Becoming Jiji

Jill Frisk, 18-year-old daughter of a violent father and shattered mother, has no plans, no hope. She is a straight-A high school graduate, but her 1970s blue collar neighborhood in North Minneapolis discourages women's dreams.Although she reads advanced chemistry books as a hobby, her father won't allow her to go to college. The prospect of an existence like her mother's holds Jill in the grip of depression.Joe Stern, the new recreation director, sees Jill differently. He hires her to run a preschool group and assists her in founding a teen council that uplifts the neighborhood. With his encouragement, she rises above her depression and discovers she has a world-class singing voice.Empowered with the promise of a future she never dreamed possible, Jill finds a safe home for her family and brings her mother back to life.Jill falls in love with Joe, but she's too shy to tell him before he suddenly leaves town. Will new, improved Jill have the guts to pursue him, woo him, help him overcome his secret past, win his hand, and become a successful musician?Becoming JiJi is an antidote to America's current wave of dystopian fear, confusion, and hopelessness. It's a great story about "ordinary" blue-collar Americans changing themselves from defeated cynics to high achievers.The novel weaves resistance to racism, classism, domestic violence, sexism, and sexual harassment into a heart-warming story of empowerment.You'll love this story by an award-winning author, filled with touching portrayals of ordinary people. The characters seem so real they'll feel like your good friends. JiJi will raise your spirits and inspire you.Includes links to performances of music mentioned in the book, and an original English translation of Schubert's song, Du Bist die Ruh. David R. Yale has had short stories published in Midstream, Response, Pangolin Review, Newtown Literary, Blue Collar Review, and Jewish Braille Review. His novel, Becoming JiJi won First Place, Contemporary Fiction, in the 2018 Writer's Digest Self-Published eBook Awards. His novel, No Free Soup for Millionaires was a finalist in the Pirates Alley Faulkner Society 2018 Novel-in-Progress Contest.Yale has read from his fiction at Union College (Schenectady NY), Claremont College (California), The University of Minnesota, The Mendota (Minnesota) Jazz Emporium, and UCLA.With a blue-collar, working class outlook, Yale writes about one of the most overlooked communities in the contemporary fiction scene. Find out more about him at https://davidryale.com/ 1970s blue collar community wants more, reaches higher, rebels to make their dreams come true.Becoming JiJi, first in the saga, won First Place for Contemporary Fiction, 2018 Writer's Digest Self-Published eBook Awards.In Becoming JiJi, Park Director Joe Stern turns a depressed community rightside-up by helping teen Jill Frisk found a park council. An empowered group of kids energize adults. Joe discovers Jill has a world-class singing voice. With his support, she becomes a star.In The Real Paul Makinen? much-loved Park Directors 19-year-old Paul and 16-year-old Karen are fired. Six area boys killed in 'Nam in one week. People explode. They hold back property taxes, block railroads, occupy the mayor's office, demand Paul and Karen be re-hired, the local draft board disbanded, the minimum wage raised.Jill, now a star, gets the rebels major media coverage. The city caves in to their demands.In Shirley, Victorious, Jill's mother, a recovering domestic violence victim, builds her career and helps lead the rebellion. Shingle Creek becomes prosperous, happier, healthier. And Shirley is able to overcome her justified fear of intimacy and find true love.