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A review by katykelly
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
5.0
Engrossing memoir of Afro-American youth in verse living through momentous times.
Living in the UK, I hadn't heard of this title, but could see it's widely acclaimed over in America and knew it would be something very worthwhile to spend time with.
And it was. A memoir of a childhood, told in verse that does make it feel like a child's voice and perspective, Jacqueline shows us so many sides of America in the era of civil rights and Jim Crow, moving from Ohio to South Carolina dn finally to New York, she and her siblings experienced many different faces of a changing society.
Ending before she even reaches adolescence, readers watch her single mother raise four children by accepting the help of grandparents, we see the family still preferring to move to the back of a bus in certain areas of the country, we see siblings succeeding in school and a future writer finding a love of words and a direction even at a young age.
It was poignant and illuminating. And definitely a read for those even outside of America.
For ages 9-14.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.
Living in the UK, I hadn't heard of this title, but could see it's widely acclaimed over in America and knew it would be something very worthwhile to spend time with.
And it was. A memoir of a childhood, told in verse that does make it feel like a child's voice and perspective, Jacqueline shows us so many sides of America in the era of civil rights and Jim Crow, moving from Ohio to South Carolina dn finally to New York, she and her siblings experienced many different faces of a changing society.
Ending before she even reaches adolescence, readers watch her single mother raise four children by accepting the help of grandparents, we see the family still preferring to move to the back of a bus in certain areas of the country, we see siblings succeeding in school and a future writer finding a love of words and a direction even at a young age.
It was poignant and illuminating. And definitely a read for those even outside of America.
For ages 9-14.
With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.