Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline WoodsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Joy. Tears. Remembrance. Urban. Rural. Racial strife. Racial connection. Sweet. Soulful. Glorious.
All of these words encapsulate my feelings toward this memoir of a brown girl's dreams, dancing during an era where a smile hid fears, pain, and simple pleasures from beyond.
Pros:
1. Connection. I immediately connected with Jacqueline's memories dressed in free verse. From her trips to the South to visit family in summer to her urban observations to simple smells kindled by mentions of hair grease and fresh linen. Her experiences mirrored mine, despite the thirteen year difference. She evoked images almost every black girl of a certain age (age 37 and over) could relate.
2. Free verse format. I love reading stories presented in different fashion from standard formats. While this book is nonfictional, her words never feel like I'm reading an informational avalanche. There's a beauty in her words, flowing with abandon, sends you on a journey, and while you're never sure the outcome, you're willing to go.
3. Quick paced. Reading this book shouldn't take more than two to three days (based on one's schedule).
4. Beautiful writing displaying the often complex characters, her family and friends, shaping her childhood and older years.
5. In an appendix, she offers pictures of her family. So, you can see who she's describing on any given page.
6. Favorite passage: "each world"
Cons:
1. Should be listed in libraries everywhere.
2. Wish I knew what shaped her adolescence. Perhaps, another book will do the trick.
5 stars! Highly recommended.
*I'm not crying by the way. I'm chopping onions for dinner*
*This book sits happily on my bookshelf*
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