Leaving Atlanta tells the story of classmates Tasha Baxter, Rodney Green and Octavia Harrison during their fifth-grade year at Oglethorpe Elementary in Atlanta. "Might nothing. Think about it. You ain’t never heard of nobody black going around killing people for no reason. That’s white people’s shit."Tasha is eager to return to school to show off her jump rope skills after practicing all summer to perfect her moves. If she can perfect her foot work then she may gain a spot in the clique of Monica and Forsythia. However, those dreams come to a halt when she finds out that jumping rope in fifth-grade is “baby stuff” according to Monica. As the girls graduate from jumping rope to playing jacks, Tasha shows off her skills and puts a whipping on Monica. That doesn’t help her chances of gaining access to the in-crowd but it does cause her to question the state of her family. "You now know, as undeniably as if you had read it in the World Book Encyclopedia, that Officer Brown has nothing useful to share. As a matter of fact, you are more fearful than ever to know that this man is all that stands between your generation and an early death."Rodney is a loner who has little to say but his thoughts are priceless. He spends his days trying to make himself invisible as he comes to grips with the fact that he’ll never please his father. If only “an epidemic of disappearing black fathers” hit his home like so many of his friends everything would be okay. Instead his dad appears at the school after Rodney falls asleep at recess and misses lunch. After being humiliated in front of his peers he is convinced that any place is better than home. "Kodak commercials say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but the one they showed of ____ ain’t worth more than three or four. ____. Black. Dead."Octavia, another outcast, is affectionately called “Sweet Pea” by her single mom but is ostracized for her dark skin and is teasingly called “Watusi” by her classmates. Unlike her “almost friend” Rodney who tries to make himself invisible, Octavia has a good aim and will fight back with words and rocks. But when two people she knows goes missing she is forced to deal with the consequences.Leaving Atlanta is one of the few stories that make you start your sentence with, “Girl let me tell you about this book…” when asked how you like it.This novel is a fictional story set in Atlanta during one of Atlanta’s America’s darkest hours, Atlanta’s Child Murders. During the years of 1979-1982, twenty-nine children went missing and some were found dead.Born in 1978, I’m too young to remember these events but author Tayari Jones delivers a first hand account from the third person narrative of Tasha, the second person narrative of Rodney and a first person account by Octavia. Each of the fifth-graders tell the story from their own unbiased point-of-view.As I read the book I felt like I was in Atlanta during these events. The feelings that resonated from the characters were feelings I could remember having as a child. I found myself thinking on many occasions, “Tayari had to have really dug deep in her past to nail these childlike characteristics.”I also wondered if writing this book had affected her mental state since two of her classmates were among the twenty-nine missing.I’m not sure I could have told this story but Tayari did and it was done with a style that is to be envied. Her descriptive words and language never failed to paint a picture or conjure feelings of my childhood.What I loved most about this book was that it didn’t talk so much about the Atlanta Child Murders but focused more on how the community reacted to it, especially the children. I couldn’t imagine having to walk home from school with a serial killer on the loose.This novel is broken into three parts with a three, two, one punch that hits you hard below the belt. Initially you would think that the three different perspectives would be ill-fitting but they all meshed together to tell a wonderful story about an unfortunate time in our history.
Leaving Atlanta is a story that definitely left its mark on me. Even as I moved on to reading other books, I found my mind returning to the characters in this book, wondering about them as if they were real people I interacted with in my life. Maybe it's because the main characters were children, naive to the world, that I wanted to reach out and protect. Whatever the reason, I was thoroughly impressed with this novel, and probably even more so because of the depth of the story despite its simplicity.Leaving Atlanta is told against the backdrop of the Atlanta child murders of 1979. This true event involved the kidnapping and murder of over twenty African American children in Atlanta, Georgia between 1979 and 1981. Childhood can be difficult enough, fitting in at school, trying to make friends, without having to worry that you'll be the next child snatched off the street and murdered. Yet, such was the reality for the children of fictional Oglethorpe Elementary. They were faced with trying to understand the frenzy their parents were placed in, worrying about their children coming straight home after school. Worrying about who the murderer could be. Told in three parts (each focusing on a different child), Jones worries less about a specific plot and more about bringing the reader into the mind and daily life of a child caught in this scary situation. And although the murders are the main thing on everyone's minds, the children are also learning about the world around them and dealing with issues such as race, poverty, abuse, peer groups, and bullying.Jones's character development was superb. The writing was told from a child's perspective (first in third person, then in second, then in first) but didn't revert to childlike language. I thought it was such an astute manner of writing because other than the use of the child's language in dialogue, the only other "childish" part was the perception of the child. I was able to appreciate the writing while still feeling as though I was in the child's thoughts. I became so attached to the character of Tasha in the first part of the book that I was devastated when I realized the second part was told from the point of view of another character. But just like part one, I grew to care about the second and third characters immensely. The ending of the second part gave me chills. The significance of what life meant for that child, and the decision he makes... it's one I won't forget. I wish I knew someone else who read this just so I can discuss that one part!Leaving Atlanta is a book about children and about the big bad world. Its quiet subtlety masks a surprising intensity that will leave you thinking about it for a long time after turning that last page.Looking forward to reading more by this author! Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com
What do You think about Leaving Atlanta (2003)?
I really enjoyed Tayari Jones' debut novel. She had mentioned an article I wrote on her blog and that's how I ended up putting her books on my list. And I am not disappointed! She fluctuates between POVs first, second, and third through the lives of three kids during the time of the Atlanta Child Murders. Part 1 following Tasha brings us into the world of a young girl preparing to come into her own, struggling with popularity, and wondering if her family is as bad as is gossiped about. When her potential suitor goes missing it brings the Atlanta disappearances close to home for these particular characters. This is the part in third person pov.Part 2 follows Rodney in second person pov. It definitely fits being in the male mindset as a child but not wholly being their. Rodney's family is better off than some of the kids in school and he's considered one of the good kids. Of course the tug of war between the feelings his father has for him result in tragedy for Rodney. And reveals that sometimes to children or teenagers humiliation is considered a fate worse than death.Part 3 follows Octavia, a character that is teased and mocked through the first two sections for being "dark as night". Her section is in first person and fits. This character is very sassy even though she's an introvert due to all the name calling and gossip spread about her. But she's a spitfire and able to hold her own. She's smart and has learned to be a good liar from her mother. Even though she's gone through some things she still has her mind set on straight.The characters, environment, situations are compelling for the reader and getting to know the main three characters you hope for safety for all of them and are hit with a pang when finding out that not everyone comes away unscathed. The story is fiction yet the Atlanta Child Murders was something real that happened during Jones' childhood. (She even inserts herself into the story with Tayari Jones being disliked by the popular girls for inadvertently putting the kibosh on a slumber party.) I'd urge others to read this novel as it pulls you in from the start. It's also a novel to learn more about how POV is learned. Rarely have I ever read second person outside of a short story by Chimamanda. Overall reading Jones' debut reminds me of how much I enjoyed ZZ Packer's short stories when I first read "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere".
—Jennifer
Leaving Atlanta is a novel told in three distinct voices. LaTasha, Rodney, and Octavia are fifth grade classmates living in Atlanta during the time of the real-life child murders in 1980-81. The kids may be living under the same cloud of fear and dread, but Jones demonstrates with some amazing tonal shifts how different their experiences and feelings are. I hadn't read much about the book before starting it, so when the book opens with Tasha's section, I expected the entire novel to center around her. And I would have been fine with that—a book about just Tasha would have been great. Jones relates her story in a close third-person, sensitively portraying her attempts at being cool, her fear and hurt at her parents' separation, her loving but typically bossy relationship with her little sister. I was surprised and a little disappointed at first when I turned the page and discovered the second part of the book wasn't about Tasha, but I was just as quickly enthralled by Rodney's story, and Octavia's after it. And I have to mention that Rodney's section is the most effective use of second person narration I've ever seen. Jones is so smooth with it, I didn't even notice it was second person until I was several pages in. I generally like it when authors go with second person, but it's a choice that always draws attention to itself, like “Look at me, I've been to a writer's workshop!” In Jones's hands, though, it's more than a showy gimmick—it's a necessary aid to the narrative. Rodney, the most enigmatic character of the three, is instantly knowable thanks to the repeated “you, you, you.” Even though I wasn't sold on the format at first, by the last page I was convinced the novel gets its power from the combination of all three children's voices. What could have been a singular story becomes universal when the overlapping stories are presented together. Jones was a child herself in Atlanta during the time of the murders, and she expresses well the fear and uncertainty that kind of violence visited on the community. By the time the murders ended, at least 29 African-American children were dead. Most haunting of all, Jones explains in the author's note that though a person widely suspected to be responsible was jailed on other charges, many Atlanta residents believe the real murderer is still at large. More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
—Taryn Pierson
I enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book. It was well written and performed although the writing for the 2nd act, the story of one of the kind of nerdy young men who was eventually abducted and killed was less realistic, from my point-of-view. This was mainly due to the language that was used which, although written in the third person, did not "feel" or read like a realistic narrative of an early adolescent. Nevertheless, in the end that even worked to some extent by being a part of an overall story of an interesting but normal set of children/early adolescents who along with struggling through the ordinary aspects of their lives were also coming to understand and deal with a horrible trauma that had beset their communities. The book captures both the young peoples' as well as the adults perspectives which were particularly understandable and realistic. This was the first novel for the author, I believe, and I can clearly see why a considerable amount of praise was afforded her as the narrative was efficient and the drawing of characters and situations was effective at drawing the reader into the story in terms of both age (children/youth) and how the issues was likely dealt with during those time.
—Kwesi Brookins
