num_pages: 144
description: "Jordan is a wizard at capturing vernacular in both conventional forms and his own invention." -- Black Issues Book Review In 1936, teenager MacNolia Cox became the first African American finalist in the National Spelling Bee Competition. Supposedly prevented from winning, the precocious child who dreamed of becoming a doctor was changed irrevocably. Her story, told in a poignant nonlinear narrative, illustrates the power of a pivotal moment in a life.
language: English
title: M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A
titlecomplete: M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A
genres: College, Race, African American, Read For School, Poetry, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 460
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
publisher: W. W. Norton & Company