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A review by juliescalzo
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya
5.0
“When you don't belong to a country, the world decides that you don't deserve a thing.”
I stumbled upon this book when my library put together a list of Black Voices for Black History Month. And- my goodness- I am glad that I did. This was a beautiful, poignant, eye-opening read. It’s the memoir of the author, Clemantine’s, life as a refugee. She had to flee Rwanda with her sister at age six due to the genocide that occurred there. She spent six years bouncing from country to country- refugee camp to family to a slum- until she was able to come to the United States in middle school. But even then, Clemantine struggled with her identity- who she was vs who she felt society expected her to be, how to deal with the immense pain and trauma she carried, and then how to deal with the re-appearance of her parents. Clemantine’s ability to even talk about what she’s been through, yet alone write beautifully and honestly, is truly amazing.
My favorite part of this book were the connections Clemantine made to the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Clemantine read the book as a teenager and connected with Elie’s experience. She also met Elie on multiple occasions- the first one being on Oprah Winfrey’s show. I just finished reading Night with my students, and one of the things my students asked is about Elie & how he was able to cope after the fact. And this book is largely about how Clemantine deals with her past trauma. She also makes lots of specific connections to Wiesel’s text. This would serve as an excellent companion memoir to it.
I stumbled upon this book when my library put together a list of Black Voices for Black History Month. And- my goodness- I am glad that I did. This was a beautiful, poignant, eye-opening read. It’s the memoir of the author, Clemantine’s, life as a refugee. She had to flee Rwanda with her sister at age six due to the genocide that occurred there. She spent six years bouncing from country to country- refugee camp to family to a slum- until she was able to come to the United States in middle school. But even then, Clemantine struggled with her identity- who she was vs who she felt society expected her to be, how to deal with the immense pain and trauma she carried, and then how to deal with the re-appearance of her parents. Clemantine’s ability to even talk about what she’s been through, yet alone write beautifully and honestly, is truly amazing.
My favorite part of this book were the connections Clemantine made to the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Clemantine read the book as a teenager and connected with Elie’s experience. She also met Elie on multiple occasions- the first one being on Oprah Winfrey’s show. I just finished reading Night with my students, and one of the things my students asked is about Elie & how he was able to cope after the fact. And this book is largely about how Clemantine deals with her past trauma. She also makes lots of specific connections to Wiesel’s text. This would serve as an excellent companion memoir to it.