Inzone Books: The Friends

I have such wonderful memories of reading this book to my son. The two children explore a farm, get in an argument, make up and explore some more. We always loved the Kim Lewis books. Her prose are so gentle and bring you into her world and the illustrations are lovely. I highly recommend any and all of her works.

"The Friends" was an amazing novel by Rosa Guy. The story touches you deep down inside because it's so realistic. You just want to reach in to help the main characters. The setting takes place in Harlem, New York in the 1960's. Phyllisia Cathy is the main character narrating the story in first person. Phyllisia and her family are forced to move to Harlem, New York where her father, Calvin opens a resturant. The Cathy family makes their new home in an apartment. Life for Phyllisia is much harder in Harlem than it was for her on The Island. After getting beat up and called names she starts to get used to the new life style. She soon makes a friend named Edith Jackson. Edith is shabby and sloppy looking. At first, Phyllisia is a little hesitant, but realizes how desperate she is for a friend and accepts her friendship. They have great times together but Phyllisia is slightly embarassed to be seen with Edith because of how she looks. Then, one day when Phyllisia gets caught in a riot Edith saves her life. After the experience, Phyllisia looks past their differences and just sees her as a friend. Meanwhile, at home Phyllisia's mother, Romona, is acting strange. Phyllisia and Ruby work hard to care for her when they discover that she is sick. When Romona becomes angry one day she reveals that she has breast cancer and dies within a few days. Phyllisia takes the death very hard. She stops eating and becomes very weak. Ruby tries her best to care for her younger sister but Calvin decides to take matters into his own hands. He forces Phyllisia to swallow the food and if it comes back up, she gets whipped with his belt. Eventually, Phyllisia regains her strength and is able to return to school. Phyllisia doesn't see Edith at all for a very long time. She is afraid to sneak out to see her because of Calvin. She knows Edith needs her when she finds out that Randy, Edith's older brother, was killed fleeing from the police. At home, things are very bad for Ruby and Phyllisia. Calvin is meaner than ever and takes his anger out on his daughters. He beats them and yells at them. The girls are afraid to speak to him. Phyllisia becomes so angry and lonely inside that she becomes rebellious. She stops caring about what Calvin will do to her. She gets Calvin so angry from skipping school and hanging out with boys that he decides that he will send Ruby and Phyllisia back to The Island. Phyllisia finally decides to visit Edith at her apartment. When she arrives she is greeted by disturbing news. Ellen, Edith's baby siter whom Phyllisia loved, is dead. Edith's other younger sisters were taken to an orphanage and Edith was scheduled to be taken away soon also. Phyllisia, feeling desperate to comfort her friend, promises to visit her and her sisters every day at the orphanage. Phyllisia didn't know how to keep her promise if she was going to be living thousands of miles away. Phyllisia decided to sum up all of her courage to confront the almighty Calvin. She ar

I thought this book was so well written and enjoyable. I could relate to all the characters in the book or knew someone like them. The book had so many twist and turns and it kept me guessing and wondering, I couldn't put it down. It had me reading other books by Rosa Guy too.