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A review by iamalways7012
Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Ordinary Girls: A Memoir (2019) by Jaquira Díaz is a story for the seemingly powerless. I haven’t read nonfiction in a while, and this book brought me to become interested in the genre with how immersive the story is. Díaz recounts her life experiences, but her use of imagery and description transport you to right there next to her as the event plays out. This read was inspiring, with a message of taking the circumstances fate had brought you and striving for a better life. Reading this memoir was certainly entertaining, but emotional taxing as Díaz covers darker parts like sexual harassment when she was younger.
I would recommend for those who felt like they were handed the wrong cards since birth, "for the black and brown girls...For the wild girls and the party girls, the loudmouths and troublemakers. For the girls who are angry and lost. For the girls who never saw themselves in books. For the girls who love other girls, sometimes in secret," (Díaz 304) as Díaz represents and reaches out to all of these with comfort.
My one area of criticism would be related to the fact that there are many characters presented in Díaz's story; many of whom are mentioned only a couple of times. It is quite difficult to keep track of all these figures over the course of the memoir.
I would recommend for those who felt like they were handed the wrong cards since birth, "for the black and brown girls...For the wild girls and the party girls, the loudmouths and troublemakers. For the girls who are angry and lost. For the girls who never saw themselves in books. For the girls who love other girls, sometimes in secret," (Díaz 304) as Díaz represents and reaches out to all of these with comfort.
My one area of criticism would be related to the fact that there are many characters presented in Díaz's story; many of whom are mentioned only a couple of times. It is quite difficult to keep track of all these figures over the course of the memoir.