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simkern's review
5.0
If you are a teacher or librarian or anyone in charge of curating young peoples' libraries, you need this book on your shelves. As a former middle school English curriculum director, I strongly urge you to teach this book in 7th-8th grade classrooms. Keda's voice is both vividly adolescent and wise beyond her years. She reveals her world through a variety of formally innovative structures, including song lyrics, dreams, letters and blog posts to her best friend. Keda's story tackles numerous vital themes for young readers--adolescence, adoption, racism, multi-racial families, mental illness, and feminism (white and otherwise)--all interwoven into a gripping family saga that is un-put-down-able (I binge-read it in a morning).
If, like me, the title does not describe you, and if that makes you uncomfortable, I'd double-down on saying you must read this book. Particularly if you're an educator. You're going to see reflections of yourself and your past in it, in ways that are not always comfortable, but are vital for unpacking white supremacy.
If, like me, the title does not describe you, and if that makes you uncomfortable, I'd double-down on saying you must read this book. Particularly if you're an educator. You're going to see reflections of yourself and your past in it, in ways that are not always comfortable, but are vital for unpacking white supremacy.
dswhite's review
4.0
Nice character development and I liked the family dynamic. This was not just a girl coming to terms with being adopted and not looking like anyone else in the family. This was also a family in crisis that needed to come to terms with those issues.
thenextgenlib's review
3.0
3.5
This book is definitely geared towards middle school students with some of the serious content involved, but I could see a 5th grader reading it and dealing with it also. This book was very, very heavy. I found myself sad every time I picked it up, which is why it took me so long to finish. I am all about heavy topics for kids, 100%. But. This book was ALL heavy topics without much levity or hope mixed in at all. It also dealt with a bunch of difficult themes such as racism, belonging, adoption, moving/fitting in, bullying, culture, mental illness, suicide, and family/friend/romance relationships. It was a LOT with very little hope until the end. The book seemed overly long also. 3.5 stars because I just found myself feeling so much for Keda and wishing she’d find her voice to tell those around her house she felt and never really found that she did that. #weneeddiversebooks
This book is definitely geared towards middle school students with some of the serious content involved, but I could see a 5th grader reading it and dealing with it also. This book was very, very heavy. I found myself sad every time I picked it up, which is why it took me so long to finish. I am all about heavy topics for kids, 100%. But. This book was ALL heavy topics without much levity or hope mixed in at all. It also dealt with a bunch of difficult themes such as racism, belonging, adoption, moving/fitting in, bullying, culture, mental illness, suicide, and family/friend/romance relationships. It was a LOT with very little hope until the end. The book seemed overly long also. 3.5 stars because I just found myself feeling so much for Keda and wishing she’d find her voice to tell those around her house she felt and never really found that she did that. #weneeddiversebooks
haley_radke's review
5.0
I loved this book. It is a unique look through a transracial adoptee's eyes at living in a white family. I learned so much about microaggressions and subtle ways adoptees are 'othered'. I appreciated the lyrical details and style. The letters, the songs, the dreams, the blog, all of it is carefully woven together seamlessly. I've read it twice now and enjoyed it even more on re-read. Mariama is a fabulous author and one to watch.
*Spoilers to come:
Some challenging topics (mental illness and a suicide attempt) move it from middle-grade to YA in my estimation, but I've been conservative on that front for my own kiddos. I also loved seeing the topic of adoptee life explored without a search/reunion plot.
Mariama's appearance on the Adoptees On podcast:
http://www.adopteeson.com/listen/e116
*Spoilers to come:
Some challenging topics (mental illness and a suicide attempt) move it from middle-grade to YA in my estimation, but I've been conservative on that front for my own kiddos. I also loved seeing the topic of adoptee life explored without a search/reunion plot.
Mariama's appearance on the Adoptees On podcast:
http://www.adopteeson.com/listen/e116
shellysbookcorner's review
4.0
“I received a review copy from Amazon Vine and voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.”
This is a very important coming of age story that will stay with me for a long time.
This story is about Makeda aka Keda who is black, 11 years old and adopted. Her adoptive family is white. This story touches on Keda trying to find her identity, her struggles to fit in and her longing to know about her birth mother. My heart broke for Keda in this story because she was forced to move away from her best friend, Lena, who is the only other black girl like her as well.
Reading this story was tough at times because I really wanted to shake some sense into Keda’s mother. I get that she didn’t see color but at the end of the day Keda is black. Things are different for us. Point blank. Our hair is different. Our skin is different. I can go on and on. I felt like she was trying so hard to make Keda feel she wasn’t different but she wasn’t LISTENING to Keda’s feelings especially after certain things Keda endured at her new school.
The story is written in a poetry style format which isn’t my favorite but it did hold my interest and I’m glad I stuck with the story. It wasn’t an easy read and there was a lot going on at times but it was still a very important and powerful read nonetheless.
Trigger warning: Suicide attempt.
This is a very important coming of age story that will stay with me for a long time.
This story is about Makeda aka Keda who is black, 11 years old and adopted. Her adoptive family is white. This story touches on Keda trying to find her identity, her struggles to fit in and her longing to know about her birth mother. My heart broke for Keda in this story because she was forced to move away from her best friend, Lena, who is the only other black girl like her as well.
Reading this story was tough at times because I really wanted to shake some sense into Keda’s mother. I get that she didn’t see color but at the end of the day Keda is black. Things are different for us. Point blank. Our hair is different. Our skin is different. I can go on and on. I felt like she was trying so hard to make Keda feel she wasn’t different but she wasn’t LISTENING to Keda’s feelings especially after certain things Keda endured at her new school.
The story is written in a poetry style format which isn’t my favorite but it did hold my interest and I’m glad I stuck with the story. It wasn’t an easy read and there was a lot going on at times but it was still a very important and powerful read nonetheless.
Trigger warning: Suicide attempt.
kiperoo's review
5.0
This book is absolutely gorgeous. Five stars on the writing alone. So many touching, lovely images throughout, and the voice just hums with unique sentence structure and stylistic choices that show the reader so clearly who Keda is and who she wants to become. Such a lovable character! On top of all this, poems sprinkled throughout point to Keda's struggle as an adopted black girl in a white family, while that family threatens to combust with struggles of its own due to the adoptive mother's mental illness. Highly emotional read!
marwal's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tracybabler's review
3.0
I received a free review copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME is a complex middle grade novel, mixing prose, verse, and social media posts to craft a story about a family in crisis. It is told from the perspective of Makeda, a Black girl who was adopted by a White family that has relocated from Baltimore to New Mexico—where no one looks like her. Makeda explores curiosity about her biological mom and experiences isolation, overt racism and microaggressions in her new town—all while her mother is in a state of crisis due to undiagnosed bipolar disorder and her dad is on a long international trip as a professional musician. With no one there to support her, Makeda struggles with understanding her identity in a world that doesn't always make sense.
There is a lot going on here both in style and subject matter, and this one feels to me like it will best for readers on the older end of the MG age group, even bridging into younger YA readers.
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME is a complex middle grade novel, mixing prose, verse, and social media posts to craft a story about a family in crisis. It is told from the perspective of Makeda, a Black girl who was adopted by a White family that has relocated from Baltimore to New Mexico—where no one looks like her. Makeda explores curiosity about her biological mom and experiences isolation, overt racism and microaggressions in her new town—all while her mother is in a state of crisis due to undiagnosed bipolar disorder and her dad is on a long international trip as a professional musician. With no one there to support her, Makeda struggles with understanding her identity in a world that doesn't always make sense.
There is a lot going on here both in style and subject matter, and this one feels to me like it will best for readers on the older end of the MG age group, even bridging into younger YA readers.