Summary
At-Risk was released by the University of Georgia Press in the fall of 2011. It is the winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. Gautier’s collection consists of ten short stories that follow and explore African American teenagers that are considered “at-risk”. Most of Gautier’s characters live in Brooklyn, NY. In each story, readers follow an “at-risk” teenager who encounters different dangers, opportunities, and troublesome situations.
Some of these situations include difficult relationships with parents (with parents being either absent or present), siblings, grandparents, futile friends, schools, classmates, and their own ambitions and goals. In some cases, in order to succeed, the characters are forced to compromise rather than make their own decisions which could be considered destructive or dangerous. Gautier attempts to present the complicated, accustomed views of African American youth from the point of view of the actual teenagers themselves. This allows readers to experience the pain, joy, fear, success, triumph, etc. that these “at-risk” teenagers experience. By doing so, the readers develop a sense of empathy for these teenagers which truly allows the readers to relate to the battle of growing up even if they have not been through the same experiences as the characters. Gautier’s stories are influential and important, not only for at-risk teenagers, but for everyone. We give At Risk by Amina Gautier our highest recommendation.
At-Risk is available for purchase from Amazon.
Read Aloud
Check out the clip below to watch Amina Gautier read two of her short stories, Dance for Me and Some Other Kind of Happiness, from At-Risk at the University of Richmond's Writers Series.