SPEAK
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in the United States of America by G. P. Putnam’s Sons,
a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2004
Published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2005
Copyright © Brenda Woods, 2004
All rights reserved
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED THE PUTNAM EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Woods, Brenda (Brenda A.) Emako Blue / by Brenda Woods. p. cm.
Summary: Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with
each other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice, but just as the lives of the
five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy tears them apart.
1. African Americans—Juvenile fiction. [1. African Americans—Fiction.
2. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 3. High schools—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.
5. Los Angeles—Fiction.]
I. Title. PZ7.W86335Em 2004 [Fic]—dc22 2003016647
eISBN : 978-1-101-09996-4
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
http://us.penguingroup.com
To Lori Gonzalez
Acknowledgments
I thank God, who led me to and through this story. I also thank
Barbara Markowitz for her continued support and kindness. Thank you
to John Rudolph for his editorial skill and for sharing my vision.
Finally, thank you to Nancy Paulsen and everyone at Putnam for
allowing me the freedom to write about a difficult subject.
Life is precious.
Monterey
The parking lot at the church was full. A fat cop, parked on a motorcycle, waved us by with one hand while he wiped his forehead with the other. It was hot.
The air-conditioning in our Chevy Blazer was broken and my daddy’s palms were so wet, he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel and cussed out loud. Mama dabbed at the back of her neck with a wrinkled white handkerchief. I was sweating too. No music played on the radio. Silence.
A crowd was standing in front of the church, but I knew that if Emako hadn’t died the way she had, most of these people wouldn’t be here. As for me, I belonged here. Emako was my girl.
Daddy found a parking space on the street and squeezed in between two cars. I slid out of the car and walked into the church, holding my mama and daddy’s hands. I stood on my tiptoes, trying to see Emako’s family, but there was a human shield around them all dressed in black.
I was wearing a short skirt, and when I sat down between my mama and daddy, the yellow wood of the pew felt cool against my bare brown legs.
“Today is a day of great sorrow!” the preacher’s loud voice boomed, filling the church just as Eddie came and sat down in front of me. I touched him on the shoulder and he turned around. He looked into my eyes and squeezed my hand like he was trying to give me his strength. Tears started to roll down my cheeks and I let go of his hand and reached into my purse for a tissue.
“A sweet innocent life has been taken before her time!” the preacher shouted.
“Have mercy!” a woman in the front screamed.
“Amen!” a man yelled from the
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in the United States of America by G. P. Putnam’s Sons,
a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2004
Published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2005
Copyright © Brenda Woods, 2004
All rights reserved
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGUED THE PUTNAM EDITION AS FOLLOWS:
Woods, Brenda (Brenda A.) Emako Blue / by Brenda Woods. p. cm.
Summary: Monterey, Savannah, Jamal, and Eddie have never had much to do with
each other until Emako Blue shows up at chorus practice, but just as the lives of the
five Los Angeles high school students become intertwined, tragedy tears them apart.
1. African Americans—Juvenile fiction. [1. African Americans—Fiction.
2. Interpersonal relations—Fiction. 3. High schools—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.
5. Los Angeles—Fiction.]
I. Title. PZ7.W86335Em 2004 [Fic]—dc22 2003016647
eISBN : 978-1-101-09996-4
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
http://us.penguingroup.com
To Lori Gonzalez
Acknowledgments
I thank God, who led me to and through this story. I also thank
Barbara Markowitz for her continued support and kindness. Thank you
to John Rudolph for his editorial skill and for sharing my vision.
Finally, thank you to Nancy Paulsen and everyone at Putnam for
allowing me the freedom to write about a difficult subject.
Life is precious.
Monterey
The parking lot at the church was full. A fat cop, parked on a motorcycle, waved us by with one hand while he wiped his forehead with the other. It was hot.
The air-conditioning in our Chevy Blazer was broken and my daddy’s palms were so wet, he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel and cussed out loud. Mama dabbed at the back of her neck with a wrinkled white handkerchief. I was sweating too. No music played on the radio. Silence.
A crowd was standing in front of the church, but I knew that if Emako hadn’t died the way she had, most of these people wouldn’t be here. As for me, I belonged here. Emako was my girl.
Daddy found a parking space on the street and squeezed in between two cars. I slid out of the car and walked into the church, holding my mama and daddy’s hands. I stood on my tiptoes, trying to see Emako’s family, but there was a human shield around them all dressed in black.
I was wearing a short skirt, and when I sat down between my mama and daddy, the yellow wood of the pew felt cool against my bare brown legs.
“Today is a day of great sorrow!” the preacher’s loud voice boomed, filling the church just as Eddie came and sat down in front of me. I touched him on the shoulder and he turned around. He looked into my eyes and squeezed my hand like he was trying to give me his strength. Tears started to roll down my cheeks and I let go of his hand and reached into my purse for a tissue.
“A sweet innocent life has been taken before her time!” the preacher shouted.
“Have mercy!” a woman in the front screamed.
“Amen!” a man yelled from the
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