A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey From the Street to the Stars (Adapted for Young Readers)

Oluseyi, Hakeem M. A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey From the Street to the Stars (Adapted for Young Readers). Ember, 2024. 333p. 978-1984849663. $12.99. HS, OT. *****

Hakeem Oluseyi, born James Plummer, Jr., recounts his life in this coming-of-age memoir, A Quantum Life. This version is adapted for younger readers from his memoir published in 2021. Oluseyi vividly visits major milestones of his life from birth to his mid twenties, as a poor black kid with an exceptional IQ and curiosity. Oluseyi documents his life as he moved from one state to another, living with different family members, experiencing violence, and how marijuana and crack cocaine wound its way through his life and family. His academic path and achievement are well documented, along with the racial prejudice he experienced at nearly all levels of academia. Like any good professor, Oluseyi brings complex concepts, such as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, into focus for the reader. Throughout the memoir, you’re rooting for James Plummer, Jr., as he pushes past his own addiction and self-destructive habits to become a renowned astrophysicist, a husband and father, and to shine as brightly as the stars that enthrall him. 

The book is utterly inspiring and holds such a personal and authentic vibe in the self-narrated audiobook. Although the realities of Oluseyi’s early life don’t seem too graphic, due to his matter of fact storytelling, the weight, consequences, and barriers he faces are all too real and heart wrenching. The book contains descriptions of deep addiction, racial bias and prejudice, as well as gun violence. Although these are all tough topics, the approach Oluseyi takes in retelling his life makes the subject matter approachable by mature middle school to high school students. Overall, this is a perfect memoir for anyone interested in the sciences, racial prejudice in academia at all levels, and the black/male experience from the 80s and 90s in America.

It appears that the Young Adult Adaptation stays true to the 2021 adult publication upon a brief comparison.

Jessica Lundin, San José Public Library

Tags: Memoir, Biography, Racism, Science, Astrophysics, Drug Addiction, People of Color