A review by babybearreads
Elsewhere, California by Dana Johnson
reflective
slow-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
4.25
I loved spending time with this quiet, but NOT uneventful, contemplative read.
Avery is 40, living in Beverly Hills with a rich Italian man, about to have her first art gallery opening, and looking back on her childhood as an unresolved piece of her past makes an appearance. Time and memories weave past with present as she revisits small but impactful moments growing up in West Covina, daughter of a Black family in a largely white Los Angeles suburb. Race is not the central conflict in the story but of course plays a part -- aggressions abound, but Elsewhere CA is all about Avery's own coming of age and sometimes flawed decisions that she makes in the process.
Johnson code-switches Avery's voice between formal English as an adult and less-formal, more slang language as a child, which keeps the book interesting. And I LOVE books in LA that are not about the Hollywood-ized LA, and are much closer to my picture of this vast and kaleidoscopic city.
--
"Once you know someone's story, or even pieces of it, it's hard to dismiss them to pretend you know all there is to know about a person."
Avery is 40, living in Beverly Hills with a rich Italian man, about to have her first art gallery opening, and looking back on her childhood as an unresolved piece of her past makes an appearance. Time and memories weave past with present as she revisits small but impactful moments growing up in West Covina, daughter of a Black family in a largely white Los Angeles suburb. Race is not the central conflict in the story but of course plays a part -- aggressions abound, but Elsewhere CA is all about Avery's own coming of age and sometimes flawed decisions that she makes in the process.
Johnson code-switches Avery's voice between formal English as an adult and less-formal, more slang language as a child, which keeps the book interesting. And I LOVE books in LA that are not about the Hollywood-ized LA, and are much closer to my picture of this vast and kaleidoscopic city.
--
"Once you know someone's story, or even pieces of it, it's hard to dismiss them to pretend you know all there is to know about a person."