Reviews with content warning for Racism - For Black Girls Like Me

I take issue with this being referred to as a children’s book/middle grade book. This book was many things. Exceptionally written. Emotionally driven. Heavily triggering (as someone who dealt with many of the things). Wonderful representation. Educational — on racism, bipolar, and adoption. Chock full of words that yes, I would love to teach my students.

However — just because a book is about a middle schooler does not mean it is appropriate for middle schoolers. I’m not ignorant, I know and understand that young students are capable of grasping concepts that educators/parents/adults assume are beyond them. The things I was dealing with from the age of eight were horrific. This book touches on them. I talk to students that see drug abuse and more on a daily basis. But this book just... was not written well for it’s target audience. It handles the topics beautifully... For an adult. But to hand this to a kid? I’d need to see emotional maturity beyond their years.

“But you rated it 5 stars.” Yes, I did. For many reasons, some that are outlined above. It was exceptional. Exquisite. It hit me in a way that has me curled up crying while I tackle this review (which I wanted to write while I was feeling all the things). As someone who was adopted, I felt a lot of what Keda felt. That disconnect. I was white, but I was darker than my family and many people pinpointed me as not belonging. The book tackles racism and micro-aggressions among your own family, including the white savior complex. And the bipolar representation! I was floored by the honesty of it. But despite the heaviness of it and how REAL the pain was, it also fought to explain what bipolar was and how the character was feeling.

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constancegpappas's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a book! This is an intense story. I think the mom issue was a bit more than it needed. I wanted to know more about Makeda. The best bits were between the sisters. The mother’s undiagnosed mental illness sort of took over and I found myself feeling resentful and wanting the narrative to get back to Keda. I think the hate speech and bullying was well done and I also wanted them to go back to that school and suspend the other kid.

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