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A review by displacedcactus
Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Ida B. Wells is one of my favorite historical figures, so what a treat to have a book written about her by her great-granddaughter... and then the audio is also read by that same great-granddaughter! Duster's pride at her ancestor's legacy really shines through as she talks about what Wells went through, and what she achieved.
This is not a traditional biography. Rather than giving an exhaustive, chronological accounting of the facts of Wells' life, the book hops back and forth throughout her life to focus on different events, and then draw either parallels to recent/current events, or talk about how her work continued past her death. I'll admit that I didn't really see a rhyme or reason to why things were presented in the order they were in -- it might have made more sense if I was reading the physical or ebook, if there were visual cues? Either way, I enjoyed it, despite the fact that the non-linear nature means that some things got repeated a few times because they were related to several topics. This does make the book feel more personal, because if you were relating stories about your own great-grandmother across several hours, you probably would also loop back around to reference things you'd mentioned earlier.
I feel like this book would be a great introduction to Wells' life, work, and legacy. By tying Wells' activism to civil rights and feminist causes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Duster shows how relevant her ancestor's work was to the generations who came after her, and how it will continue to be relevant in the future. It's also told in a really approachable way. Most chapters were 5-15 minutes on regular speed audio, so it's the sort of thing you can dedicate a few minutes to a day if you're not a big reader.
This book doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and sexism (see content warnings section), but it also doesn't go into excruciating detail. I feel like it would be appropriate for teens and maybe even emotionally mature tweens, as long as adults are prepared to discuss the difficult subject matter with them.
This is not a traditional biography. Rather than giving an exhaustive, chronological accounting of the facts of Wells' life, the book hops back and forth throughout her life to focus on different events, and then draw either parallels to recent/current events, or talk about how her work continued past her death. I'll admit that I didn't really see a rhyme or reason to why things were presented in the order they were in -- it might have made more sense if I was reading the physical or ebook, if there were visual cues? Either way, I enjoyed it, despite the fact that the non-linear nature means that some things got repeated a few times because they were related to several topics. This does make the book feel more personal, because if you were relating stories about your own great-grandmother across several hours, you probably would also loop back around to reference things you'd mentioned earlier.
I feel like this book would be a great introduction to Wells' life, work, and legacy. By tying Wells' activism to civil rights and feminist causes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Duster shows how relevant her ancestor's work was to the generations who came after her, and how it will continue to be relevant in the future. It's also told in a really approachable way. Most chapters were 5-15 minutes on regular speed audio, so it's the sort of thing you can dedicate a few minutes to a day if you're not a big reader.
This book doesn't shy away from the realities of racism and sexism (see content warnings section), but it also doesn't go into excruciating detail. I feel like it would be appropriate for teens and maybe even emotionally mature tweens, as long as adults are prepared to discuss the difficult subject matter with them.
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Classism
Because Wells was so outspoken about lynching, the subject comes up a lot, and multiple lynching incidents are discussed.