‘Brown Girls’ was a recommendation I found on the Guardian’s 2022 reading list, and wow it did not disappoint! We follow the adventures and lives of people living in ‘the dregs of Queens’, whose parents have migrated from a range of different countries. As people of colour (POC), who feel as though they are living the ‘American dream’, the ‘brown girls’ in this book navigate through childhood, adolescence and adulthood with so many different challenges (e.g. pressure from families, racism from a young age, working through their sexual orientation and gender identity, incarceration of family members just to name a few). There were so many parts of the book that hit home and brought forward some big feelings 😳 I would highly recommend this book to anyone; it’s a beautiful, bittersweet way in which to see a snapshot of the issues POC can face in America and elsewhere. I couldn’t thank the author enough for giving us such an amazing book 👏🏼 I think I’ll come back to read it again, too! ❤️

This isn't a book meant for everyone, and I'm counting myself in that. The writing is good, but the usage of the collective We negatively affected my experience of it. The story loses some effectiveness through the method of trying to tell the story of everyone, and absolutely everyone who is a woman of color (Asian, Hispanic, Black, etc.). At one point, I thought it was finally giving us some characters names but then you aren't sure what's happening to whom. Despite the usage of the collective We, the story focuses on a certain kind of experience - those young women who make it out of their immigrant neighborhoods, become white collar professionals, and more affluent lives. There is no emotional connection to any characters, because there are no characters - at least whose names you know. I appreciated the story of the children of immigrants who straddle two worlds, but I wanted something more than good writing. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House who provided me with a free e-copy of the book.