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A review by jvillar3
Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
4.0
Call Me Athena follows a young woman in 1930s Detroit who is not only living through the Great Depression but is struggling with her identity as a woman under the pressures of familial and cultural obligations. We get her perspective as we also volley between her mothers and fathers perspectives as they tell their stories of their childhoods and how they came to immigrate to the U.S.
First of all, that cover is absolutely gorgeous. Smith does a good job of weaving these stories together while touching on many topics including poverty, war, hunger, disease and the social expectations of woman in particular. I actually did not read the description at first so I didn't know the other perspectives were of her parents and I thought that was a better way to consume the story.
Personally, I dont think the book needed to be in verse (I listened the the audiobook though) and it would have provided more ground to really dig into each of these stories. Often times I felt like the perspectives were changing too quickly without enough time to settle into the story being told. Each of the stories was really interesting and engaging so I wanted to spend more time with them, especially the mother. Considering this book deals heavily with the expectations of women, I thought it would have been really powerful to see more about how those expectations were placed on her mom and how they are now effecting her and how Mary is raised.
Overall, I thought this was a beautiful story that grants a short snap shot into the immigrant experience and the circumstances that lead to people wanting/needing to immigrate. I also appreciated the historical aspects about Ford in particular and that bit of micro history from Detroit.
* I received an audio ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *
First of all, that cover is absolutely gorgeous. Smith does a good job of weaving these stories together while touching on many topics including poverty, war, hunger, disease and the social expectations of woman in particular. I actually did not read the description at first so I didn't know the other perspectives were of her parents and I thought that was a better way to consume the story.
Personally, I dont think the book needed to be in verse (I listened the the audiobook though) and it would have provided more ground to really dig into each of these stories. Often times I felt like the perspectives were changing too quickly without enough time to settle into the story being told. Each of the stories was really interesting and engaging so I wanted to spend more time with them, especially the mother. Considering this book deals heavily with the expectations of women, I thought it would have been really powerful to see more about how those expectations were placed on her mom and how they are now effecting her and how Mary is raised.
Overall, I thought this was a beautiful story that grants a short snap shot into the immigrant experience and the circumstances that lead to people wanting/needing to immigrate. I also appreciated the historical aspects about Ford in particular and that bit of micro history from Detroit.
* I received an audio ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *