Noni Carter is an American author from

Fayetteville, Georgia Fayetteville is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of downtown Atlanta. In 2015 ...

, whose first book, ''Good Fortune'', was released by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in January 2010. The young-adult novel is about the life of a slave girl who was snatched from her homeland in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in the early 19th century and brought to the United States, where she eventually escaped from a plantation and fled to freedom. Carter, who started attending Harvard University as a freshman in the fall of 2009, is one of the youngest writers signed by Simon & Schuster. Noni is currently completing a PhD at Columbia University.

Literary biography

Carter decided to write a novel after sitting around a kitchen table at age 12 with her family listening to a great-aunt tell the story of Rose Caldwell, Carter’s 4xgreat-grandmother. She especially recalls a description of how her Grandma Rose as a young girl watched as her mother was sold across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. She spent many hours from ages 12 to 15 writing and researching black history for her novel. What began as a short story became the 479-page ''Good Fortune.'' She was editing her book by the 11th grade. A writing mentor suggested that Carter start speaking at book festivals. The idea paid off, and her book was picked up by Simon & Schuster at BookExpo America in 2008.

Good Fortune

The protagonist of Good Fortune is Ayanna Bahati, who is captured in Africa at the age of 4 and brought to the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

as a slave. Ayanna eventually escapes slavery and starts a new life in Ohio. Along the way, she learns to read and write and starts a school for black students. Often sad, she hears her past echoing in her name, Bahati, which means “good fortune.”

Criticism and praise

The effect of Carter's book on the current generation has been compared to that of the classic

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and a ...

(1921–1992) novel ''Roots'' on previous generations. In ''Roots,'' Haley traced his ancestry through seven American generations back to Africa.

References

Jan. 28, 2010 article "Echoes of the Past: Fayetteville Teen's Novel Becomes a Reality" by Nedra Rohne in ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'': http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/fayetteville-teen-s-novel-285760.htmlx Jan. 13, 2010 article "Good Fortune -- SCHS Grad and Harvard Freshman Releases Debut Novel" by Michael Boylan in ''The Triangle Tribune'': http://triangletribune.com/index Jan. 11 video interview on National Public Radio’s “On Point” show: http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/01/noni-carter-and-good-fortune Jan. 12 article in ''The Citizen'': http://archive.thecitizen.com/node/41486xx

External links

Author website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Noni 1991 births Living people 21st-century American novelists Harvard University alumni American women novelists 21st-century American women writers