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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
4.0
I read Miracle’s Boys on a whim to fulfill a personal goal for the month of September. The driving force being its short length. It’s a heart wrenching little story about a family of three brothers dealing with the fallout of their mothers’ passing two years after the fact.
We come in a little after middle brother Charlie has returned from the juvenile correctional facility he entered two months before their mother died. He has a lot of pent up rage that he takes out on protagonist Lafayette. Oldest brother Ty'ree shoulders the brunt of all the responsibility in the household. Now 22, he forsook an acceptance to MIT to take care of Lafayette.
Charlie, nicknamed NewCharlie by Lafayette to reflect his change, is like a powder keg waiting to be lit. His volatile mood is a source of great pain to Lafayette who longs for the once sensitive, kind young man he was before everything changed. Ty’ree is the mediator between the two, but he himself is barely an adult. Though I will say his emotional intelligence at such a young age was massively impressive.
There are a lot of complex, complicated feelings bubbling up under the surface. Charlie causes a lot of strain on the household, but underneath it he’s clearly carrying a lot of hurt. Lafayette is struggling with his own trauma and is unwilling to see outside of his own. Given how Charlie treats him coupled with his age I don’t blame him. I loved how Ty’ree was able to bridge the gap between the two - he balanced their individual feelings well with the reality of the situation. In short he was a parent when they desperately needed one.
Underneath everything was how the strength of love can see you through the worst bouts. Black men are often not given the clemency to share their hidden depths. The gamut of emotions these young men were allowed to express was nothing short of amazing. The compassion and tenderness with which Jacqueline Woodson treated them was beautiful. We are sorely in need of more considerate depictions like this.
It’s a fast read. Take the time to read it. You won’t be sorry.
We come in a little after middle brother Charlie has returned from the juvenile correctional facility he entered two months before their mother died. He has a lot of pent up rage that he takes out on protagonist Lafayette. Oldest brother Ty'ree shoulders the brunt of all the responsibility in the household. Now 22, he forsook an acceptance to MIT to take care of Lafayette.
Charlie, nicknamed NewCharlie by Lafayette to reflect his change, is like a powder keg waiting to be lit. His volatile mood is a source of great pain to Lafayette who longs for the once sensitive, kind young man he was before everything changed. Ty’ree is the mediator between the two, but he himself is barely an adult. Though I will say his emotional intelligence at such a young age was massively impressive.
There are a lot of complex, complicated feelings bubbling up under the surface. Charlie causes a lot of strain on the household, but underneath it he’s clearly carrying a lot of hurt. Lafayette is struggling with his own trauma and is unwilling to see outside of his own. Given how Charlie treats him coupled with his age I don’t blame him. I loved how Ty’ree was able to bridge the gap between the two - he balanced their individual feelings well with the reality of the situation. In short he was a parent when they desperately needed one.
Underneath everything was how the strength of love can see you through the worst bouts. Black men are often not given the clemency to share their hidden depths. The gamut of emotions these young men were allowed to express was nothing short of amazing. The compassion and tenderness with which Jacqueline Woodson treated them was beautiful. We are sorely in need of more considerate depictions like this.
It’s a fast read. Take the time to read it. You won’t be sorry.