Salmon Croquettes
In 1965, The Circle, in Watts, Los Angeles, was a close-knit Black community, filled with its own particular joys and troubles. Set against the backdrop of racism and everyday police brutality, this vibrant neighborhood comes alive in Salmon Croquettes, as 12-year-old Zayla Lucille McKinney grapples with the confusion of feeling like a boy trapped in a girl's body. Is she what the other girls call her, a "bulldagger"? And what does that even mean?
In the midst of her transformation from tomboy to young woman, the community she loves explodes in a racial uprising. The Watts Riots teach Zayla the fragility of life and the importance of friendship. As the embers die down and the smoke clears, Zayla also learns something else - a family secret. Salmon Croquettes is a sensitive exploration of Zayla's transition from childhood incomprehension - why do adults expect children to magically understand what is acceptable and what isn't - to an acceptance of who she is and the truth of who her parents really are.
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"Author Glodean Champion delivers an exciting and powerful story of acceptance and finding yourself. Such an incredible way to tell the tale of a young girl coming to terms with her sexuality and owning it! Salmon Croquettes is an unapologetically good must-read." (Readers Favorite)
"Salmon Croquettes is a debut novel rich in prose. Champion uses historical events, newspaper headlines, television shows, poetry, and music to place the reader in the Civil Rights era. One could easily classify the novel as a coming-of-age story, a rite of passage tale about a young woman coming to terms with her homosexuality, and this critique is partly true, but in Salmon Croquettes so much more is offered." (African American Literature Book Club - AALBC)
"This was a heartwarming coming-of-age dramedy about an important chapter of Black history. Told through the eyes of a preteen "tomboy", we experience every confusing, triumphant, and terrified emotion of our protagonist Zayla. I highly recommend this book to other readers, and look forward to reading more from the author." (Goodreads)
"This is an extraordinarily unique body of work from a true mega-talent, Glodean Champion. Not many authors can tackle an array of taboo subjects from racism to LAPD abuse to sexual confusion to family scandal to bullying and all from the perspective of a captivating, coming-of-age 12 year old Zayla in 1965 Watts. And all that tempered with gifted, LOL, wit-filled story-telling reminiscent of Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole if you know of his brilliance. A read like no other!" (Amazon Reader)
"If you don't open yourself up to the raw emotions this story is capable of developing within you, if you don't spend time evaluating your responses and their causes, if you don't look at your own societal lens, you are not doing Salmon Croquettes justice. It is not simply a great read, but a catalyst for understanding, change, and greater Love." (Amazon Reader)
