Watson, Renee. (2017). Piecing me together. New York: Bloomsbury.
Jade attends a private school in Portland, Oregon but lives in the Villa - a rough neighborhood. She is selected by her guidance counselor to be part of a program called Woman to Woman where she will be mentored and provided with college tuition. Jade cannot pass this opportunity up but being mentored isn't what she expected. She resents being Maxine's "project" and a way to show Maxine's wealthy parents that she is doing good in the world like her siblings. Her friendships and relationships with teachers are also difficult. They don't understand what her experiences as a young black woman in Portland is like. Just because she is on scholarship doesn't mean that she needs to be fixed or should be excluded from other activities. Jade is smart, artistic, and socially aware and shows everyone with her organization of a fundraiser for a local girl assaulted by the police. With her
collages, she shows everyone who she really is.
This book seems very timely. The main character's struggle with her treatment and acceptance as a young black woman is one that many need to read. This idea that she needs to be fixed because she is considered economically disadvantaged isn't one that I had considered. But as a white middle aged woman, I would not have. So many people of means think that when they offer this kind of help, it is making the person better. No one considers the idea that it is just a means to an end, as the tuition money is to Jade.
On a personal note, my brother lives in Portland so I know the area well. I always seem to enjoy a book more when I know each place that they discuss or visit. This book was amazing but the setting of Portland made it even better!
No comments:
Post a Comment