Black Ice by Lorene Cary is a memoir of her in 1972 as an ambitious high school student, transferring from her black neighborhood in Yeadon, Philadelphia to a prestigious, rich, white, and boarding high school called St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. In this traditionally rich white boy’s high school that has just turned coed, Lorene tries to stick to her black cultural roots and excel in her academic life as well as fit into the school community. 

After arriving at St. Paul's School, she learned that her goals aren’t as easy as she thought they would be. She dives into a dilemma about her belonging at her school. Should she ever trust the potentially racist teachers at the school? Do her friends mean it when they say they don't care about skin color? Does she deserve the spot in this school or did they accept her for being black? She had trouble socializing, thinking of white people as too needy and picky, only making friends with fellow black students. She was also a victim of sexual miconduct the same year, but she did not report it, resulting in the school doing nothing about it. At the same time, her grades were not that great either.

Although her first year at St. Paul’s School was rough, she slowly managed to fit into the school community, while at the same time feeling more disconnected from her life back in Philadelphia. By the end of her years there, she received a Rector’s Award for community service and the role of vice class president, with near perfect scores except for calculus. Despite these great achievements, Lorene Cary still regretted that she didn’t achieve as highly as she wanted to. But her journey as a student at St. Paul’s School has ended, and she can only come back as a teacher and trustee. 

As the United States becomes increasingly diverse and multiracial, many students, especially high school and college students such as Lorene Cary at the time, could find themselves in this type of dilemma. This is why I would highly recommend this book to high school or college students, as they could learn the experience of Lorene Cary in her high school journey and relate it to their own experiences. Just look out, though, because it does contain a bit of racial/vulgar language and scenes.