_darkoadee's review against another edition
5.0
Mariama really wrote this heartfilled book, it's indeed for young black girls everywhere.
sandsing7's review against another edition
2.0
The book description said that this book was going to focus on Keda as an African American girl adopted by a white family, and I was excited because there is such a need for that book in the tween book world! However, while it certainly touches on adoption and micro-aggressions and racism at the beginning, none of that is really resolved as her mother just pulls her out of school and it quickly becomes a book about her mother’s bipolar disorder. I just kept on thinking that, of course, the crazy white lady comes in and unexpectedly steals the whole focus of the book. This primary storyline is not even mentioned in the official book description! Ugh.
Also, one other random thought…I don’t get the Georgia Belles. A bit of random magical realism?? It didn’t work for me. Also also…her crush’s name is Huck? Really? Not sure if the author was going with a literary allusion/potential deep thought there but that certainly didn’t work for me either. (Suicide attempt)
Also, one other random thought…I don’t get the Georgia Belles. A bit of random magical realism?? It didn’t work for me. Also also…her crush’s name is Huck? Really? Not sure if the author was going with a literary allusion/potential deep thought there but that certainly didn’t work for me either. (Suicide attempt)
racheldthurlow's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
ktrusty416's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my heart, "For Black Girls Like Me" is a blues song, a fight song, a love song. Immediate re-read happening... now.
lizbtc's review against another edition
4.0
This is a heartbreaker.
Keda is eleven. She is moving cross country with her family, starting in a new place, New Mexico, because of her father's job. Keda is African American, the only one in her family, adopted as an infant.
Keda's mother was a musician; she still is, except her father's job took priority in the family and her mother plays less and less.
This is a story of a girl moving to a new place, and having to start again with new friends. A school that calls itself diverse, but the diversity does not include her.
Keda loves her parents; she loves her older sister, the miracle baby born to them.
For Black Girls Like Me explores transracial adoption, and the harms that even well-meaning, loving parents can inflict. Some of them I saw and winced; some of them I didn't realize until Keda pointed it out; and some I saw and Keda didn't make a big deal about because it is her life and she cannot make a big deal out of everything.
It is also Keda moving to a new place and the difficulty of making new friends and finding a place and a voice.
It is also about a mother who is sick and people don't know it. As an adult reader, I quickly picked up on the fact that her mother was exhibiting the highs and lows, the manic actions, of someone with bipolar disorder. Keda, her sister, and her father don't see it; and I imagine that most readers won't. They will discover it as Keda does. And this captures beautifully the heartbreak of being the child when a family member is sick, and feeling responsible, and feeling resentful.
All in all, a wonderful book about many things, and it works beautifully, and I am hopeful for Keda and think that readers will love her as much as I do.
Keda is eleven. She is moving cross country with her family, starting in a new place, New Mexico, because of her father's job. Keda is African American, the only one in her family, adopted as an infant.
Keda's mother was a musician; she still is, except her father's job took priority in the family and her mother plays less and less.
This is a story of a girl moving to a new place, and having to start again with new friends. A school that calls itself diverse, but the diversity does not include her.
Keda loves her parents; she loves her older sister, the miracle baby born to them.
For Black Girls Like Me explores transracial adoption, and the harms that even well-meaning, loving parents can inflict. Some of them I saw and winced; some of them I didn't realize until Keda pointed it out; and some I saw and Keda didn't make a big deal about because it is her life and she cannot make a big deal out of everything.
It is also Keda moving to a new place and the difficulty of making new friends and finding a place and a voice.
It is also about a mother who is sick and people don't know it. As an adult reader, I quickly picked up on the fact that her mother was exhibiting the highs and lows, the manic actions, of someone with bipolar disorder. Keda, her sister, and her father don't see it; and I imagine that most readers won't. They will discover it as Keda does. And this captures beautifully the heartbreak of being the child when a family member is sick, and feeling responsible, and feeling resentful.
All in all, a wonderful book about many things, and it works beautifully, and I am hopeful for Keda and think that readers will love her as much as I do.
thebooksupplier's review against another edition
5.0
Sticky Note Review @ the (book) supplier https://thebooksupplier.com/2019/09/12/for-black-girls-like-me-sticky-note-reviews/
lauramct's review against another edition
5.0
Oh boy did I love this book!!!
Reason 1: I have students that will see so many mirrors of their own lives in Keda’s life in their own (black, smart, adopted, parents that don’t look like her, mental illness in the family, love of music/singing, being the new kid, being called an offensive name...)
Reason 2: I loved the mix of chapters written in prose with chapters written in verse or song lyrics. Although I do enjoy novels written entirely in verse, I feel like they often tend to fall flat when you consider the poems individually—more often than not it feels to me like authors of novels in verse took the easy way out and just wrote short chapters spaced out over more pages rather than poetry. Because Lockington scattered Keda’s poems and songs lyrics throughout the book, I felt like she really focused on making each one shine with the word choice and figurative language.
Reason 3: Keda’s relationships rang true for me—especially her relationships with her best friend and her sister. Both were complicated and layered in exactly the ways you’d expect for an eleven year old girl.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this for my students to read.
Reason 1: I have students that will see so many mirrors of their own lives in Keda’s life in their own (black, smart, adopted, parents that don’t look like her, mental illness in the family, love of music/singing, being the new kid, being called an offensive name...)
Reason 2: I loved the mix of chapters written in prose with chapters written in verse or song lyrics. Although I do enjoy novels written entirely in verse, I feel like they often tend to fall flat when you consider the poems individually—more often than not it feels to me like authors of novels in verse took the easy way out and just wrote short chapters spaced out over more pages rather than poetry. Because Lockington scattered Keda’s poems and songs lyrics throughout the book, I felt like she really focused on making each one shine with the word choice and figurative language.
Reason 3: Keda’s relationships rang true for me—especially her relationships with her best friend and her sister. Both were complicated and layered in exactly the ways you’d expect for an eleven year old girl.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this for my students to read.
jennybeastie's review against another edition
4.0
Keda is struggling with her identity as a Black adoptee of a white family, in a new place, while her mother's mental health is spiraling out of control. There's a lot going on, but I found it hard to put down -- Keda is such a bright, emerging spark of a girl: shy, but willing to stick up for herself. Often feeling like an outsider, but finding comfort in the pieces of Black culture that are available to her. It's a powerful book. I had an ebook version and I can't tell if the whole thing is meant to be in verse, but in any case, the verse sections weave well into the whole.
enfantterrible94's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75