A review by sahanasri
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a read for another work book club that really took me by surprise with how different it was and how much I enjoyed it! The writing style is quite unique - it’s lyrical and feels almost more like poetry. The story is told in the collective, using mostly “we” with the occasional “i” for emphasis, and is structured as a series of vignettes in the lives of a multitude of brown girls from Queens. I loved how inclusive this was, with brown girls being expanded to simply mean immigrant, BIPOC, or marginalized, and the term girl being loosely applied for gender as well. Overall I think this captures a truer spirit of NYC than many novels do, and is able to represent many more underrepresented perspectives quite effectively. One particular vignette on motherhood really spoke to me because of its more nuanced perspective, and really felt like one of the first pieces I’ve read that represents my feelings. I didn’t love every single vignette but the overall impact is really moving!