YA Historical Literature Report
English 390
Shikha Sharma
Title: Harlem Summer
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date: 2007 Pages: 165
I. SYNOPSIS: 1925 is an exciting time to be a sixteen year old living in Harlem, New York City
but all Mark Purvis wants to do is blow his saxophone “real mean,” like his local hero Fats
Waller. In order to avoid working at his uncle’s funeral parlor, Mark accepts the job at the office
of The Crisis magazine downtown and comes in contact with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and
Langston Hughes and the idea of the New Negro. Incidentally, a one-night delivery job with Fats
Waller gets Mark involved with dangerous racketeering bootleggers Dutch Schultz, Bumpy
Johnson, and Queenie. The two distinct worlds do collide towards the end of the long hot summer
and Mark’s coming of age is as satisfying as crunching a cool watermelon!
II. EVALUATION:
As Historical fiction, Harlem Summer is set at the peak of the Harlem Renaissance and by
employing characters drawn from real life, both famous (DuBois, who actually edited The Crisis)
and notorious, (Dutch Schultz and Bumpy Johnson), the author creates a real environment
pulsating with new concepts and dark paths for sixteen year old Mark Purvis. Add to that, the
tone, rather, rhythm of the writing which alternates between languid and humorous, which makes
the reader experience everything through the senses of narrator sax-loving Mark.
1. The story must be worthwhile and well done in its own right. The novel accurately
depicts, not only the true events and concepts (Harlem Renaissance, Evolution,
Prohibition Act) of the time but also very masterfully creates the very real dilemmas that
a or many youths must have faced, living through that age of new and old co-existing.
2. The story must be truly historical. The characters and events in the book are truly
historical. The protagonist’s story is a work of fiction but highly probable.
3. Spirit and information must be authentic and accurate. Pages 152-165 in the book are
dedicated to persons and places in the book that are drawn from history. The spirit is
captured by accurate information and masterful writing by the author.
4. Spirit and information must be accurate and free from romanticizing. Even though some
of the ideas are lofty (the “new negro”), they are drawn from history and the text is free
from erroneous representation of the past. Harlem Summer is a work of fiction set in the
historical context of 1925 Harlem, NYC.
5. Historical information and personages must be vital to the story or omitted. Each
character or historical idea/ fact/ factoid is a valid part of the plot or flow.
6. Motivations of characters must be appropriate to the times. Mark Purvis wants to play the
saxophone and be cool like Fats Waller and is a little baffled by the old and new Negro
concept. He realizes that people can be strange and it’s alright if they are interesting and
witnesses many a character at the office of The Crisis. The novel transcends time in terms
of addressing issues of identity.
Page 1 of 1
Title: Harlem Summer
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date: 2007
Pages: 165
SYNOPSIS: 1925 is an exciting time to be a sixteen year old living in Harlem, New York City but all Mark
Purvis wants to do is blow his saxophone “real mean,” like his local hero Fats Waller. In order to avoid
working at his uncle’s funeral parlor, Mark accepts the job at the office of The Crisis magazine downtown
and comes in contact with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes and the idea of the New
Negro. Incidentally, a one-night delivery job with Fats Waller gets Mark involved with dangerous
racketeering bootleggers Dutch Schultz, Bumpy Johnson, and Queenie. The two distinct worlds do collide
towards the end of the long hot summer and Mark’s coming of age is as satisfying as crunching a cool
watermelon!
Shikha Sharma
Title: Harlem Summer
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date: 2007
Pages: 165
SYNOPSIS: 1925 is an exciting time to be a sixteen year old living in Harlem, New York City but all Mark
Purvis wants to do is blow his saxophone “real mean,” like his local hero Fats Waller. In order to avoid
working at his uncle’s funeral parlor, Mark accepts the job at the office of The Crisis magazine downtown
and comes in contact with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes and the idea of the New
Negro. Incidentally, a one-night delivery job with Fats Waller gets Mark involved with dangerous
racketeering bootleggers Dutch Schultz, Bumpy Johnson, and Queenie. The two distinct worlds do collide
towards the end of the long hot summer and Mark’s coming of age is as satisfying as crunching a cool
watermelon!
Shikha Sharma
Title: Harlem Summer
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date: 2007
Pages: 165
SYNOPSIS: 1925 is an exciting time to be a sixteen year old living in Harlem, New York City but all Mark
Purvis wants to do is blow his saxophone “real mean,” like his local hero Fats Waller. In order to avoid
working at his uncle’s funeral parlor, Mark accepts the job at the office of The Crisis magazine downtown
and comes in contact with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes and the idea of the New
Negro. Incidentally, a one-night delivery job with Fats Waller gets Mark involved with dangerous
racketeering bootleggers Dutch Schultz, Bumpy Johnson, and Queenie. The two distinct worlds do collide
towards the end of the long hot summer and Mark’s coming of age is as satisfying as crunching a cool
watermelon!
Shikha Sharma
Title: Harlem Summer
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Date: 2007
Pages: 165
SYNOPSIS: 1925 is an exciting time to be a sixteen year old living in Harlem, New York City but all Mark
Purvis wants to do is blow his saxophone “real mean,” like his local hero Fats Waller. In order to avoid
working at his uncle’s funeral parlor, Mark accepts the job at the office of The Crisis magazine downtown
and comes in contact with the likes of W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes and the idea of the New
Negro. Incidentally, a one-night delivery job with Fats Waller gets Mark involved with dangerous
racketeering bootleggers Dutch Schultz, Bumpy Johnson, and Queenie. The two distinct worlds do collide
towards the end of the long hot summer and Mark’s coming of age is as satisfying as crunching a cool
watermelon!
Shikha Sharma