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peachmoni's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
ashlitas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Sexism, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Medical content
now_booking's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow. What an interesting coming-of-age story of Libertie, a young, free-born, dark-skinned, Black girl growing up in New York around the end of the slavery era in the United States. I’m not quite sure what I expected going into this, but I did not expect this amazing journey of this young girl and her fraught relationship with her doctor mother, her community, the pressure of the dreams of her ancestors and her reconciliation with herself.
The premise is that Libertie is a dark-skinned girl living in a Black community around the start of the US Civil War. Even though she’s scorned for her dark complexion, her white-passing mother is the respected town doctor who dreams of a better life for her daughter through education and joining her in the medical field. But Libertie has different dreams.
This was a really unique narrative on an oft-told story. A lot of books have been written about this epoch in time much like a lot of books have been written about World War 2. But much like Anne Frank’s eponymous diary is seen as a quintessential classic telling the story of a young girl’s perspective of Nazi occupation, I see this as having the potential to become a fictionalized classic, revealing the zeitgeist of the period in an African-American community of free people from the perspective of a young girl. There are unpopular themes in this book, discrimination and bigotry even within Black communities is a key theme- especially in terms of colourism, classism, freeborn status, educational attainment and so on. The internalized racism of the time which many people had bought into is explored from all angles. The weight of expectation of a new, free generation of Black youngsters, from their parents who had experienced slavery, is another key theme which manifests in Libertie’s fraught relationship with her mother. The difficulties around love, activism, family and forgiveness, relocating to a utopia and finding there is no such place, friendship and sexuality are also major themes in this novel. The relationship between free African-Americans and the Black people they met in the colonies is also explored, specifically in Haiti, and it was a delight to have Haitian-Creole as another language in this book. I’m usually the first to side-eye when an author translates all the second language in their book, but here it is seamlessly incorporated into the plot why the translations exist and take place.
One thing I think is fantastic about this book is the fact that even though the themes are very specific to the historical period of the book, they are incredibly germane to current events and modern day experiences of racism, colourism, featurism, classism within and outside the Black community globally. The colonization of the mind that automatically condemns anything indigenous as primitive whilst glorifying Western ideas, that appropriates certain cultural norms for financial gain whilst condemning the people, those things the author writes about in this book are valid even today. Reading this, I got a lot of new insight into a historical period, but I also was able to draw parallels with current cultural norms and values and it was as sad as it was enlightening.
I often find that these sorts of single-narrator coming of age stories can be a little uneven and lose some traction in the telling, so that at a point they begin to drag or become a little boring. Not this one! This was perfectly executed. There’s a great blend of character development and plot development. Libertie’s narration feels objective even in her revelation and examination of herself- her flaws, her fears, her misunderstandings are front and center. At times, this was a painful read, a sad one, one to make you shake your head at life and youthful decision-making, but it was also a hopeful one, one that was an absolute pleasure to read, a page-turner that leaves you wishing there were a few more pages. Libertie as a central character is an absolute delight in her journey to find herself, she is perfect imperfection and relatable in her humanity, it is brilliant. In her journey, there is space for any of us who have ever felt lost to find a piece of our own restlessness, to understand ourselves a little better and to know that we can always make our own way. I loved this book, it is eminently readable and I highly recommend it.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Algonquin Books.
The premise is that Libertie is a dark-skinned girl living in a Black community around the start of the US Civil War. Even though she’s scorned for her dark complexion, her white-passing mother is the respected town doctor who dreams of a better life for her daughter through education and joining her in the medical field. But Libertie has different dreams.
This was a really unique narrative on an oft-told story. A lot of books have been written about this epoch in time much like a lot of books have been written about World War 2. But much like Anne Frank’s eponymous diary is seen as a quintessential classic telling the story of a young girl’s perspective of Nazi occupation, I see this as having the potential to become a fictionalized classic, revealing the zeitgeist of the period in an African-American community of free people from the perspective of a young girl. There are unpopular themes in this book, discrimination and bigotry even within Black communities is a key theme- especially in terms of colourism, classism, freeborn status, educational attainment and so on. The internalized racism of the time which many people had bought into is explored from all angles. The weight of expectation of a new, free generation of Black youngsters, from their parents who had experienced slavery, is another key theme which manifests in Libertie’s fraught relationship with her mother. The difficulties around love, activism, family and forgiveness, relocating to a utopia and finding there is no such place, friendship and sexuality are also major themes in this novel. The relationship between free African-Americans and the Black people they met in the colonies is also explored, specifically in Haiti, and it was a delight to have Haitian-Creole as another language in this book. I’m usually the first to side-eye when an author translates all the second language in their book, but here it is seamlessly incorporated into the plot why the translations exist and take place.
One thing I think is fantastic about this book is the fact that even though the themes are very specific to the historical period of the book, they are incredibly germane to current events and modern day experiences of racism, colourism, featurism, classism within and outside the Black community globally. The colonization of the mind that automatically condemns anything indigenous as primitive whilst glorifying Western ideas, that appropriates certain cultural norms for financial gain whilst condemning the people, those things the author writes about in this book are valid even today. Reading this, I got a lot of new insight into a historical period, but I also was able to draw parallels with current cultural norms and values and it was as sad as it was enlightening.
I often find that these sorts of single-narrator coming of age stories can be a little uneven and lose some traction in the telling, so that at a point they begin to drag or become a little boring. Not this one! This was perfectly executed. There’s a great blend of character development and plot development. Libertie’s narration feels objective even in her revelation and examination of herself- her flaws, her fears, her misunderstandings are front and center. At times, this was a painful read, a sad one, one to make you shake your head at life and youthful decision-making, but it was also a hopeful one, one that was an absolute pleasure to read, a page-turner that leaves you wishing there were a few more pages. Libertie as a central character is an absolute delight in her journey to find herself, she is perfect imperfection and relatable in her humanity, it is brilliant. In her journey, there is space for any of us who have ever felt lost to find a piece of our own restlessness, to understand ourselves a little better and to know that we can always make our own way. I loved this book, it is eminently readable and I highly recommend it.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Algonquin Books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship