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empeeeeee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Brown Girls is transportive, beautiful, enjoyable, a musical and fast-paced read. It's all feeling and rhythm. As a brown girl, as a Pilipina with immigrant parents, even though my context was/is in some ways very different, there were so many moments where my heart sang and ached (sometimes my heart sang to Aaliyah and Mariah. :)). I felt seen in a way I don't often get in novels, even as the book spoke to so many different kinds of brown girls, brown lives.
I think its form and concept is a true feat. That balance of the collective "we" voice with just enough specificity to still be real and personal rather than theoretical; the ooze of place and senses and emotion in a wide swath; the rhythm, the deft control of how the reader runs alongside pace then slows down, or turns focus one way, then the other...
I found some of the prose itself to be cliché, and some moments to feel a bit forced,including the inclusion of COVID-19 as another reviewer mentioned and the last chapter in general, which is why I didn't give this a higher rating myself.
I read this in about two days! If you're the type, I think it would be a great one to read in one sitting and just let wash over you.
I think its form and concept is a true feat. That balance of the collective "we" voice with just enough specificity to still be real and personal rather than theoretical; the ooze of place and senses and emotion in a wide swath; the rhythm, the deft control of how the reader runs alongside pace then slows down, or turns focus one way, then the other...
I found some of the prose itself to be cliché, and some moments to feel a bit forced,
I read this in about two days! If you're the type, I think it would be a great one to read in one sitting and just let wash over you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abortion, and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, and Suicide
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