HEAVEN by Angela Johnson

Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689822294

Summary

Fourteen year old Marley lives with her parents and her little brother in Heaven, Ohio.She spends her days hanging out with her friend Shoogy or babysitting Feather, the baby of a single father. She also makes frequent visits to Ma’s Superette to wire money to her mysterious Uncle Jack whom she has never met. Marley is happy with her life until one day a letter arrives addressed to Monna Floyd. The arrival of the letter makes Marley’s parents decide to tell her the truth; she is not their daughter, but their niece. Marley’s biological mother is dead and her father is the man she knows as Uncle Jack. Marley feels betrayed because her parents lied to her, and alone because her family is no longer her own.

Analysis

This novel is divided into four parts. In the first part Marley describes her family lovingly. She is happy.

In the second part Marley discovers that her parents are really her aunt and uncle. She must come to terms that the people she trusted most in the world have concealed something so important. It is here that Marley begins to consider the main question of the novel, what makes a family a family?

In part three Marley grapples with her feelings toward her parents. She wrestles with the issue internally. Her parents give her box filled with items about her past. She carries it around with her but doesn’t open it. When she opens it for the first time, she can’t go through everything. She is not ready to deal with her past. At the end of part 3, she confronts the man she knows as Pops and lets him know that by not telling her the truth their relationship is fundamentally changed. Marley tells him, “I don’t know anymore. Maybe the one big lie makes everything a lie.” Pops says, “Maybe. Maybe it does (Johnson 1998 p.99).”

The fourth part of the novel deals with Marley’s acceptance of the situation. Marley reads the love letters in the box and she begins to forgive her family. “My family is still just that -- only the titles have been renamed (Johnson 1998 p.136).” At the very end of the book, Jack comes to see Marley and tells her stories about the mother she lost. The stories make Marley realize what a wonderful life she has had. Marley thinks of her biological mother, “Even though some of the stories will hurt my heart and sometimes make me afraid of losing more of what I have: I want her to know that it’s been a fine life, for a girl like me, in Heaven (Johnson 1998 p.138).”

There are many positive things about this book. There are no stereotypes in the book. It centers on a strong, loving nuclear family. The father is involved with his family and spends time with his children. The problems the characters face in the book are not related to race or ethnic groups but could be faced by anyone. Angela Johnson never says the characters are African American; there are only subtle hints, like one mention of a character having dreadlocks and another sentence about a character having caramel colored skin.

One of the most significant relationships in the book is that of Bobby and his daughter Feather. Bobby is a devoted single father to his daughter. The relationship of Bobby and Feather is almost the antithesis of the relationship between Marley and Jack. Both Marley’s and Feather’s mothers die when the girls are babies. But Bobby takes his role of father very seriously and takes excellent care of Feather. He does not shirk his responsibilities. In contrast Marley’s father is so grief stricken that he cannot raise Marley and instead leaves her with his brother.

There are only a few things I didn’t like about the book. One thing is the character of Shoogy. Shoogy is described as being beautiful and having the perfect family. But Shoogy is troubled. She smokes cigarettes, is rebellious and cuts herself. We never find out why. I realize that Shoogy is a foil for Marley. Shoogy has everything and is unhappy while Marley’s mother is dead, she has been abandoned by her father but she is still better off than Shoogy. But I still would have liked to find out what is going on inside Shoogy’s family that makes her depressed and self-mutilating. I also wish there had been more details about Marley’s relationship with Jack. He and Marley meet in the last three pages of the book and it is a little unsatisfying not to find out if they develop a relationship.

Connections

This book would be good for a class to read and have book discussions. It could also be used to analyze what family means and how we understand the word. Also it could be used to discuss secrets and how keeping secrets can affect people.

Review Excerpts

According to Linda Bindner, “The various examples of "family" Marley encounters make her question what's real, what's true, what makes sense, and if any of that really matters as much as the love she continues to feel for her parents in spite of their seeming betrayal. Johnson exhibits admirable stylistic control over Marley's struggle to understand a concept that is often impossible to understand or even to define (Bindner 1998).”

Theresa Michelson says, “Over a period of weeks, Marley's anger and distrust turn to acceptance and a realization that she can't stop loving the people who raised her. When Uncle Jack comes to Heaven to visit her, Marley holds the hope that he may be able to restore some parts of her that she didn't even know were missing (Michelson 1999).”

Works Cited

Bindner, Linda. 1998. "Heaven." School Library Journal 44, no. 10: 136-136. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed June 28, 2009).

Johnson, Angela. 1998. Heaven. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Michelson, Theresa. 1999. "Reviews: Fiction." Book Report 18, no. 1: 64. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed June 28, 2009).