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Jacob's Rite of Passage | The Trilogy
Tuesday, 13 August 2013 20:07

The Trilogy...

RiteofPassage CollectionThe Great Depression. The South. Young Jacob's story unfolds during a difficult time, in the unforgiving south, a hard place for an African-American boy, Jacob Pete Manor, as he embarks upon his personal journey — his Rite of Passage.

Fourth and final child, born to a family of sharecroppers from the rural area of Fayetteville North Carolina, Jacob uncovers pertinent life truths that involve mother-son over-bonding, betrayal, abandonment, sexual explorations, misconceptions of “manhood,” and other crucial challenges and milestones which ultimately lead Jacob to becoming the man God destined him to be.

Jacob was a dreamer, with very high aspirations, whose ambitions exceeded the scope of what a climate of segregation, inadequate school systems, and a mind set of inferiority dictated for a young African-American male.

BOYS to MEN! The Journey — Rite of Passage —  of protagonist, Jacob Peter Manor.

His successes, failures, and life’s ultimate lessons helped him uncover the true meaning of "manhood." Jacob’s challenges and uniquely orchestrated stages of his life produced a far greater outcome than expected.

 buynow

Published in The Trilogy...
Thursday, 31 January 2013 19:46

Clarence V. Matthews

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Clarence V. Matthews was born and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina — where he completed his elementary, as well as a portion of his high school education. He relocated to New Jersey in 1955 where he completed his high school curriculum and received his diploma at Dickinson High School.

Clarence was married for 31 years before becoming a widower, and is the father of five children. He worked in various capacities in the warehousing, merchandising and manufacturing industries for a span of well over 22 years. He was also licensed as a real estate sales associate for well over 30 years; and is currently employed with the Jersey City Board of Education. He is also a devoted, 50-year, active member of Monumental Baptist Church located in Jersey City, NJ. He has served on the Trustee Board and as the Black History Instructor for just over 20 years.

Clarence began his writing as the Black History Instructor, who wrote and produced black history plays for the church's annual program in celebration of Black History Month. He then transitioned his writing from screenplay to novel and developed a three-part series known as Jacob's Rite of Passage. This trilogy chronicles the life of a young man raised in the South and takes the reader through the three segments (youth, teen and adult) of the life of the protagonist, Jacob Pete Manor.

In March 2010, the first novel, Young Jacob was released and Clarence was introduced as a “new” author. During the promotion of this new release, a rising awareness of the plight of the family surfaced and the "GET RITE" campaign emerged and the overall theme was, "It takes a village to raise a child. It's time to reclaim the village."

The second novel of the series, Teen Jacob, was released in February 2011 and takes the reader into the teen experiences of the main character Jacob. The finale' to the trilogy, The Man Jacob, was published and released in early spring of 2012. Though written as fiction, the real life lessons of God, family, community and MANHOOD emerge from the pages of this storyline.

Published in About

Jacob's Rite of Passage Reviews

When I first started reading the first book in this trilogy, I couldn't put it down. It was so engaging. I felt like I was actually there, and I couldn't wait until the end; but it wasn't the end. I still had two more books to read. I ended up reading the whole trilogy in one day. Whenever I finished a book, I would go straight to the next. And throughout the entire time, I was wondering and thinking to myself, what's going to happen next, and are the characters going to do this or that.

Jacob's Rite of Passage is a very inspirational series. I could often relate myself to the characters. I relate more to Big Brother than Jacob because I am the big brother. Big Brother had to look out for Jacob, and in the same way, I have to look out for Avery, Aaron, Aiden, and Andy. But, when Jacob was younger, he cussed and disobeyed Ma Bets. I did the same when I was younger, except I cussed when I was by myself. The part that stands out the most to me was when Big Brother died. I felt some emotion for Jacob because he had just lost his older brother.

The books are also very educational. They give insight on what it was like to live in the early 20th century. I give this series five stars, six if I could. They are very beneficial to any teenager, especially males because the books are about a male, and he had a lot of the same problems that male teens have today. The books even address things that teenagers think about but don't really talk about. 

The series starts out with Young Jacob, Teen Jacob, then The Man Jacob, and they each have dozens of lessons. I learned a lot of things from them. My favorite part about reading these books was the way I felt emotion for the characters and felt compassion, or anger, or if he's just going to get through it. They were well written.

Alan L.
15 years old


"Thanks for all your hard work. I started reading the book to my mother. We both are enjoying. I read a lot and I can already determine that he writes well. Thanks again."

Cynthia Henderson


"Jacob's Rite of Passage is a book like none other. It provides a refreshing and insightful view of African-American family. It showcases the struggles and victories of a post-slavery African-American family in a new light. It only got more interesting with each page turned. It was such a wonderful book!"

Valerie Taylor-Thomas


Your books are outstanding, I have passed it around to my children and a couple of friends, they too have found your writings a great teaching tool and inspiring for the young men and women in the family. Also our classmates have encouraged each member to read Jacob's Rite of Passage and to purchase it as gifts. We will be having a meeting on January 28th. I will ask how many have read the book and will email you their comments. Thank you.

Betty (class of 1967)


There were four members at the meeting who said they too enjoyed learning about Fayetteville as well as how strong young Jacob grew up to be, and he teaches all of us how to stay focused and determined to succeed in life regardless of the stumbling blocks. My hope is that you will soon write another. Your writings have encouraged my daughter to write a book about herself.

Betty (follow-up)


Clarence, I must say all three were enjoyable readings. The first, "Jacob Rite of Passage" brought to mind how many children were raised years ago, the oldest looking out for the younger siblings. "Teen Jacob, " spoke of how many teenage boys try to take over the role of an adult in many cases. "The Man Jacob" showed the progress of growth that lead into adulthood. I no longer have the books, because I passed them on to others. I'm proud to say I know someone who can express the feelings of so many in various stages of life. Keep up the gift that God gave you.

Jackie Felder


The Taylor-Thomas family would like to thank everyone for all their love and support. We are extremely proud of Brittany and her accomplishment. "It takes a village to raise a child," and this village should be very proud. We could not have done this alone. The love and support that Brittany has received from everyone will assist her in this next chapter in her life. Again Thank You!!

Valerie Taylor


“This book and the passage story is a must read! It captures some of the growing-up, real life experiences in the early life of Jacob. It reminds us of our Rite of Passage that we do not share often enough. We need to share more of these valuable experiences with our family and friends. This book leaves you wanting and waiting to read more. The author, Clarence Matthews did an excellent job with “School Days.”

Rev. Joseph L. Jones, Sr.
Senior Pastor
Monumental Baptist Church
Jersey City, NJ

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