Take a photo of a barcode or cover
newamsterdame 's review for:
If You Come Softly
by Jacqueline Woodson
The first thing that struck me about this book is how specifically Woodson is able to sketch her characters. Ellie and Miah are both incredibly rendered in the small amount of space the book has-- their appearances, personalities, and very individualized emotional and family issues. This book doesn't talk down to its young intended audience in that way-- it invites them to come and get to know these people, however briefly, and understand them the way one begins to understand a person they speak to more and more. I think it's that brilliance of characterization that makes Ellie and Miah's love story ring true, and what makes the ending of the book so tragic and echoing.
Another thing I admire about Woodson's writing is her ability to introduce complex topics in an understandable, conversational way. She isn't didactic or presumptive in her depictions of race, instead exposing readers to different aspects or angles of a problem and inviting them to think about it from each of those vantage points. Ellie might be white in the way Miah's father describes whiteness-- as the privilege of not knowing what color you are-- but her introspection and questioning about race is very sincere. One of her conclusions-- that if she and her family aren't racist, why aren't there any black people populating their world?-- is both innocent and profound. At the same time, Miah's awareness of his race, the lessons he's been instilled with since he was very young, and the price he pays for singular moments of happy unawareness underscore the differences between growing up black or white in America, no matter what other privileges you have.
This book moves quickly and ends abruptly. But because of Woodson's deft characterization, poetic prose, and resonant emotion, it sticks with you and provokes thought.
Another thing I admire about Woodson's writing is her ability to introduce complex topics in an understandable, conversational way. She isn't didactic or presumptive in her depictions of race, instead exposing readers to different aspects or angles of a problem and inviting them to think about it from each of those vantage points. Ellie might be white in the way Miah's father describes whiteness-- as the privilege of not knowing what color you are-- but her introspection and questioning about race is very sincere. One of her conclusions-- that if she and her family aren't racist, why aren't there any black people populating their world?-- is both innocent and profound. At the same time, Miah's awareness of his race, the lessons he's been instilled with since he was very young, and the price he pays for singular moments of happy unawareness underscore the differences between growing up black or white in America, no matter what other privileges you have.
This book moves quickly and ends abruptly. But because of Woodson's deft characterization, poetic prose, and resonant emotion, it sticks with you and provokes thought.