43 pages • 1 hour read
Karyn Langhorne FolanPretty Ugly
Karyn Langhorne FolanFiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Authorial Context: The Authors of Bluford High
Unlike many series, one author does not write the Bluford High books. There are eight authors in total: Ben Alirez, Devan (D. M.) Blackwell, Karyn Langhorne Folan, Peggy Kern, John Langan, Paul Langan, Tonya Savory, and Anne Schraff. The series was first developed by Paul Langan, who notes on the series’ website: “The publishing world overlooked a brilliant community of young readers in America. I developed the Bluford series to correct that mistake and invite teens of color into a world of stories that were engaging, exciting, and accessible” (“Authors.” bluford.org).
Several of the authors spent their childhood years in inner-city or working-class neighborhoods. Many have worked in education or advocacy, and some use the Bluford series to advance topics of importance to them, such as bullying and loneliness or hope and redemption. Langan draws from his own experiences of “growing up without a dad, being bullied in school, and coping with the loss of a loved one” (“Authors.” bluford.org). Many of the authors have worked their way through college, sometimes attending part-time over the course of many years. These experiences prepare them to tackle the complex and challenging lives of the Bluford High students, many of whom struggle with similar issues.
The benefit of using numerous authors is that each will be uniquely qualified to bring attention to different issues that young people face. Other Bluford books include plot points or conflicts about body image, gendered expectations, violence, and a variety of family dynamics. Several of the authors, such as Ben Alirez, come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and discovered writing amid their working-class roles. Meanwhile, Langhorne Folan, author of Pretty Ugly, graduated from Harvard and became a widely published author after several years of teaching and practicing law. This diverse collection of writers gives the series as a whole an informed, complex perspective on life as an American teen.
Cultural Context: Engaging Young Readers
The Bluford books were developed with the intention of engaging young people of color in reading and, by extension, writing. The series has been remarked as having “Black kids portrayed front and center,” which created space for young people of color to “read, write, and imagine” (Reid, Syntonia. “For Many Black Kids, The Bluford High Series Made Reading a Joy.” Medium, 2021). The books have been successful enough at this mission that they have been adopted in educational and academic settings: DeKalb County, Georgia, included the series in a school-wide reading program that sought to increase literacy and promote classroom engagement.
To make the books accessible to inner-city readers—kids in the kinds of circumstances the books depict—the publisher, Townsend Press, originally made the books available to schools for $1 each. Their website sells paper copies of each book for $3 and makes the audiobooks available as a free educational resource.
The series has also been cited as helping to develop “Street Literature,” a genre that acknowledges the socioeconomic and cultural realities of characters in an urban or inner-city setting. This is a genre primarily written by African American authors, and books in this genre began with independent publishers but have since moved mainstream. The Bluford High series belongs to this tradition. The series was part of a 2012 study on culturally relevant literature and urban middle school youth, which suggested these types of books have a positive impact on literacy and readership among struggling students.
The Bluford High books have been well-received critically, often praised for their representation and ability to reach struggling readers. A review from Kirkus Reviews calls Pretty Ugly, “A well-written, accessible examination of the very real and, sadly, very common experience of high school bullying” (“Pretty Ugly.” Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2010). Reviews often cite the books’ engaging stories and recognize that difficult subjects are handled responsibly. The American Library Association has recognized several of the books in categories such as “Quick Picks for Young Adult Readers” and “Popular Paperbacks.”
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