American Ace is a book by the author Marilyn Nelson. The book is about a family the lives in Italy. Our protagonist Connor’s grandmother passed away recently. Naturally, his father is pretty sad about the whole ordeal. The weird thing to Connor is his dad has been like this months after the funeral.
The Bainchinchis owns a restaurant so every year on the anniversary of her death, they close and feast. During this feast, all of Connor’s uncles toast to “the woman who made them what they are today”. Connor knows his dad is going to speak but he is shocked about what he hears. His grandpa isn’t his grandpa. His dad’s dad isn’t actually his dad.
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Connor’s father describes how his mother left him a ring and a letter. He also says in the letter it stated that Genaro, his “father”, isn’t his father. This was a shock to everyone in the restaurant. Connor’s aunt broke the silence by saying, “I’m glad to know Mama had a Grand Romance! Tony, nothing makes you less my brother!”
After that, there was a sizable amount of hugs going around and a sizable amount of confusion at the kid’s table. They were questioning the eligibility of their uncle’s title as an uncle. Connor’s mom liked the idea her husband was a “love child”.
The next day, Connors's dad decided to take his son to a lot at the mall. After the meal, he gave Connor the gold ring he had got from his mother. At first, Connor thought the ring was too small for him. Then he tried it on his pinky. It seemed like a match made in heaven. The ring fit him perfectly.
Connor couldn’t stop looking at the phrase in Latin etched in the gold. He thought of the ring as part of him. While he was working at his mother's restaurant, he had to take the order of three high school girls. While he left the table, they commented on his ring. One of them commented, “Italians love their bling!”
Connor was curious about this ring. He took it off and examined the etchings. One of them read “The Forcean 1940”. Another etching said “Suo Marte”. Translated it reads “By Our Own Strength”. Unsurprisingly, he was curious about what this all means. Especially “The Forcean”.
He took to google for his answers. He googled “The Forcean”. He also googled another etching he found, Josten. He found that “Forcean” came to a dead end. But he also figured out Josten is a brand. Just then their mother came in and he and his sister told her about it. She said they should go to the library. She also mentioned she would take Connor.
After school, Connor and a friend, Amy, went to the library. They asked the librarian about the ring. The librarian put “The Forcean” into google books. Sure enough, there was a book titled “The Forcean”. The New York Public Library owned a copy. So the librarian ordered it.
They agreed Connor’s father should be the first to see the book. Unfortunately, they couldn’t go on Friday, when the book was supposed to be there. They decided to go on Saturday. Eventually, Saturday rolled around. They decided to go early in the morning. Once they got to the library, they found out “The Forcean” is a college yearbook.
The librarian explained that the college the book is referring to is a black college. Connor’s dad took the book and sat down in the rare books section. The book was old. 1939 to be exact. The book was from Wilberforce, Ohio. After reading some, Connor’s father closed the book.
He was surprised at the yearbook. Right when he got up, he fell. He looked pale. His eyebrows and sideburns looked black. They thanked the librarian and left. Once they got back to the vehicle, Connor’s dad was panting. Connor had a lot of questions in his brain now. “What does this mean?” That’s when Connor’s uncle yelled something, “Stroke!”
Connor’s dad stayed overnight for “observation”. Apparently, it was a false alarm. Connor was relieved. After, they drove home.
When Connor got home, he googled Wilberforce. That led him to find William Wilberforce. Will was a British abolitionist/orator. He condemned cruelty to animals but mostly spoke out about the cruelty of slavery. Eventually, England abolished slavery.
Wilberforce University was founded in 1856 and was the first HBCU in the U.S. The very first students were Southern mixed-race rich kids. The university’s motto is “Suo Marte” or “By our own strength”.
The next day, they drove to the library where they were met by the librarian. Connor and his dad searched the yearbook trying to find Ace. The librarian suggested that Ace may be a Cul-de-sac. They look through some more.
The librarian suggested that maybe Ace was a nickname. He suggested that maybe it was a nickname from being a good pilot. Maybe he was a Tuskegee Airmen. Connor didn’t know what a Tuskegee Airman was so the librarian explained it.
“The famous all-black fighter pilots in the Second World War? I think the name’s related to the wings.” He also suggested that they look in the junior class to see if there was someone with the initials MS. So they decided to send the Department of Defense the matching names. So they did.
They found someone named Mozelle Scott who had facial features similar to Connor’s dad. They also found Mannie Sparks who also had facial features close to Connor’s dad. They found a third man named Marvin Stallings who also resembled Connor’s dad. His dad said, “I’ll get my DNA tested.”
A few days later, Connor’s father got his results back:
- 48% Iberian Peninsula
- 24% Great Britain
- 8% Ireland
- 7% Benin/Togo
- 6% Cameroon/Congo
- 4% Europe West
- 3% European Jewish
Connor’s dad was surprised at the results. He was surprised that there were six more people than he thought. He was also surprised at how Ace connected them to the outside world.
Connor spent some evenings googling history. He was caring about their arts and their triumphs. He described it as “Having more teams you can cheer for.” He wanted everyone to know he was a citizen of the world.
Eventually, it came time for Connor’s grandma’s feast at their restaurant. Everyone was there. After a while, Connor’s dad stood up and clinked his glass with his spoon. He gave a speech. “Before the pie, I’d like to share my thanks for what Connor and I have learned from the ring and wings my father left with Mama, and Mama left me. Apparently, Ace was just his nickname, earned as a crackerjack fighter pilot. (Applause.) And he was African American.
He may have been a Tuskegee Airman.”
A few days later, Connor’s dad gets a text from his other son, Carlo, saying that “Bad news should be told privately. Carlo also said that his own children asked, “Will we still have friends, now that we’re colored?” Over the next few days, Connor’s father kept repeating that phrase. “Now that we're colored.” “Now that we're colored.” “Now that we're colored.”
The next day, Connor’s dad let Connor drive. It was snowing. Connor’s father tried to tell him something. Connor asked what and turned toward his dad. That’s when he saw his dad’s face. It was lopsided. Connor promptly drove his father to the hospital.
Connor’s dad was released on Connor’s sister’s birthday. He went to his favorite chair while the family welcomed him home. Connor was just staring at his father for a while. The doctors said Connor’s dad was very lucky.
Eventually, Connor’s dad spoke. “How’s Amy (Connor’s friend)?” Connor responded with “She might not be the one.” A while later, Connor’s dad asked about Connor’s paper about the Tuskegee Airman. He told his dad about his report. The next day, the Department of Defense wrote back about Mozelle Scott and Mannie Sparks. They said they were both Tuskegee Airmen who were stationed in Italy.
One of the men got shot down. The other crashed when his landing gear failed. Overall, Connor comes to the conclusion that his dad is his hero. His dad defied death.
Eventually, Connor’s dad took Connor to the DMV to get his license. Connor aced the test. After that, they were invited to Connor’s Uncle’s house. On the drive there, Connor told his dad about his potential grandfathers.
Overall, American Ace was an okay book. It got a little boring and drawn out at times. The writing is great but it’s just a book I would only recommend to the most patient of people. If your patient, I would recommend this book. If not, I would suggest a book like “The Bitter Side of Sweet” that I covered in my previous book report.
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