Brown Girls

Adult fiction 

"We live in the dregs of Queens, New York, where airplanes fly so low that we are certain they will crush us.  On our block, a lonely tree grows.  Its branches tangle in power lines.  Its roots upend sidewalks where we ride our bikes before they are stolen."

     Daphne Palasi Andreades' Brown Girls brings readers quite the ensemble cast, a cohort of girls of color growing up in one of New York City's Burroughs, taking joy in life's pleasures while dealing with the challenges posed by family, community, and larger society.

     At ten when we meet them they're handling family responsibilities while keeping quiet about the relatives from other countries who stay with them for extended periods of time.

     At thirteen, while shopping, they experience unwarranted suspicions of shoplifting.

     About to start high school, they experience the anger of families who seem to resent their dreams.

               " Isn't this neighborhood good 

               enough for you, Michelle, Amelia,

               Sabina?

What, you think you're better, Leah, Eun?"

     One delightful chapter contains commandments from mothers acting like gods.

"Command #4

You shall not be a wayward girl, with many lovers.  Do not ask about birth control--why would you need birth control?  Do not get pregnant.  Decent girls do not think about sex."

     With the end of high school choices arrive.  Some girls-now-women will leave their neighborhood in pursuit of something better while others will stay.  Seemingly forever friendships will splinter as diverse experiences burn bridges of understanding.

     The stages of adulthood make things even more complicated.

     Fans of Sandra Cisneros will find Brown Girls to be totally engaging.  Cisneros herself calls it "a poetic story for anyone who has longed to leave home only to find that home resides within you."

On a purrrsonal note, I'll be adding some journalism to my other responsibilities.  Awhile back I reached out to the Maine Campus, the now completely online UMaine student paper to see if I could give them a piece on the Commuter Lounge.  They published it.  I'd been on Maine Campus staff from 1988 to 1990.  I lent them my portfolio of the stories I had published back then.  They discussed that at a staff meeting.  They may have me give a talk about how journalism has changed in the intervening years.  They also want me to write stories for them.  I've committed to ones on preventing burn out in nursing students and Black Bear Beekeepers.  I want to see if I can get one in on Book Banning before the Commuter Lounge program on that subject.  As you know, I do love writing.  (Jules)

She does write a lot.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the Maine Campus crew.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone