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A review by nicolettae
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
5.0
All I can say is... wow. Brown Girls has to be one of the most incredible and heartfelt poetic dissections that explore the lives of minority women growing up in New York. I don't think I've ever come across prose so fluid and gorgeous as Andreades'. Her writing feels like a single, free-flowing poem that just happens to tell a linear story. If you're a fan of prose, poetry, and painfully incredible writing, Brown Girls is an absolute must-read. The words in this book can only be described as art.
But don't for a second assume that Brown Girls is all flowery writing with no substance. The story follows a group of minority friends from adolescence to adulthood and beyond, and it's gutting and incredibly human. It's an incredible coming-of-age tale that taps into the universal experience of being a young woman growing up in America - from boy craziness to relying on friends as your rock, engaging in shared dressing room fashion shows, basement karaoke nights or gatherings fueled by any available liquor, and feeling irrationally excited about what's to come next. Brown Girls adds an extra layer of nuance by showcasing the roadblocks, inequities, and stressors that young women of color face when they should be allowed to be freaking kids. Andreades explores her characters' struggles with culture, personal identity, microaggressions, outright racism, and the pressure to mask their true selves at school and even within their own families, making the difficult experiences and emotions that minority women endure throughout their lives tangible.
These themes don't just end at puberty. The reader grows up with these girls and witnesses how life, along with its inequities and complicated internal struggles, continues to evolve in their careers, love lives, cultures, friendships, and beyond. Some moments are uplifting, while others are heart-shattering.
From adolescence to death, one thing is certain... nobody will ever love you, understand you, or be a more genuine once-in-a-lifetime soulmate than your childhood girlfriends.
But don't for a second assume that Brown Girls is all flowery writing with no substance. The story follows a group of minority friends from adolescence to adulthood and beyond, and it's gutting and incredibly human. It's an incredible coming-of-age tale that taps into the universal experience of being a young woman growing up in America - from boy craziness to relying on friends as your rock, engaging in shared dressing room fashion shows, basement karaoke nights or gatherings fueled by any available liquor, and feeling irrationally excited about what's to come next. Brown Girls adds an extra layer of nuance by showcasing the roadblocks, inequities, and stressors that young women of color face when they should be allowed to be freaking kids. Andreades explores her characters' struggles with culture, personal identity, microaggressions, outright racism, and the pressure to mask their true selves at school and even within their own families, making the difficult experiences and emotions that minority women endure throughout their lives tangible.
These themes don't just end at puberty. The reader grows up with these girls and witnesses how life, along with its inequities and complicated internal struggles, continues to evolve in their careers, love lives, cultures, friendships, and beyond. Some moments are uplifting, while others are heart-shattering.
From adolescence to death, one thing is certain... nobody will ever love you, understand you, or be a more genuine once-in-a-lifetime soulmate than your childhood girlfriends.