A review by mysteriesbooks
Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Carole Boston Weatherford embarked on a daunting journey to trace her own lineage. For most Black Americans, one can only get as far as 1870, or the "genealogy brick wall" of the 1870's census. Before then, African Americans are only recorded as property, and your lineage search becomes a gamble on property and sale records. So with that in mind, watching Weatherford reach all the way back into the 1700's and on is an impressive, beautiful feat. Beautiful not just in how it must have felt to break the brick wall, but her prose and poetry is uniquely like stepping into another time, another place, and another person.
We see peeks into other prominent figures for the time that are unrelated to Weatherford, and even a couple of glimpses into the people who owned her ancestors. It's a bit of jumping around, but I truly believe it works well here. Paired with beautiful illustrations, I couldn't really put it down.
As it for being a middle grade, I think it's more well suited for Jr. High kids just on a vocabulary level. Either for those who have a genuine interest in history, or it would make a good companion to curriculum.
Highly recommend.
We see peeks into other prominent figures for the time that are unrelated to Weatherford, and even a couple of glimpses into the people who owned her ancestors. It's a bit of jumping around, but I truly believe it works well here. Paired with beautiful illustrations, I couldn't really put it down.
As it for being a middle grade, I think it's more well suited for Jr. High kids just on a vocabulary level. Either for those who have a genuine interest in history, or it would make a good companion to curriculum.
Highly recommend.