Once you read a good book, you can’t wait to get your hands on a few more. So here’s a list of books I enjoyed a lot, as well as a few articles written about me and the books I’ve written. Enjoy!
Author Interview: Sharon G. Flake on the Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street
Cynsations, May 6, 2009
“When I visit schools I ask young people to tell me about the kings and queens in their neighborhoods. I ask them about the castles there too. Sometimes they look at me as if I’ve lost my mind; even kids in wealthy neighborhoods do that. But then they catch on—castles are everywhere if we look for them and don’t expect them all to look the same.”
Pop Star: Sharon Flake
Pop City, July 11, 2007
“Spin a half-dozen books around similar themes – trying to belong, trying to see past the obvious into a deeper part of life – win a fistful of awards, make yourself required reading in middle-school, high-school, and college curricula, then sell a half-million books. ‘It adds up,’ Sharon Flake says. ‘It’s a lot of books. I try not to think about it.’”
Author Sharon Flake having a royal blast
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2007
“Flake’s entertaining, thought-provoking new book revolves around Queen, a hugely self-confident girl who takes her name seriously. The tiara-wearing Queen may live in the inner city, but she considers herself royalty and sees her row house, which is located across from a housing project, as a castle.”
Children’s Book Reviews: The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street
Publisher’s Weekly, May 7, 2007
“Multi-dimensional characters and frequently affecting dialogue make this a memorable work of fiction.”
Tales from The Hood: Sharon Flake captivates young readers with gritty realism
Time, September 28, 2005
“It’s hardly an accident, given the overwhelming success of the Harry Potter books, that a contingent of writers has suddenly discovered the young-adult author within. But veteran novelist Sharon Flake is no Johnny-come-lately to the genre. ‘This is not a place I visit,’ says Flake. ‘This is a place where I live.’ Her novels, which explore the lives of African-American teenagers, are known for their honest depiction of gritty urban life and racism, as well as the universal themes of teen insecurity and angst. ‘I don’t write about easy stuff,’ admits Flake, 49. ‘I take a no-holds-barred approach.’”
Guiding kids through a violent world
BookPage, September 1, 2005
“Murder, guns, drugs, violence. Coretta Scott King Award-winning author Sharon G. Flake leaves no holds barred in her newest book for teen readers, Bang!. This eye-opening novel follows an inner-city boy, Mann Martin, as he struggles to overcome the loss of his younger brother and his fear of life on the streets.”
Interview: Sharon G. Flake
Black Girl Magazine, April 1, 2005
“I think there is so much young people have to say and want to hear, and hopefully my work gives them the vehicle to see themselves struggling and succeeding…”
Meet Sharon Flake
Detroit Free Press, June 5, 2003
“Sharon Flake’s book The Skin I’m In was voted this year’s favorite book in an annual poll of Detroit Public School students. To celebrate, she visited Detroit on May 14 and 15 to speak with students at the Detroit Public Library’s Author Day 2003.”
Kids see themselves in author’s Skin
Detroit Free Press, May 20, 2003
“Middle school isn’t easy for anyone, especially Maleeka Madison. The seventh-grader’s clothes aren’t cool, her skin’s too dark, and the relative happiness she once knew in a land called childhood has been replaced with the dreary self-doubt of adolescence.”
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