Kalisha Buckhanon was born in Kankakee, Illinois in 1977. She has taught literacy and writing to children on Chicago’s South Side, in Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Upstate is her first novel. Author’s Website: www.kalisha.com Author Q&A 1. What do you like to do in your free time? I’m going to be in a PhD program and writing so I don’t have much free time!  But I’m studying acting and theatre, and I love to watch great films.  I also like spending time with my family and friends. 2. What kind of music do you like to listen to? Why? I love all music.  I’m a music junkie- from classical to world to rock to reggae to old school R&B.  My father was a DJ at parties on the side, and he loved music, so I got used to having it around all the time. I have to have music playing at all times when I’m driving or writing.  And all of my friends have great taste in music so I’m constantly being introduced to new artists. 3. What’s your . . .

“Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?”

So begins Upstate, a powerful story told through letters between seventeen-year-old Antonio and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Natasha, set in the 1990′s in New York.

Buckhanon takes us to Chicago, 1992, and into the life of fifteen-year-old Shivana Golding, who believes most Black women wind up the same: single and raising children alone, like her mother. Until the sudden visit of her charismatic and free-spirited Aunt Jewel, Shivana spends her days desperately struggling to understand life and confront the challenges she faces growing up in a tough environment. When she accidentally becomes pregnant by an older man and must decide what to do, she begins a journey toward adulthood with only a mysterious voice inside to guide her. Then, when she falls in love with Rasul, a teenager with problems of his own, together they fight to rise above their circumstances and move toward a more positive future. Through a narrative that sweeps from slavery onward, Buckhanon unveils Shivana’s connection to a past filled with tragedy, courage, and wisdom. St. Martin’s Press 288 pages Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 $13.95 Paperback St. Martin’s Griffin Pub Date: 01/2009 ISBN: 0-312-54514-2 Buy this Book at Amazon Buy this Book at Borders Buy this Book at Barnes . . .