Scan barcode
leahb88's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
What a beautifully written, emotional story. Definitely be prepared for some tears or heartache. This memoir has themes of family, identity, survival, healing, (not) forgiving, and personal and collective history. Definitely recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and War
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
How do you maintain identity, that of the inner self and the self in connection with others, in the face of constant upheaval, where circumstances leave you with no choices, no chances to assert your own will (especially as a child)? How do you rebuild identity and connection in the face of resultant trauma?
Vacillated between angry, sad, and numb, reading this book, which feels like an accurate portrayal of the primary emotional states that Wamariya relates.
In telling her story, she flashes back and forth between earlier years as a refugee in Africa, arriving as a refugee in America, and later years as an American citizen processing her experiences and working with refugee aid groups. Manages to stay pretty tense throughout.
For all that it is only the beginning point both in time and geography for this story, it still rocked gullible me to learn the seeds of the Rwandan conflict, the hatred and prejudice that caused so much violence, so clearly linked (yet again) to the rhetoric of racist, eugenicist colonizers who disrupted a previously peaceful nation for their own ends.
Wish I could include here the three pages where she talks about the word 'genocide', just to make sure that part gets read as widely as possible.
The scope of Wamariya's experiences is hard to hold in my mind (as soft and privileged a life as I've lived): traveling through multiple countries, herded into and escaping from multiple refugee camps and situations of personal jeopardy and dire poverty, all before the age of 12. Her older sister's truly legendary level of resourcefulness and determination. All that they survived to now thrive (?).
And yet their lives are irreversibly altered, years of childhood were obliterated because circumstances would not allow them to remain a child sister and a teen sister. Trauma seems to prevent real communication with her family or loved ones even once reunited, and Wamariya seems to still be in a search of what might help her heal.
It doesn't seem as simple to summarize as either a message of hope or a cautionary tale. It's the story of an individual, and anyone who reads it needs to honour the writer by never forgetting the value of each other's humanity, to respect life and share in community, rather then let differences foster strife, or greed and corruption encourage profit from suffering.
⚠️ Misogyny, racism, child abuse, spousal abuse, details of refugee camp conditions, illness and death of refugees, references to SA
Vacillated between angry, sad, and numb, reading this book, which feels like an accurate portrayal of the primary emotional states that Wamariya relates.
In telling her story, she flashes back and forth between earlier years as a refugee in Africa, arriving as a refugee in America, and later years as an American citizen processing her experiences and working with refugee aid groups. Manages to stay pretty tense throughout.
For all that it is only the beginning point both in time and geography for this story, it still rocked gullible me to learn the seeds of the Rwandan conflict, the hatred and prejudice that caused so much violence, so clearly linked (yet again) to the rhetoric of racist, eugenicist colonizers who disrupted a previously peaceful nation for their own ends.
Wish I could include here the three pages where she talks about the word 'genocide', just to make sure that part gets read as widely as possible.
The scope of Wamariya's experiences is hard to hold in my mind (as soft and privileged a life as I've lived): traveling through multiple countries, herded into and escaping from multiple refugee camps and situations of personal jeopardy and dire poverty, all before the age of 12. Her older sister's truly legendary level of resourcefulness and determination. All that they survived to now thrive (?).
And yet their lives are irreversibly altered, years of childhood were obliterated because circumstances would not allow them to remain a child sister and a teen sister. Trauma seems to prevent real communication with her family or loved ones even once reunited, and Wamariya seems to still be in a search of what might help her heal.
It doesn't seem as simple to summarize as either a message of hope or a cautionary tale. It's the story of an individual, and anyone who reads it needs to honour the writer by never forgetting the value of each other's humanity, to respect life and share in community, rather then let differences foster strife, or greed and corruption encourage profit from suffering.
⚠️ Misogyny, racism, child abuse, spousal abuse, details of refugee camp conditions, illness and death of refugees, references to SA
khoang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A gorgeous telling of survival, family, and identity.
sjhaug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
carlybailey's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book because it was assigned for my YA Lit class.
I would absolutely teach this book in my classroom, and I think that it should be taught in public schools. "The Girl Who Smiled Beads" is a memoir by Clemantine Wamariya about the Rwandan Genocide. Clemantine was forced to flee her home when she was six with her older sister, Claire. So many of us in the U.S. are privileged and have never been in want of anything. This novel will force students to gain a new perspective and look beyond themselves. Wamariya rejects the idea that she is weak or a victim because of her past, and takes control of her narrative.
Drugs: None
Sex: There are several mentions of sexual violence during the Rwandan Genocide. Claire becomes pregnant at sixteen.
Language: Mild
Rock&Roll: Clemantine and her family are displaced due to the Rwandan Genocide. She struggles with integrating into Western society. When Clemantine is reunited with her mother and father, their relationship becomes strained.
Violence: The Tutsi people and moderate Hutus are slaughtered. Claire is abused by her husband.
I would absolutely teach this book in my classroom, and I think that it should be taught in public schools. "The Girl Who Smiled Beads" is a memoir by Clemantine Wamariya about the Rwandan Genocide. Clemantine was forced to flee her home when she was six with her older sister, Claire. So many of us in the U.S. are privileged and have never been in want of anything. This novel will force students to gain a new perspective and look beyond themselves. Wamariya rejects the idea that she is weak or a victim because of her past, and takes control of her narrative.
Drugs: None
Sex: There are several mentions of sexual violence during the Rwandan Genocide. Claire becomes pregnant at sixteen.
Language: Mild
Rock&Roll: Clemantine and her family are displaced due to the Rwandan Genocide. She struggles with integrating into Western society. When Clemantine is reunited with her mother and father, their relationship becomes strained.
Violence: The Tutsi people and moderate Hutus are slaughtered. Claire is abused by her husband.
whatismollyreading's review against another edition
5.0
Moving, haunting, devastating, and beautiful. Incredible story.
rachaelsreadingnook's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0