Brown Girl Dreaming

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin.

This series of autobiographical poems tells of Jacqueline's childhood in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York in the 1960s and 1970s. She shares her experiences with the Civil Rights Movement, life in her grandparents' home, and growing up as a Jehovah's Witness. She also tells of her family, it's history and their story as well. Despite her struggles in school, she finds that she has a gift for words and begins to write poetry to express herself.

I read this book when it first came out and loved the beauty of the words. I could see the house in South Carolina, I knew what Gunnar looked liked and could hear his voice. Once she was in New York, I loved it more for that is where I grew up. I knew the city and I even knew Dannemora prison where her uncle was incarcerated, since I went to college right near it. Jacqueline and I are just a few years apart in age so there was that connection as well. She described things I remembered from my childhood. I did not experience everything that she did, but there was enough that I developed a connection with this book. It is one of my current favorites.