Black Boy, White School-Inspired Look

Yesterday I shared my thoughts on Brian F. Walker's debut book Black Boy, White School.  In it, Ant is an African American from the ghetto side of Cleveland who tries to make a new life for himself in an East Coast private school.

So he is the inspiration for today's outfit, and I knew just what I wanted to do!  I wanted to create a "slackened" boarding school look.  Since many private schools have uniforms, I wanted Ant to have a uniform look with his own added style.  So here it is:

 

I really like the way it came together!  Let's discuss it:

• The sweater vest is kind of a given.  Who doesn't think of a private school with a sweater vest (especially if it has some plaid added to it)?  I chose burgundy because it's a manly color.
• Paired with the sweater vest is a gray skinny tie.  I see Ant as wearing this loosely, just enough so that he's challenging the uniform norm.
• Jeans of course--these are cooler than wearing khaki pants.
• Converse shoes really bring the whole outfit down to a "cooler" level.  If this outfit had dressier shoes, it would definitely look more serious, but I wanted this look to have a more relaxed feel.

 So what do you think?  Does it fit Ant?  I could totally see him wearing something like this!

Next week I'll be reviewing the first two books in a very popular series--see you then!

Sweater vest--$32 from Lands End

Tie--$158 from Forzieri.com

Shoes--$50 from PacSun

Jeans--$28 from Old Navy

*I am not connected with any of the above companies mentioned. 

REVIEW--Black Boy, White School

Happy Thursday!  Ok, I know I've gone on and on about Ruta Sepetys the last few days, so I will switch now to a completely new book review.  Today's review is on Black Boy, White School by Brian F. Walker.  So let's jump right into it!

 

• Standalone novel
• Realistic 

The Gist: 
Anthony "Ant" lives in Cleveland, Ohio...in the ghetto.  He witnesses his friend's murder and knows he just has to get out of Cleveland.  So he gets a scholarship to attend a prep school in Maine.  But learning to change his image to fit in at his new school may cause him to lose his identity at home.

What I Loved:

• I loved the idea of the book (which was actually based on the author's own life).  Kid from rough area goes to new, safer area and learns how to adapt.
• The title--it's really simple but it gets to the heart of all the issues within the book.

What I Didn't Love:

• The cover--it's just blah for me.  I don't get the half face thing...maybe it's showing him being torn between two places?  Just didn't work for me... 
• There just wasn't enough depth for me.  It was too short for what it was trying to achieve.  So therefore, the character development was pretty shallow for me--both with Anthony's character and especially the other African American characters.
• So NO ONE would call him by his preferred nickname of Ant...everyone at his school called him Tony.  This stereotype just got a little far-fetched...NO teacher or student remembered to call him Ant?  Really?
• The scenes should have incited feelings in me and they just didn't.  Maybe it shouldn't have been in third person so I could have felt more connected...

My favorite quote: "Ant didn't like her because she told everybody he couldn't kiss.  He could kiss just fine, though.  He just hadn't liked kissing her."

Well, as you can probably tell from above, this book just didn't do much for me.  I just wasn't invested in it, despite loving the initial premise.  Two stars for me.

 Tomorrow I'll be back with an outfit based off of Ant himself!  See you then!