The Academy drive on literacy has seen a number of students within our learning communities participate in a book review competition. The competition was launched in assemblies and has led to a number of students submitting reviews of books they have read. I would like to congratulate all students who entered the competition and even bigger congratulations to Muna Yusuf from Pascal Community for submitting a fantastic review. Here it is...
Book Title: A Piece Of Cake: A Memoir
Author: Cupcake Brown
Cupcake Brown was not born into a life of privilege, academic stimulation, or professional dynamics. Her younger years were not a model for achieving success; her youth interrupted by violence and emotional turbulence. At 11, she regularly engaged in prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. By age 13, she had graduated to gang activities and street crime. Unfortunately, life would get much worse before it got better as Cupcake spiralled into a life that hovered somewhere above state prison, at best, and death on the mean streets, at worst.
Cupcake's story is about system failure, societal ignorance, and a little girl who, as a result, resigned to degradation, depression, deprivation, and defeat. Her story is also about choices -- good ones and bad ones -- and about the possibilities that are there if only we "Pray, trust, work hard, and grab hold!" Most people would have been daunted by the hurdles she faced. Yet, despite enormous fear and grave self-doubt, Cupcake grabbed a hold, prayed, and held on for dear life as she learned that there was another way -- a better way. She sensed a Guiding Hand and discovered that, over time, a network of people was being formed to encourage and guide her along the way. Leaning on this network, Cupcake climbed the long, difficult, and steep ladder to transformation, sobriety, positive change, self-improvement, and triumph.
Plot/ Story line:
This novel provides a first-person account of Cupcake Brown's triumph over adversity. From beloved daughter to abused foster child to crack addict. This is the heart wrenching true story of a girl named Cupcake Brown. Following her mother's death, Cupcake Brown is just eleven years old when she is thrown into the child welfare system. Sadly she was moved from one disastrous placement to the next being neglected and frequently sexually abused. Subsequently, she became pregnant many times. But once she was seven months pregnant, she would be beaten up by the residents leading to her baby's death.
She developed a hazardously increasing appetite for drugs and alcohol- an appetite fed by hustling and ‘turning tricks' and before long stumbled into the notorious world of the gangster. But ironically, it was cupcakes rapid descent into the nightmare of crack-cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster half-dressed and more than half dead - she finally knew she had to change her life or die.
Best moment:
Cupcake brown is an extremely courageous woman. She had what we could barely call a life, yet never gave up on her hopes and dreams. She still endeavoured, aspired, and strived to be the best, overlooking her horrific start in life. She grows into an inspiring woman fulfilling her full potential and becoming a lawyer. Cupcake Brown is my biggest motivation. She has inspired me into becoming a lawyer, never giving up, believing in myself and learning to say no in the scariest of situations. I believe the highlight of the book is when she overcomes her past becoming a lawyer. Gradually, she begins to have faith which is shown at the beginning of her book where she wrote;
Where there is life,
There is hope,
Where there is hope,
There is trust
Where there is trust
There is love,
Where there is love,
There is faith,
Where there is faith,
There is success,
Where there is success,
There is god
This proves that anyone can achieve what some may call the unattainable, the unreachable and even the impossible, because she knew and now I know- anything is possible as long as we keep an open mind.
The story begins when cupcakes mother tragically dies leaving her daughter to fend for herself. She finds her mother lying on her bed having an epileptic fit resulting in her chocking on her tongue and suffocating. At eleven years old cupcake had already witnessed a person die before her very eyes.......but little did she know, that was the easiest thing her eyes would be witnessing from then on.............
The most important moment in this story for me is when cupcakes mother dies. This is because, like cupcake I always wonder, what if her mother didn't die, would her life be so dreadful? Would she have been raped? Would she be so full of sorrow, hatred and bad luck? I believe that if cupcakes beloved mother did not die, she would have had a much easier life, a fuller life and overall a better life.
However what troubles me is thinking of what cupcake has become due to her life experiences and tragedies. If she did not go through all of her unforgettable events, would she be so successful now? I doubt it.
The book ends with Cupcake Brown going back to school and learning everything she had missed from scratch. She becomes a lawyer and helps children in similar situation speak out and overcome their fears. What I love about this book and what kept me reading for about 350 pages is the realisation of the strength humans have. The strength cupcake had to have to bear the pain of her child hood. But more importantly that she is living proof that nothing is impossible.
I was about to say this book would be better if she used more similes and metaphors, however when I logically think about it, I noticed that there is nothing that can describe or relate to her alarming childhood, nothing which can explain the pain that she felt when she was being abused, starved and neglected. So I believe that this book is an excellent read and I enjoyed reading it between my laughs and cries.
I would recommend this book for people of any age, any gender looking for inspiration.........because this book is full of it.
By Muna Yusuf
Aye mate! And welcome to limbo! Problem: I have no idea what page you're trying to work on. You need to define a body ID in the template, then turn on the necessary rows and columns in layout.css. Arrrrgh!
