Blue Lights in the Basement.

by Juliet Sandford Loudmouth Entertainment & Publishing Inc., September 2001 $24.95, ISBN 0-971-41870-5

Just as I was about to concede that witty and provocative black novels are a thing of the past--Pearl Cleage's work, of course, being an exception--along comes Brooklyn native Juliet Sandford's debut novel, Blue Lights in the Basement.

Set in the 1960s, Blue Lights centers around the plans of four teenage girls attending a Saturday night party, a raucous event that during the '60s was called a "blue lights in the basement party." While the party proves to be wild enough, it's the events leading up to the festivities that prove entertaining.

Blue Lights is narrated by an intuitive 17-year-old named Jewel Sinclair. Her best friends, Joanne, Linda and Teresa are all seniors in high school and, except for Linda, reside in the same apartment building. Baby boomers will immediately identify with at least one of the young women. And for readers too young to remember blue lights, the Supremes or Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, pick up the book anyway--you're in store for a serious history lesson on black life during a more innocent time. What's refreshing about Sandford's portrayal of these feisty, young, black women is their intelligence. Though they sometimes make mistakes, she allows them in some way, good or bad, to blossom.

--Tamainia D. Davis is a Chicago-based documentary filmmaker and writer.