Product Description

Shanika Ann Jenkins is the pride of her African-American family; smart, beautiful, and born with blue eyes and blonde hair. Though her grandmother and father are happy because she represents years of passing down light skin and marrying well, Shanika's mother insists on her name reflecting her African-American heritage so that she will always be proud of who she is. When Shanika gets the opportunity to work for a PR firm in New York, she finds that everyone assumes she is white; she also notices that being white has it advantages, from getting respect at work to getting picked up by a cab when other African-Americans are passed by. When she starts dating a successful white colleague, she continues with the lie, despite the guilt she feels at disappointing her mother and her heritage. When she falls for a handsome African-American business man, she must finally face who she is and what she's done, even if it means losing everything and everyone she loves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106654 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780446696050
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
In her fifth novel, Quinones Miller (Satin Doll) attempts to make a commentary on race but instead delivers a stew of clichés, two-dimensional characters and tired stereotypes. African-American Shanika Jenkins, who has skin as white as Meryl Streep's, blond hair and blue eyes, comes from a long line of Jenkinses who pride themselves on being so light-skinned that some people could mistake them for white. After graduating from college, Shanika gets an interview at a New York PR firm and starts dreaming big. But after the interview, Shanika is told she was turned down for the position because the interviewer thought she was white, and therefore wouldn't help meet the company's affirmative action quota. She interviews for another position that isn't subject to the AA rules as a white woman and, predictably, lands the job and her career takes off. The lies snowball and she hurts plenty of people, including the man of her dreams: the handsome African-American businessman Tyrone Bennett. The ending may surprise, but there are few reasons to get that far. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Born and raised in Harlem, Karen dropped out of school at age 13. When she was 22, she joined the Navy and served for five years, after which she married, had a child, and got divorced. She moved to Philadelphia at age 29 and began a career in the newspapers, first as a secretary at the Philadelphia News, then as a correspondent for a weekly African American paper, and, after graduating magna cum laude from Temple University with a B.A. in Journalism, as a reporter for the Virginian-Pilot and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She has also served as correspondent for People magazine.

Customer Reviews

(RAW Rating: 4.5) - What's really below the skin?
One would think the phenomenon of 'passing' for white would have run its course. But old habits die hard, and Miller's new book PASSIN' is a testament to that. I don't want to make this story center on racial attitudes and prejudices, but I must tell it like the book tells it. Shanika Ann Jenkins is the epitome of what her grandparents think is beautiful. She is fair-skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes. But her parents, both African-Americans, have made every effort to keep Shanika from buying into her grandparents' racial profiling. Her mother specifically named her Shanika to evoke a sense of pride in her heritage.

Now twenty-three, Shanika has graduated from college and is ready to begin her career. She lands a job with a PR firm in New York and realizes most everyone assumes she is white. She has never frowned on her heritage, but she sees being white has advantages, from getting respect at work, to getting invited to exclusive affairs, to hailing a cab when other African-Americans are ignored. Shanika, ignoring the guilt she feels about her heritage, starts dating a successful white colleague and starts buying into the hype, but her 'deaf ear' comes with a price. A tragedy makes her face herself, and what she sees just might cause her to lose everything and everyone she loves.

PASSIN is thought-provoking and revealing, as it makes readers ponder their course of action if life allowed them a choice of color. Miller does not take sides, even though readers might. With a sensitive stroke of the pen, she shares this story about the flip side of pigmentation with a pulsating realness. It has several pertinent messages, the most prevalent, for me anyway, is to thine own self be true. Readers will wonder, along with Shanika, how she can be true to herself, true to her heritage and continue to pass. Genuine characters make this a convincing read.

Reviewed by aNN
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Imitation of Life
Imitation of Life is one my favorite movies and Passin' by Karen E. Quinones Miller reminds me of the movie; except the movie took place over 60 years ago and the novel takes place in the new millennium with original twists and turns, of course.

Blue-eyed, blonde hair, and unbeknownst to many, African-American, Shanika Jackson is the apple of her family's eyes. Although spoiled, she has always respected and admired her family, loved her blackness and felt comfortable in her skin. She is not hesitant to remind folks from whence she came or to let them know they should not get her nationality twisted. They should not be easily influenced by the light outer exterior, as she is all Black...and a strong black woman to boot. So, no one is more surprised and shocked than Shanika, when a potential employer suggests that she pass for white, after she is overlooked for an earlier position because she does not `look black enough' for the position set aside for the lone black hire.

And, after all, whites already think she is white and there are more positions available at the firm for Caucasians. Once she has the job she can always tell them that she is black. With no other job opportunities on the horizon, and a new college grad with no credible experience in her field, the weeks turn into months and student loan payments loom in the background; Shanika desperately needs a job. She decides to do the unthinkable and the unbelievable...to pass as a white woman. But, while passing is easy to conceive, she is not prepared for the toil it will take on her or the backlash she will receive from family, friends or strangers.

One lie begets another and as the web she spins worsens her life spirals out of control; she appears to be a spectator rather than an actual participant in the series of events that occur. While she fools the white folks, fooling her own (i.e. blacks) is not so easy. She is too busy trying to cover her tracks to be concerned about hurting those she does not know, but her conscious and upbringing will not allow her to ignore the actions of those who matter the most. Her mother is disappointed and brokenhearted but never complains or mentions her daughter's deceit; her brother is hurt and angry and questions how can she turn her back on her family and questions when is she going to lose the façade; a cousin with psychological problems and credibility issues is rightfully confused and befuddled. The only family member who appears unaffected is her dad. Well, he seems to be unmoved as he is by so many things, since he tends to live his life in a stupor.

As I read Passin', I had flashbacks to paternal family members and my favorite movie, Imitation of Life. (If you have never watched this movie, you might want to.) Although, I did not agree with Shanika's decision to pass, as I do not believe that anyone should ever deny their heritage, I found I could not dislike her either. At times, I really understood her plight and wanted to help her right her ways and find a positive outcome. Quinones Miller did a good job of presenting a young lady who was confused, immature, and at times selfish, but one who was also troubled because she got caught up in a situation with ramifications far beyond what she imagined. And the deeper Shanika dug the harder it became to escape the charade. She even had some redeeming qualities ...enough that I could not hate her by the end of the book. Actually, I though she (and her friends) would make good candidates for Oprah or Dr. Phil's show. I enjoy reading books that I believe can be made into movies for the big screen and Passin' is one of those storylines. I recommend Passin' to all who enjoy storylines dealing with young heroines, family matters, situations that do not have easy answers, characters that make you think and sensitive issues that continue to haunt the black community even in the new millennium.

Reviewed by Yasmin
APOOO BookClub

Imitation of Life
Most families have traditions. Well, the Jenkins family has a tradition of sorts - keep it light-bright and damn near white. With that in mind, Mother Jenkins was not too pleased with her son Peter's choice of a mate in Rina as she doesn't fit with her darker skin. At forty-eight years of age, Rina thought she was long past child bearing years, so she was surprised to learn of her pregnancy. She was even more surprised when she gave birth to a fair-skinned daughter with blond hair and blue eyes. Determined to keep her husband's family from negatively influencing her child, Rina instilled important values and principles in young Shanika Jenkins.

All grown up and proud of her African-American heritage, Shanika is ready to step out in the real world with her newly earned college degree. She runs smack dab into a brick wall when she doesn't obtain the job of her dreams because she is not "black" enough. She flips the script and decides to pass as a white woman. Quickly she finds herself deep into a world that there is no easy way out of. With her family disappointed and upset by her actions but her career on the rise, which world will Shanika choose?

Karen E. Quinones Miller paints a vivid portrait of the practice of "passing" by lighter-skinned blacks. She has shed light (no pun intended) on a topic not often addressed. PASSIN' is brave, written with style and has a message, and makes some sharp observations about race. It's well worth the read.

Reviewed by: Toni