A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780767901260)

The inspiring, true coming-of-age story of a ferociously determined young man who, armed only with his intellect and his willpower, fights his way out of despair.

In 1993, Cedric Jennings was a bright and ferociously determined honor student at Ballou, a high school in one of Washington D.C.'s most dangerous neighborhoods, where the dropout rate was well into double digits and just 80 students out of more than 1,350 boasted an average of B or better. At Ballou, Cedric had almost no friends. He ate lunch in a classroom most days, plowing through the extra work he asked for, knowing that he was really competing with kids from other, harder schools. Cedric Jennings's driving ambition--which was fully supported by his forceful mother--was to attend a top college.

In September 1995, after years of near superhuman dedication, he realized that ambition when he began as a freshman at Brown University. But he didn't leave his struggles behind. He found himself unprepared for college: he struggled to master classwork and fit in with the white upper-class students. Having traveled too far to turn back, Cedric was left to rely on his intelligence and his determination to maintain hope in the unseen--a future of acceptance and reward.

In this updated edition, A Hope in the Unseen chronicles Cedric's odyssey during his last two years of high school, follows him through his difficult first year at Brown, and tells the story of his subsequent successes in college and the world of work. Eye-opening, sometimes humorous, and often deeply moving, A Hope in the Unseen weaves a crucial new thread into the rich and ongoing narrative of the American experience.

Author: Ron Suskind
ISBN-10: 0767901266
ISBN-13: 9780767901260
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Language: English
Published: 05/04/1999
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.97h x 5.23w x 0.90d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.5
Point Value: 24
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 45541 / Hope in the Unseen


Review Citation(s):
Ingram Advance 06/01/1999 pg. 30
New York Times 07/18/1999 pg. 28
Booklist 02/15/2000 pg. 1097