Reviews

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington

offtheraels's review

4.25

This book proves that you can talk about serious issues in middle-grade fiction; all you have to do is meet them at their level. Immediately, I loved this novel's stream of consciousness writing and epistemological style. Keda's narration is full of love, confusion, judgment and acceptance as she experiences crushing on boys, navigating friendships, experiencing racism, understanding mental illness, and the general angst of being a child on the cusp of puberty. 

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sahelwig's review

emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Racism, Bullying, and Suicide attempt

gremlyn_w_a_hat's review

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism

ccmhats's review

5.0

A lyrical coming of age story of a transracial adoptee & her complicated, loving-but-messy family as she navigates the changes involved in a cross-country move & resulting fall-out.

Extremely well-written, honest & insightful. I loved this book!

TW for mental illness & attempted suicide.

mks1002's review

5.0

So, so good! Highly recommended.

charireads's review

5.0

Timely book about a black girl adopted by a white family. Once she gets older, she notices all of the cultural things she's missing out by not having a black family. Shines a light on adoption, cultural differences among races, and love no matter the race. Loved it, and I think a lot of my students will love it too.

crizzle's review

4.0

Weird coincidence that my 11 year old was reading this at the same time that I was reading “All You Can Ever Know”, a memoir of a girl who grew up as a transracial adoptee. So I went from that true story to this juvenile fiction, but written by a black adoptee. I feel like I am way more aware of their identity and racial issues after both. Warning for young readers, the mother has mental illness (bipolar) and at the climax she attempts suicide. There are light swears and it’s, as my middle schooler said, “intense”. I probably would have been uncomfortable with her reading it if she were younger.

nsabrekwa's review

5.0

Mariama really wrote this heartfilled book, it's indeed for young black girls everywhere.

sandsing7's review

2.0

The book description said that this book was going to focus on Keda as an African American girl adopted by a white family, and I was excited because there is such a need for that book in the tween book world! However, while it certainly touches on adoption and micro-aggressions and racism at the beginning, none of that is really resolved as her mother just pulls her out of school and it quickly becomes a book about her mother’s bipolar disorder. I just kept on thinking that, of course, the crazy white lady comes in and unexpectedly steals the whole focus of the book. This primary storyline is not even mentioned in the official book description! Ugh.

Also, one other random thought…I don’t get the Georgia Belles. A bit of random magical realism?? It didn’t work for me. Also also…her crush’s name is Huck? Really? Not sure if the author was going with a literary allusion/potential deep thought there but that certainly didn’t work for me either. (Suicide attempt)