Teacup Full of Roses

by Sharon Bell Mathis

Joe's decision to leave home is prompted by despair over his mother's blindness to his younger brother's talents and his older brother's drug addiction.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, African American

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Sharon Bell Mathis (born 1937) is an American librarian and author who has written books mainly for children and young adults.

Mathis was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She started writing at an early age, and her love of reading was fostered by her parents. Her mother, a poet, encouraged her to write. In 1958, she earned a degree in Sociology from Morgan State College and, in 1975, went on to earn a master's in Library Science from the Catholic University of America.

Mathis has written many books for children and young adults, and has received many accolades in her career. Her book Ray Charles, a nonfiction biography of Ray Charles, received the Coretta Scott King Award. The Hundred Penny Box received a Newbery Honor Award and is a recipient of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and also an American Library Association Notable Children's Book. English Journal placed Mathis alongside writers such as Toni Cade Bambara and Nikki Giovanni, characterizing them as "describing a black consciousness of self- celebration rather like that which flowered during the Harlem Renaissance and was somehow lost, at least in literature, in the intervening years of social upheaval." Teacup Full of Roses was a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. It was described, also in English Journal, as "a celebration of black family life, not of the stereotypical enduring parents, but of the children who find their strength in giving to each other."

Reviews

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A YA novel about an inner-city family struggling with a drug addicted son. The mother in the story makes you want to scream at her and shake her for how she is acting towards her children. In reading this to 7th graders, I was watching for reactions to how the mother was acting towards her 3 sons. I was surprised that I wasn't seeing the same reactions that I was feeling, but then again, I'm a MOM! There are a lot of great discussions that could be had with your child after reading this story including drugs, love and what that means in a family, and dreams. The way the characters spoke to eachother with an "inner city" language was at times difficult. But the novel read quickly and there was enough happening to keep you turning the pages. Unfortunately this doesn't end on a happy note, but still a good lesson to be read.

[Zaporha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the book that made me love reading. First book my oldest sister ever gave to me to read. Loved it. I have read this book about 7 or more times. Not a lot of pages BUT within those pages are awesomeness. It will make you cry, laugh and cheer. One of my favorite books to read over and over even into my adult life.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, gut wrenching, powerful read. I finished it in one night. I laughed, cried, was aggrevated, disappointed, and hopeful. Many emotions in just 125 pages. If you like "If I Grow Up", this is a must read for you.

[Jessica Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a YA book that was given to me by a friend so i decided to knock it out (its only 125 pages). I honestly didnt go in with high expectations because after reading the back of the book, I already knew what I was getting into. It’s a story about a poor, black family living in DC at the height of the crack epidemic. It really follows the life of Joe, the middle sibling to Paul(oldest) and Dave(youngest). Paul just got out of rehab from overdosing on heroin. And Dave is a junior in high school gifted in academics and athletics. Everyone knows Paul isn’t clean from the drugs. Everyone except his mother who continues to make excuses and live in a fantasy that she can get Paul clean “if everyone just loved him more”. He actions and words show that Paul is her favorite. Joe is over it, and decides he can no longer help someone who doesnt want to help themselves. So he focuses all his energy on trying to get his younger brother out of the hood so he can go away for school. Until tragedy strikes. Like I said, its a typical story that I’ve read so many times so I could predict what was going to happen after the first 3 chapters. A nice quick read to kill some time😅

[PT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read reading this book quite frequently as a tween and teenager.
I LOVED it, but I haven't read it in like a decade or more.
I need to read it again to see if I still affects as much as before.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is not my type at all.It is written pretty well,I guess.I have to read it for class though.I just started it,and I am hoping to be done by Tuesday.

[Tenecia Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an inspirational novel. I love the way it focuses on young men and the way they handle their problems . I love the moral, and the title was clever!

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took about a night to finish this gem on our library shelves and well I must say I was blown away by the powerful family portrait and the heartwrenching portrayal of a drug addict I had no expectations from the title or the cover..This book was refreshingly new and I was in for a complete surprise..ah the magic of reading..Okay so for starters like I said I randomly found this 125 page book and decided to try it..so published in 1972 this is an ALA notable book, noted as Outstanding by the New York Times and and set in Washington DC, from all this I just sighed and figured this book would remain on the shelves as my students would not be able to relate to anything in here but I was completely wrong and this book is definitely worth the time..Alright so this sad story is told by Joseph or Joe, the middle son in a family of five in a poor black family hit hard by the oldest son’s drug addiction..this book reminded me of the movie Crash where the mom blindly believed in the preciousness of one son and ignored the other as that is exactly what the mom Mattie does here..Paul, the oldest son is her golden child, her artist and one sadly strung out junkie on the hardest of drugs to get clean from and the most fascinating to read about—heroin..One of my secret reading pleasures is about drug addiction as I struggle to understand the addict and ache for the hurt inflicted on the family and this book gives you all that..Joe tries to get through to his mom that Paul is hopeless and heroin has too strong a hold on him but she won’t listen—even after telling her of the talent and academic genius of the youngest son Davey she is stuck on saving a son who doesn’t want to be saved..it was poignant and real to read of this family torn apart by drugs as it didn’t just ruin Paul but also everyone who loved him. Joe learns to stop believing Paul can change and focusing on himself and his brother, her girlfriend Ellie and moving out and on but this story doesn’t end that happily and he never does make it to the magical place where there are no problems—the teacup full of roses he promises his girlfriend..the book ends tragically with a death I won’t spoil for you by revealing who but though it ends this book will stay with me..I cautiously want to keep this sad family story away from my young readers but also know this is a story they must hear to stay away from Paul’s plight and help their communities…I will never forget this book as a powerful look at how drugs impact everyone..Sad and haunting but well worth the read I think this is for my 8th graders for sure as it may have been in my middle school library it is truly YA with its subject matter and theme..

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joey is the middle son, Black and 17. His older brother Paul, his mother's pet, has just returned from 7 months at a rehab center trying to overcome his heroin addiction. His younger brother Davey is a brilliant high school junior with exceptional talent as a basketball player. Their mother seems to only care for Paul even though he is back on heroin within days. Joey decides to give Davey the money had saved to go to college himself and join the Navy. Paul finds the money and spends it on heroin. Joey goes to get it back from the dealer. In the fight that ensues, Davey saves Joey from getting shot by one of the guys in the other gang and gets killed himself.

This book has an unsettling and powerful ending, but the beginning drags some. "Listen for the Fig Tree" by Mathis is much better in my opinion. "Teacup" has a message - it portrays the agony of drug addiction, and the waste of the good and beautiful in the ghetto, but it is not as forceful a statement as her later book.

[Daisy Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and tragic.

[squid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me cry.