First published 2015
Young Jacqueline moves between two worlds, never feeling completely at home in either South Carolina or New York. The 1960s and 1970s surround her with the lingering effects of Jim Crow laws and the momentum of the Civil Rights movement. She watches her family navigate these changes while she struggles to find her own place as an African American girl coming of age. Reading proves difficult for Jacqueline, but stories captivate her imagination. She discovers that words flow more easily when she writes them herself. Through poetry and storytelling, she begins to understand her identity and her voice. Each poem captures a moment from her childhood, revealing how a young girl who struggled with reading transformed her love of stories into her calling as a writer.
Genres: family-life, historical-fiction, african-american, coming-of-age, poetry, biography-memoir, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: New York, South Carolina
Period: 1960s, 1970s
4 pages · Audio CD · Listening Library (Audio)