Conception

"On the same day I began reading Kalisha Buckhanon's ambitious new novel, Conception, I just happened to receive a newsletter from a major African American literary Web site featuring its latest bestseller list. Among the top 10 works of fiction were three by the erotic writer Zane, plus books whose titles all included the words Sex, Whore, Hustler or Thug. That list, however unscientific it may be, perfectly delineates the continental divide between so-called street lit and works by more traditionally literary African American writers, not one of whom appears within shouting distance of the bestseller list. What's interesting to note is how young writers such as Buckhanon seem intent not on taking up positions along this divide but on straddling it. Conception is Buckhanon's second novel, a work of urban fiction that mixes the usual streetwise tales of woe with casual references to Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison and the occasional bit of French . . . The heroine is 15-year-old Shivana, who lives in a Chicago slum and believes that most black women stumble blindly into the same painful trap: meet some man, believe his sweet talk, bear his offspring, then watch him leave . . . Shivana's own mother has followed this scenario, ending up bitter and alone . . . Shivana, seeking love in all the wrong places, finds herself pregnant by the first older man who smiles her way. The question of the novel thus becomes whether she will decide to terminate the pregnancy or to keep the unborn child . . . It must be mentioned that part of Conception is narrated by Shivana's unborn child. That choice allows Buckhanon to tour African American history by having the fetus visit various potential black mothers before finally coming to rest in Shivana's womb. The book feels aimed at a high school crowd, and for those readers, the whirlwind tour through black history may be instructive, perhaps even illuminating . . . [Conception is] the work of a gifted young novelist struggling to weld together the various metals of her experience."—Kim McLarin, The Washington Post

"Readers . . . are richly rewarded."—The Chicago Sun Times

"Much like her acclaimed debut novel, Upstate, Buckhanon is again at her best."—Mosaic Literary Magazine

"A poignant, heart-wrenching novel."—Kirkus Reviews

"Heartfelt and affecting."—Booklist

"Buckhanon's second novel firmly establishes her as a timeless voice for a new generation. An authenticity of language and action permeates the novel. The realities of poor Chicago life and Shivana's desperation to escape lead to a sad, seemingly predestined conclusion, yet do not detract from the underlying foundations of love and hope. Teens who like Toni Morrison's work, Buckhanon's Upstate, and other realistic novels will enjoy this one."—School Library Journal

"Abandoned by her father and having unfulfilling sex with the married man whose children she babysits, Shivana Golding, fifteen, already knew what it felt like to feel nothing. Living in subsidized housing on Chicago's South Side, Shivana is soon enough pregnant. She fears confessing to her mother, considers abortion and finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with a neighborhood boy who just might be her heart love—and also with her own unborn baby. The spirit of this unborn child is a character in its own right, telling a story that spans centuries and offers tragic glimpses into the truncated lives of black children. The fetus's wise . . . narration grounds Shivana's story within a sad legacy, through slavery, lynching and ongoing racism to a modern world where reproductive choice is a myth, virtually all children are unwanted, and The Cosby Show is the ultimate fairy tale."—Publishers Weekly