February 21, 1965–Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem’s Audubon ballroom, becoming even more inspiring a figure in death than he has been in life. June 23, 1997–After surviving for a remarkable twenty-two days, his widow, Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire set by her own grandson. In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the memory of their parents’ love, the meaning of their cause, and the power of their faith. Now, at long last, one of them has recorded that touching and tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir, Growing Up X. Born in 1962, Ilyasah was the middle Shabazz child, a rambunctious live-wire and self-described “Mommy’s girl” who fought for–and won–attention in an all-female household, a warm place as full of fun as learning, chaos, and love. From the first days after her father’s death left the family famous (and homeless) to the years of private schools and personal bodyguards . . . from studying the Muslim faith to understanding the mystery of boys . . . from coming to terms with her father’s murder to the shock of her mother’s passing, Ilyasah’s life is one of stunning contradictions: deprived and privileged, unique and endearingly normal. Here is a girl carrying on the legacy of a renowned father and indomitable mother while navigating childhood and, along the way, learning to do the Hustle. Here is a child who was a different color from other kids at camp and then, years later, a young woman not radical enough for her college classmates. Above all else, here is a tribute to a mother of almost unimaginable forbearance, a woman who “from that day at the Audubon when she heard the shots and threw her body on our own, [never] stopped shielding her children.” Written with great warmth and simplicity–and featuring reminiscences of famous friends, colleagues, and acquaintances like Coretta Scott King, Muhammad Ali, and Spike Lee–Growing Up X is a fascinating, first-ever look at a family many have admired from afar . . . and never seen so close.

Growing Up X

Biographies & Memoirs

Shabazz, Ilyasah

Community & Culture

One World/Ballantine

“Ilyasah Shabazz has written a compelling and lyrical coming-of-age story as well as a candid and heart-warming tribute to her parents. Growing Up X is destined to become a classic.” –SPIKE LEE February 21, 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom. June 23, 1997: After surviving for a remarkable twenty-two days, his widow, Betty Shabazz, dies of burns suffered in a fire. In the years between, their six daughters reach adulthood, forged by the memory of their parents’ love, the meaning of their cause, and the power of their faith. Now, at long last, one of them has recorded that tumultuous journey in an unforgettable memoir: Growing Up X. Born in 1962, Ilyasah was the middle child, a rambunctious livewire who fought for–and won–attention in an all-female household. She carried on the legacy of a renowned father and indomitable mother while navigating childhood and, along the way, learning to do the hustle. She was a different color from other kids at camp and yet, years later as a young woman, was not radical enough for her college classmates. Her story is, sbove all else, a tribute to a mother of almost unimaginable forbearance, a woman who, “from that day at the Audubon when she heard the shots and threw her body on [ours, never] stopped shielding her children.”

Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X

One World

*A New York Public Library Best Children's Book of 2018!* *A Washington Post Best Children's Book of 2018* *A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018*
In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.
Inspired by Betty's real life--but expanded upon and fictionalized through collaboration with novelist Renée Watson--Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother’s childhood with this book, painting an inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.
Backmatter included. This title has Common Core connections.

Betty Before X

Children's Books

Watson, Renée

Biographies

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel

The Awakening of Malcolm X is a powerful narrative account of the activist's adolescent years in jail, written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz along with 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe award-winning author, Tiffany D. Jackson. No one can be at peace until he has his freedom. In Charlestown Prison, Malcolm Little struggles with the weight of his past. Plagued by nightmares, Malcolm drifts through days, unsure of his future. Slowly, he befriends other prisoners and writes to his family. He reads all the books in the prison library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm grapples with race, politics, religion, and justice in the 1940s. And as his time in jail comes to an end, he begins to awaken -- emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little:Now, he is Malcolm X. Here is an intimate look at Malcolm X's young adult years. While this book chronologically followsX: A Novel,it can be read as a stand-alone historical novel that invites larger discussions on black power, prison reform, and civil rights.

Jackson, Tiffany D.

History

X: A Novel

Teen & Young Adult

Magoon, Kekla

Literature & Fiction

Turtleback Books

A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Cowritten by Malcolm X’s daughter, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world. Malcolm Little’s parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that’s a pack of lies—after all, his father’s been murdered, his mother’s been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There’s no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. But Malcolm’s efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he’s found is only an illusion—and that he can’t run forever. X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today.

Candlewick

"A completely absorbing novel. . . . Readers for whom pre-civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Malcolm Little's parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that's a pack of lies. There's no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. But Malcolm's efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory. X follows the boy who would become Malcolm X from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today.

Historical Fiction

The daughter of Malcolm X describes growing up fatherless after her father's assassination, her mother's determination to protect her children from the barrage of media, her discovery of her father's contributions, and life in the Shabazz household.

McLarin, Kim

Thorndike Pr

Betty Before X is a powerful middle-grade fictionalized account of the childhood activism of Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X’s wife, written by their daughter Ilyasah Shabazz. In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Betty’s house doesn’t quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she can’t shake the feeling that her mother doesn’t want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. The singing, the preaching, the speeches from guest activists like Paul Robeson and Thurgood Marshall stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty quickly finds confidence and purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, an organization that supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born.
Inspired by Betty's real life―but expanded upon and fictionalized through collaboration with novelist Renée Watson―Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four poignant years in her mother’s childhood with this book, painting an inspiring portrait of a girl overcoming the challenges of self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.
Backmatter included.
"[T]his moving fictional account of the early life of the late civil rights leader and widow of Malcolm X draws on the recollections of family and friends. The result is a heart-rending imagining of Shabazz's personal challenges as well as a rare, intimate look at the complex roots of the American civil rights movement. A personal, political and powerful imagining of the early life of the late activist." ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Absorbing . . . History comes alive in this illuminating portrayal of the early life of this civil rights activist." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An excellent work of historical fiction that will illuminate and spark discussion." ―School Library Journal, starred review

Square Fish

Macmillan Young Listeners

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Books by Shabazz, Ilyasah

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Growing Up X

Growing Up X: A Memoir by the Daughter of Malcolm X

Betty Before X

The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel

X: A Novel

X: A Novel

X: A Novel

Growing Up X

Betty Before X

The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel