Skillfully rendered moments…are what make the novel so successful. Shabazz and Magoon expertly guide the reader by presenting loaded scene after loaded scene, often making us watch young Malcolm choose the wrong path or opt for the buzz of the street over the pull of family and principle. The result is a satisfying (and appropriate) complexity…X is a powerful, honest look at the early years of one of our country's most important civil rights leaders. Most exciting of all is the prospect that his story will awaken a new generation of young activists, inspiring them to step into what remains a vital fight.

★ 10/27/2014
This fictionalized account of the boy who became Malcolm X maintains a suspenseful, poetic grip as it shifts among moments in his life between the years 1930 and 1948. The first-person, present-tense narrative emphasizes the experiences that affected Malcolm from early childhood to his eventual imprisonment. Memories, such as a favorite teacher telling him, “Be as good as you want in the classroom, but out those doors, you’re just a nigger,” or his sighting of a lynched man, trigger a sense of hopelessness that leads to self-destructive choices. Significant people in Malcolm’s life offer different messages: his white lover, Sophia, fears being seen with him, while his siblings believe he has the potential for greatness. Shabazz (Growing Up X), one of Malcolm X’s daughters, and Magoon (How It Went Down) capture Malcolm’s passion for new experiences, the defeatism that plagued him, and the long-buried hope that eventually reclaimed him. Author notes expand on historical context and the facts behind this compelling coming-of-age story. Ages 14–up. Agent: (for Shabazz) Jason Anthony, Lippincott Massie McQuilkin; (for Magoon) Michelle Humphrey, Martha Kaplan Agency. (Jan.)

Shabazz and Magoon expertly guide the reader by presenting loaded scene after loaded scene.... The result is a satisfying (and appropriate) complexity.
—The New York Times Book Review

A completely absorbing novel... Readers for whom pre-civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This fictionalized account of the boy who became Malcolm X maintains a suspenseful, poetic grip as it shifts among moments in his life between the years 1930 and 1948. ... A compelling coming-of-age story.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

An eye-opening look at an important historical figure. The author’s honesty about his early troubles serves to convey that it is possible to rise through adversity to make a positive difference in this world. A worthwhile addition to any collection.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Although this is a work of fiction, it's strongly tethered to the facts, to the people and events that contributed to Malcolm's world view and his path to becoming a leader. Malcolm's voice is often funny, always perceptive, and as appreciative of beauty as he is critical of the disparity between the rights of whites and blacks.
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Shabazz and Magoon bring energy, immediacy, and emotional power to Malcolm’s first-person, present-tense voice. Often painfully candid, the authors effectively depict Malcolm’s lifetime of racial slurs and casual injustices, symbolized by the image of a lynched man hanging from a tree. It’s a satisfyingly complete, never simplistic story of one young man’s journey through trouble to the promise of a life of purpose and meaning.
—Booklist (starred review)

This could be a novel about any adolescent and his dark night of the soul, but it’s in fact a powerful, fully credible reimagining of the young adulthood of Malcolm Little, who, after reaching rock bottom in prison for robbery, will discover a better path and a new identity as Malcolm X.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

Thanks to the strength of the intimate first-person voice, readers experience right along with the adolescent Malcolm his thirst for experience, the seductive “siren call” of 1940s Roxbury and Harlem street life, his increasingly risky and dangerous choices, and finally his growing awareness of the impact of racism on his and his family’s past and on his present and future.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

Riveting. ... Vivid. ... Malcolm's voice is often funny, always perceptive, and as appreciative of beauty as he is critical of the disparity between the rights of whites and blacks.
—Shelf Awareness

This skillfully rendered novel traces Malcolm X's life through flashbacks, from his father's death to his imprisonment and eventual understanding of his father’s wisdom.... The publication of this book marks the 50th anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination (February 21) and is a worthy tribute to the man.
—BookPage

Shabazz and Magoon do a remarkable job generating atmosphere, balancing family love in the face of dire circumstances against the pulsating energy of a self-assured young man swaggering through Harlem streets in a fine zoot suit and a conk.... The story of a reckless young man finding himself, X: A Novel is historical fiction at its best —- an artistic exploration of a part of a renowned person's life , one that stays true to his time and place.
—Huffington Post

Malcolm inspired me with his eloquence, his wisdom, and his thirst for truth and righteousness. This powerful, page-turning story tells us how he discovered these qualities within himself.
—Muhammad Ali

Powerful and charming—makes you see things in a whole new way. One of the best books I've read in quite some time.
—Chris Rock

The inequality and injustice are vivid in this account, and this helps young adult readers today better understand what African Americans were subject to in the not-so-distant past.... This is a must-read introduction to his life for all youth to fully understand U.S. history during the twentieth century.
—Everyday eBook (blog)

I can’t recommend this novel enough.
—Historical Novel Society

An unflinching retelling of [Malcom X's] autobiography
—School Library Connection

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—We Need Diverse Books

04/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—Shabazz, the third daughter of Malcolm X, has novelized her famous father's coming-of-age years. Born Malcolm Little in 1925, Malcolm grew up in Detroit, MI, where his father was shot when he was six and his mother was institutionalized when he was 13. Malcolm spent his remaining school years in Michigan foster homes, becoming class president and earning straight As. Eventually Malcolm moved to Boston to live with his half-sister, Ella, where he chose the fast-paced Roxbury night life over his sister and her Society Hill friends. He fell into drinking, drugging, hustling, and landed in prison. Actor Dion Graham reads with a huge amount of emotion and creates a believable Malcolm. VERDICT Strong language and sexual references make this book more appropriate for high school than junior high. Students may want to read The Autobiography of Malcolm X or Shabazz's Growing Up X (Random, 2002) for the rest of the story.—Mary Lee Bulat, Harwinton Public Library, CT

★ 12/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little. The story opens with his departure from Michigan as a teen, though there are flashbacks to his younger years. It follows Malcolm through his time in Boston and Harlem, culminating with his conversion to Islam and his decision to change his name while in prison in 1948. The story does contain some gritty situations, most notably the use of the "n" word, non-graphic sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and criminal behavior. This was the reality of Malcolm X's early life, and make the later scenes that more authentic. While the novel stops prior to his rise as a civil rights leader, the excellent back matter provides historical context, bibliography, time line, family tree, and a note from the author (who is also the third of Malcolm X's five daughters). This is an eye-opening look at an important historical figure. The author's honesty about his early troubles serves to convey that it is possible to rise through adversity to make a positive difference in this world. A worthwhile addition to any collection.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Depicting the formative years of Malcolm X, narrator Dion Graham captures the great humanity of the civil rights leader who is most known for his angry, confrontational style. Hooking listeners with his dynamic rendition of the opening scene, Graham portrays Malcolm on the run in Harlem, and then moves deftly between the bravado of his teen years and the vulnerability of his childhood in periodic flashbacks. As the text portrays Malcolm’s keen intelligence as well as the insecurity and pain that drive him, Graham delivers a sensitive performance that keeps the time shifts clear and gives vibrancy to the large cast of characters. The production concludes with historical notes as well as an afterword read by coauthor Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter. A gripping, moving, and illuminating production. A.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, SYNC 2015, 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

★ 2014-10-22
Teaming with veteran Magoon, the third daughter of Malcolm X draws upon history and family stories to create a novel about her father's life before the "X." Malcolm Little grew up in Lansing, Michigan, during the Great Depression. Though times were hard, Malcolm felt that "when Papa was alive, I believed that I was special." But Papa was murdered, his mother entered a mental institution, and the broken family was scattered among foster homes. The unusual but effective chronology of this completely absorbing novel finds Malcolm frequently looking back from 1945 Harlem to specific years in Lansing, trying to make sense of the segregation he faced, a teacher's dismissal of him as "just a nigger" and his father's legacy. Boston was meant to be a fresh start, but Malcolm soon became "a creature of the street," and the authors' evocation of the street hustler's life is richly gritty indeed. Of course the street catches up to him, and ironically, it's in prison where he begins to remake himself. He becomes a reader, corresponds with Elijah Muhammad and, on the final page, signs a letter to Elijah Muhammad as Malcolm X. The author's note carries Malcolm's story further and discusses the significance of his voice in American history. Readers for whom pre-civil rights America is ancient history will find this poetic interpretation eye-opening and riveting. (notes about characters, timeline, family tree, historical context, bibliography) (Historical fiction. 14 & up)