Reviews with content warning for Violence - Brown Girls

A moving and powerful narrative about the vast, complex and multitudinous experiences of brown girls from Queens, NY. The first person plural narrative works well to convey the many voices of these women and express their differences, while still illustrating their sisterhood and solidarity. The writing is beautiful, nostalgic, and touched something deep inside me in a way I hadn't been expecting. A brilliant, striking debut and one that I'd highly recommend.

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rachreads925's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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.

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