). My mother was just like Tasha's mother ="( re-reading this book really made me feel like Tasha all over again. I loved it so much but it had me crying so hard , I was depressed after reading this book though all I could do was ask "WHY IMANI , WHY IMANI" - I was left wondering what was going to happen next I think this book should at least had an epilogue. Imani All Mines , was very enjoyable to me. I was shocked on how the book ended. I recommend this book for people who like tear jerkers and who are patient with what is going to happen because the end it is such a shock that i never would of guessed it ended like it did =(.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sit here stunned after completing this book.
Such a poetic and yet simplistic force that was far more than what the book description says.
While the title reads true, and the bulk of this story is dramatically centered around Imani, the infant of a child-mom, this story reached deep into the mind and heart of Tasha Dawson, her mother. Tasha is a fourteen year old who lives in what I consider any urban location, where drugs, violence, and harsh reality interfere with the simple acts of growing up. An unwanted encounter finds her pregnant and at odds with her mother, Earlene. The usual questions of "what will you do with your life", and "how will you go to college" are quieted only a bit when as time goes on Tasha becomes the very best mother she can. This story deals with the first year of Imani's life and how Tasha fights to maintain grades, peace of mind, and find spiritual understanding while witnessing the realities around her, stumbling through them and growing up along with her baby.

I was absolutely blown away by not only the beauty of this book, but by the honesty of it. I could see these scenes, and hear these thoughts as though I was there myself. The ease with which Ms. Porter's words weave the reader in and out of rather complex conversations and thoughts was like having a gentle hand along your back. Tasha was a gentle and innocent character that I couldn't help but love from the very first page. She knows what she believes are her setbacks, but the world around her, including the reader can see so much more.

I haven't shed tears while reading a book for some time...but this book left both my cheeks moist. Absolutely riveting and beautiful.

[Lydia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imani All Mine was named as a BCALA [Black Caucus of the American Library Association] Honor Book for 1999. It is the story of a 15-yr old black female -- a bit on the heavy side -- who is raped and has a child. Tasha lives in the "ghetto", a life of poverty with the accompanying problems of drug dealing, etc. Yet, she knows her mother loves her but does not tell her mother that her daughter, Imani, is a result of rape. Tasha is a straight A student, despite the fact that she speaks entirely in ghetto dialect and hates to speak correctly as her English teacher requires because "it gives her a headache". Her best friend is Eboni, who ends up having twins, and lives with Miss Lovey, a caring and interested foster parent who tries to help Tasha. When Imani is killed in a drive-by shooting, Tasha finds her solace in a church.

I personally despise these types of books. I cannot determine the theme. The writing seems to emphasize the problems of a gifted child who has thought she could attain goals that would bring her out of her poverty-stricken neighborhood, but hasn't quite figured out how to do that. The book seems more interested in portraying a typical poverty scene, despite the author's notes in the back that claims Tasha is not a "stereotype".

I do not recommend this book at all.

[Jordyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imani all mine is a very good, emotional book. This book is about a fourteen year old girl and her struggles to raise a newborn while still maintaing school and her daily life. Imani is Tashas daughter. Tasha was raped and never told anyone because she was ashamed so she just tries to avoid what she calls the man "him". Throughout the book you see how Tasha's mother is very strong worded and doesn't show the love and affection towards Tasha. This book is definitely for someone who likes a good detailed book and who likes emotional scenes. This book gives off a lot of determination from Tasha on how she wants the best for her baby and will do anything to protect her. it was very enjoyable for me to read, by far very interesting. I was shocked on how the book ended. I recommend this book for people who like tear jerkers and who are patient with what is going to happen because the end it is such a shock that i never would of guessed it ended like it did.

[Darkowaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loooved this book in high school. I randomly borrowed it from the school library... I need to buy a copy of this to re-read!

[Whit · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has to be the most heart breaking story I have ever read and I grew up in Harlem.

Poor Tasha had the worst life ever. She had no control over the violence, the sexual assault, the community that no one seemed to be able to escape from. Very little hope to escape that horrible life that Tasha found herself trapped in. She needed love and compassion but instead received one disappointment after another. Sorry I hated this story.

[Lynecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly emotional, incredibly tragic, incredibly eye-opening. But, I despised the writing. I know it was part of the book's overall literary style, but I just couldn't stand it.

[Tye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imani All Mine is a great read. It's funny, it's sad, and it captures the essence of what it means to be a Black teen. The book is written using colloquial language so it is super accessible to older students who are struggling readers.

I would not give this book to a younger audience. It is definitely meant for young adults. It contains sexual encounters and violence including drugs, gang banging, gun violence, and rape.

I am a high school teacher at a Title I school and was able to give this to my 10th grade students who read at a 6th grade level and they were able to access this book with no issues.

[Ieshia Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl growing up in Chicago without a father, manages to do very well in school, even though she has a newborn child, Imani Dawson.Tasha is just a normal girl but all her family and friends are amazed to see her doing so well. They all think she is a teenage mother because she is just too grown and manish. Tasha never told anyone that she was pregnant because she was raped, she was afraid they would all just laugh and think she was stupid or would'nt beleive her.But Even though people made assumptions they never treated her different or with no respect.Through this entire story you read that Tasha comes across different struggles at home in the streets, and at school, even with her mother doing what little she can. Then Tasha's mother meets and falls in love with a white man named Mitch. Mitch is very loving and caring and he begans to take care of their little family. Finnaly Tasha's life seems to be coming into pace with Mitch being a father-figure.But one day everyones life came crashing down when a stray bullet from a drive by hit Imani. The bullet was ment for Tasha's drug-dealing niehbor ,"June Bug", Tasha's childhood freind, but happens to take the life of an innocent baby instead. This book was great!

[SunnyD · Rating 1 out of 5]

hhhmmm...maybe i need to go back and read this one again. i'm really surprised it has so many good reviews. i read it probably 10 years ago, at the suggestion of someone who was impressed that i was into books (condescending) and figured it would be a good one for me to read since i would be able to identify with the main character (did i mention this person was condescending?!). i was a teen mom, tasha (the main character) is a teen mom. the similarities started and ended there. i remember reading the book in 2 days and thinking at the end:
1 - this really wasn't worth my time
2 - what a horrible story
3 - why the hell did she think i would be able to relate to that story?

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart hurt for young Tasha. She dealt with a lot, more than a girl her age should and sadly I'm sure this was more common than not. I really liked that despite her circumstances of being a young single mother she was very smart and still had a bright future. Although she didn't know it all, had a lot of learning and growing to do, she had a good head on her shoulders and didn't seem to fall easily for what every young boy threw her way. She was selective. Even though the story ends before letting on to what her future holds after high school, it left me feeling like she would make it, with support and love and determination, Tasha would do just fine.

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was 16 years old. It changed my life. I re read it now as a 30 year old, and it still changed my life. It is so heartbreaking and sad. Poor Tasha, I just want to hug her and tell her it get's better. I want to tell her she is loved, and that I am sorry for everything that life gave her.

Highly recommend reading this book, at least once in your lifetime.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a bit for me to get into it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I loved her voice & perspective.

[kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying that this book had me in tears. Big, watery, and unapologetic. Whew...

"Imani All Mine" is the story of 15-year-old Tasha, a teenager living with her single mother in upstate New York. At the beginning of the novel, she has already given birth to a daughter whom she names Imani, based on "some African language" that means 'faith.' Tasha loves her daughter dearly and speaks about her daughter as any new mother would, yet her worldview remains very much that of a 15-year-old girl. Tasha's dialect and the language throughout the novel is nonstandard English (words like 'nam' for "them") and very much consistent with that perspective. We later learn through flashbacks that her daughter's existence is the result of a violent rape at the hands of a stranger. Ashamed, Tasha tells no one of her assault and hides her pregnancy from everyone, including her mother.

Despite this, as well as the obstacles of poverty, an impoverished neighborhood, and her physically and emotionally abusive mother, Tasha makes strides and manages to go to school and be a good mother to her daughter. Much of the book is simply Tasha's observations of the life of a typical teenager--boys, family members, people in the neighborhood, people at school. Tasha defies common stereotypes of teenage single mothers of color by having a strong will and vision for her future.

I loved reading this book. There was never a moment when I didn't understand Tasha and her love for her child, her struggle, and her motives. I definitely recommend this.

A word of caution: this isn't YA. Although the language makes it super-accessible, I would only give this book to teens if they were super mature. This is definitely an adult read with a child protagonist.

[Melrose Brown]

Tasha is an African-American honor student. She's fourteen years old and lives with her mother in a not so good area of town. She has dreams and goals of leaving the area and going on to doing great things. One evening, at a skating rink, she meets a young man that she believes likes her. She ends up pregnant from the result of a rape and names her baby girl, Imani, which means "faith". Despite being so young and the circumstances in which she had Imani, she's by all means a devoted mother. When she sees her daughter, she sees herself and not the young man that attacked her. She learns that he attends the same school as she does, but he doesn't know that since he really doesn't know her. She tries to come to grips with her mother dating a white man. And she, too, falls in love with a neighborhood boy named, Peanut. Just when things seem to be going smoothly, a tragic incident, worse than what she's endured happen and changes her young life forever. This book is a definite page turner and guaranteed to bring the reader to tears. It touches on so much: poverty, violence, interracial relationships, and sexual assault. Due to the graphic nature, this book is meant for high school (young adult) readers. It's relatable is most cases with the youth coming from where Tasha comes from and of any race.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a devastating read. It was page after page of heartbreak, both huge and understated. Every line spoke to the everyday tragedy of Tasha's life, what she considered normal, the cycles at place in her life, and outside forces that made it that way. Every line was a gut punch, as the book got worse and worse, through Tasha's eyes. It was both impossible to read and impossible to stop reading.
There were so many prevalent themes — what it meant to be grown up (becoming a woman versus a girl), religion and faith, and more that Porter examined with such care, as Tasha's life changed again and again. I loved her complex relationships with her mother, her friends, and even the place she lived (not sure if she can leave, but unwilling to let June Big disparage it). I also really liked Tasha's voice — young, unsure, thoughtful. She felt like a teenaged protagonist, someone who'd been through a lot in her short life, but what was also interesting was how others treated her, some as an adult, some as a child herself.
It was clear Porter put a lot into this book, and I'm glad we read it for class. I look forward to our class discussion!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book accidently and let me tell you the world needs to know about this jewel. It is not a new publication, it was written back in 1998. It is brilliant!! Tasha is a 15 year old African American who has a baby at 15 (Imani). The baby was conceived as a result of a rape. The story tells of her struggles to understand what her life is now and to learn HOW to be a mother. You've heard the saying 'a child raising a child'? It's spelled out on these pages. Imani is Tasha's world. Her only reason for existing and struggling to finish high school. Tasha's mother is mostly absent. She's busy leading her own life, trying to find Mr. Right. This is a typical story about girls having babies at a young age, who live in the ghetto, minus a father (Tasha didn't even know who her father was), minus a baby daddy, no education......and the list continues.

I was not prepared for the ending...........and you won't be either.

[Mely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed that I did not enjoy this book as much as I hoped. This one has been on my TBR for a while. While I appreciate the author trying to write through the eyes of an urban African-American teenage mother, I thought the writing style was very hard to follow. And that may be due to cultural difference. There were some very heartbreaking moments that pulled at my heartstrings. There is a bunch of religious references throughout the book, especially at the end, which for me was not relatable being non-religious myself, but I'm sure would definitely touch a personal note with a different type of reader. I can see how this would be a very special book to the right audience, but for me personally was not my taste.

[Ayanna Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disturbing, heart wrenching, encouraging? I found this book (class set) when cleaning out the English book room at the school where I work—after reading I’m somewhat surprised it was there. I agree that kids need to read books that have relatable characters and situations, but this was a rough read. The narrator’s voice is eloquently strong and somewhat inspiring despite the author’s chosen use of realistic language. It’s just sad that the story is true for so many young people. I’m not sure I would want my students to read it—even with such a gross situation our nation is currently experiencing, which is almost worse. There would need to be quite a bit of discussion to make sure students understand the author’s intent behind the realism and tragedy.

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tasha is a typical 14 year old girl but for the fact she has a baby. She is bright and resourceful. In spite of an environment that can be threatening, cruel and discouraging, she is determined and hopeful about the future she is working to build for herself and her baby, Imani. Told in her voice, it is painful to discover how she became pregnant and how she has to navigate her family's poverty and her dangerous neighborhood filled with violence and predators. "Hearing" her story in her "voice" is compelling and heartbreaking yet heartening in some ways. It was a sad read given this could certainly be a true story. Complex characters also victims of their poverty make up her support system.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. Tasha's voice was so authentic, raw, and honest. She used some great figurative language. Her story was the cruelest kind life deals out. She tries to do everything right with the little she has in the face of poverty, bad influences, violence, drugs, a hard mother, an unsupportive teacher. There were a couple pieces that didn't fit (mom's boyfriend and the revelation at the very ending which enraged me), but overall, I don't know HOW more people were not talking about this book.

[E.K.]

I was not expecting the baby to die, especially not in such a brutal way. When I got to that chapter and Tasha talked about her mom holding her in the dark, I was thinking she opened up to her mom about the rape. When she said Imani was dead, I literally yelled “WHAT?!” and had a physical response that lasted until the end of the book. I liked the writing in this a million times better than the last YA book I read (Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett) but I was disappointed by religion essentially being the highlight of Tasha’s life in the end. It doesn’t feel right for me to rate this book.

[Vanity Crowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this had a very sad ending, this was an extremely beautiful book. It was so relatable to me, because it reminded me of my own family. It made me understand the mindset, and life of a young child mother. I would recommend this book to all women but especially black women to read. From adolescent women to grown women, this book is much needed ❤️. I look forward to reading more of this authors works. ❤️

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the most interesting element of this YA novel is its use of dialectical language which creates an expectation of the narrator's capacity for reflection and expression that is then undermined by the narrative itself. The book has a great way of using the language of teenage life without taking anything away from its complexity or setting it in negative contrast with adult language.

[Tonia Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glimpse into the life of a 15 year old African American girl living life the best she knows how. I found her character strong yet naive and her story heartbreaking. I want to better appreciate the narrative of people who have grown up differently than me, and this definitely challenged my worldview.

[Lizzie Winns · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first when I started to read this book it kind of reminded me of the book (Precious) because a few of the characteristic and family life was like precious. Except this mother was not beating on her daughter. But as far as race and being a teenage mother living in poverty this book was dead on. The ending was tragic I was an emotional rec at that part.

[Brittany Grantham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book forever ago when I was in high school. It’s one of those really good books that kinda just sticks with you. Tasha’s story is so heartbreaking and absorbing. She struggles through so much and you want her to have a completely happily ever after so bad. It’s such a great look and I can’t wait to read it again.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one that's hard to read - because of the way the characters speak and narrate (which actually helps you focus on the story even more) and because it rings true to current culture in my area. This is one that will be on your mind for a while after you finish the last page.

[Tania Barragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written pretty informally. Deals with sexual assault, poverty, violence, and living in a rough area. However, it does teach and have a good plot twist at the end and is not too sad. Overall really enjoyed the informality in which it was written and the ending.