June 27, 2015
This book was published less than a year ago, but it's already been awarded a number of honors. It's definitely a great text for teen readers; I've read a few books like this, stories told through a series of free-form poems. The difference here is that Woodson's work is autobiographical. I could see it having a lot of appeal for young readers, and I was fully engaged with this quick read.
Jacqueline was born in 1963, a particularly tumultuous year during the Civil Rights Movement. Her family lives in Ohio, but when she's still young her mother leaves her husband, taking her three children home to South Carolina. Jacqueline remembers her time with her grandparents fondly, even as she bristles under the strict rituals of the Jehovah's Witnesses, and as her beloved grandfather's health deteriorates. She's definitely a sheltered child, even when she and her siblings move to New York with their mother. She and her sister have an interest in the Movement, and they've heard stories of how their mother and other family friends and neighbors have been involved.
I found myself thinking, as I read, about how racial issues in our country have been erupting lately. The whole situation in Charleston had me in tears; a bunch of nice, church-going old people, gunned down in church because of their race. This is sounding too much like the shit that was going on the year that Woodson was born. She's telling her story of being a young girl, who struggles to read but loves stories and wants to write. While her dream has come true with this beautifully written work, it's sad to think that some things haven't changed since that child was born.
I don't know if Woodson has published any other books. I'm planning to look into it. Every work that I've read written in this style of poetry has been great. What I'd really love to see is Woodson continue her life story in another volume. My only complaint about this book is that it seemed to end abruptly, in Woodson's early adolescence. I'd read about her teenage years and beyond, if she chooses to tell that story.
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