A Girl Named Mister
By Nikki Grimes
4/5
()
About this ebook
Nikki Grimes, a bestselling author known for titles such as Dark Sons, Barak Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, and Voices of Christmas has written a gripping book from the perspective of a girl named Mister (Mary Rudine) who finds herself momentarily distracted from her faith commitment to purity by a handsome boy named Trey. After one night of weakness, Mister finds her entire life has changed, even if she can’t yet accept all the changes occurring within her are real. When the emotional scars of losing her innocence are more lasting than she imagined, Mister turns to a book of her mother’s, which contains poems from Mary’s perspective. As both Mister and Mary’s voices play out in the story, a full and meaningful portrait of Christian faith, trust, and forgiveness emerges, along with the truth that God can use even the most unplanned events in our lives for his greater glory.
Nikki Grimes
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include ALA Notable book What is Goodbye?, Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade, and Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jazmin's Notebook, Talkin' About Bessie, Dark Sons, The Road to Paris, and Words with Wings. Creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown, Ms. Grimes lives in California.
Read more from Nikki Grimes
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Reviews for A Girl Named Mister
16 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not Christian, but I found this novel in verse to be powerfully moving. Grimes tells the story of Mister, or Mary Rudine, a 15 year old who finds herself pregnant. Grimes alternates Mister's voice with the voice of Mary, Mother of Jesus. This story works because Mister herself is very religious and very involved in her Christian church. Grimes' writing style is spare and her images are evocative. Great read for teen girls of any Christian denomination. Would be fun as a read-aloud in a girls' bookgroup or a girls-only class.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Rudine = MR = Mister is a good girl. She sings in the choir, wears a purity ring, and has promised to remain chaste until marriage. Bit she falls under the spell of handsome Trey and tumbles. Imagine her shock and shame when she realizes that she is pregnant on this, her first sexual encounter. She finds solace and courage in a book "Mary Mary" that details the life of Mary, Mother of Jesus. Setting aside the obvious religious content, this story is a beautifully written (verse form) account of a young girl's dealing with unexpected motherhood. The details of pregnancy and labor are glossed over but the emotional turmoil is fully realized. Christian overtones may turn off nonbelievers.
Book preview
A Girl Named Mister - Nikki Grimes
Prologue
Mary: When Gabriel Comes
I.
A bright light turns the night
of my chamber into day
and pries my eyes open.
What do I see?
A being lit from within,
a giant whose voice
is quiet thunder.
Fear not,
he says, too late.
I quake, rubbing my eyes
anxious to wake
from this dream.
I am Gabriel,
says the voice, more soothing now.
I bring a message from God.
Trembling, I rise
ready to listen.
Still, what am I to make
of his amazing words?
That I, a virgin,
am to be mother of Messiah?
II.
All things are possible
with God.
The truth of it
falls on me like rain.
I slowly drink it in,
then lift my arms,
surrendered.
"I am yours, Lord.
Do with me as you will."
He wraps his light around me.
I am never the same again.
Mister: First Touch
How did it happen?
I told myself
it’s only touching.
I told myself
my clothes are still on.
But who was I kidding?
Even through
my rayon-cotton blend
his touch
burned the world away.
Cave quicquam incipias quod paeniteat postea.
Be careful about starting something you may regret.
—Syrus, Maxims
A Girl Named Mister
Blame it on my mother.
She’s the one who named me
Mary Rudine.
The name is some throwback
her old-fashioned thinking
came up with.
Nobody but Mom
has called me Mary Rudine
since forever.
First it was Mary,
then it was M.R.
Mister is all anybody
calls me now.
My boyfriend used to think
it was cute,
a girl named Mister.
Used to think I was cute.
Used to be my boyfriend
what feels like
a million years ago.
Then again, I used to be
a good Christian girl,
the kind who would never, well…
Just goes to show
how little people know.
Even I was surprised by me.
Now, I close my eyes
hoping to see
exactly where I went wrong.
When It Was Good
Was it that long ago?
I remember one morning
sitting in church,
keeping my eyes on Dante,
the cutest boy in the band.
Mom caught me.
"Quit eyeing that guitarist
like candy," she whispered.
I laughed easy.
In those days,
Mom and me,
we could talk
about anything.
Temple of My Redeemer
A second home,
as familiar as skin.
Crammed inside its walls
memories of
Sunday school,
all-church picnics,
and vacation Bible school
Sword drills.
My youth group meets there,
and choir, of course.
Even my old Girl Scout troop
once hung out
on holy ground,
meeting in
the church basement.
I could always
count on the deacons
to take dozens of cookies
off my hands.
I’m just saying,
God’s house
was cozy territory,
no question.
Until this last year.
Don’t ask me why,
but something in me
started pulling away.
Choir
For as long as I can remember,
I have loved to sing in the choir.
Sing, Mister
folks call out
as my voice does a high-wire
reaching for heaven’s hem.
I don’t know what my friend Sethany
concentrates on,
but whenever she sings
about the Lord
her face gets this inside-out glow.
That’s all I know.
Something’s Missing
Ankle deep,
my faith a thing
I wade into now and then.
Not like Sethany.
She’s mid-sea
and thinks I’m
right behind her.
For Me
I’m not sure when it happened,
but one Sunday I woke up
and for me,
church was mostly about
hanging out with friends
at God’s house.
And for the longest time,
that seemed to be enough.
After worship,
Mom would flash me a smile
that said Good girl!
as Seth and I
trotted off
to youth group.
Restless
I turned the music
of the world
way up,
my feet itching to dance
to a new rhythm,
something other than
gospel.
Sophomore Shuffle
Mom calls volleyball
my new religion
just ’cause
I practice every day.
How else will I get better?
Let her razz me
all she wants.
I figure
since I was good enough
to make the team,
maybe volleyball
can help pay my way
to college.
It could happen.
you know what they say
about miracles.
Then Came Trey
It was a Tuesday.
It was almost cliché.
He raced round a corner,
rushing to class,
and smashed into me.
My books went flying
and so did my temper.
Thanks to this bonehead
I was going to be late,
which put me in no mood
for his apology,
and I was all ready
to cut him down to size
with my eyes,
until I caught his.
Those long lashes got me,
the way they softened
the hardscape of his face.
One look,
and they softened me too.
Are you okay?
asked Trey.
I said something, I think,
or maybe I just nodded,
or smiled.
It’s not my fault
I can’t remember.
Blame it on
those stupid lashes.
Outsider
I asked around,
found out Trey
is one of those guys
who hangs out on the fringes
of our group.
He doesn’t go to church
but seems to like
Christian kids,
so I figure
he probably believes in God.
That’s one point
in his favor.
Just Friends
I never thought
he was perfect.
I won’t tell myself
that lie.
But he was fine,
had a twinkle in his eye
with my name on it.
And when he smiled
I