"Sometimes I just want to be comfortable in this skin, this body. Want to cock my head back and laugh loud and free, all my teeth showing, and not be told I’m too rowdy, too ghetto. Sometimes I just want to go to school, wearing my hair big like cumulous clouds without getting any special attention, without having to explain why it looks different from the day before. Why it might look different tomorrow. Sometimes I just want to let my tongue speak the way it pleases, let it be untamed and not bound by rules. Want to talk without watchful ears listening to judge me. At school I turn on a switch, make sure nothing about me is too black. All day I am on"
I am going to copy and paste the premise below because I just feel like it is such a better synopsis than anything I could summarize myself!
From the publisher:
"Jade believes she must get out of her neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother says she has to take every opportunity. She has. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful. Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Except really, it’s for black girls. From “bad” neighborhoods.But Jade doesn’t need support. And just because her mentor is black doesn’t mean she understands Jade. And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.Friendships, race, privilege, identity—this compelling and thoughtful story explores the issues young women face."
Piecing Me Together is definitely going to be a standout read of mine this year. I cannot believe a book that you can essentially read start to finish in one or two sittings could pack such an incredible punch. The lived experience of black women shrinking down their personality, opinions and ideas so that they can safely be a part of predominantly white communities was explored in depth here. The weariness of Jade bled off the page as the reader saw her impossible and exhaustive journey to keep herself physically safe while also finding her voice and being true to herself.
The first half of the book we were allowed in on Jade's thoughts and feelings as she faced the daily attack of micro-agressions from "well meaning" teachers, adults, mentors and business professionals, friends etc. Watching Jade's frustrations with a friend who does not see her struggles for what they truly are, to Jade's constant disappointment with having to accept the opportunities others think she would benefit from in favor of the opportunities she needs and wants, the subject matter here is complicated and emotional.
I do not think you can read this book and not feel frustrated as we root for Jade to succeed despite the "help" she is being offered, but it was also difficult for me not to relate more to the well intentioned saviors offering a helping hand than Jade herself. I witnessed a full range of emotions while reading this and I felt gutted when I finished the last paragraph.
Piecing Me Together could have only focused on Jade's frustrations at an all white private school as a black teenage girl and it would have been just as powerful but the book took a really unexpected turn around the halfway mark. Jade's character and community in the second half of this novel modeled to the reader what it looks like when we move from the mindset of "helping" and "saving" the marginalized to centering and empowering their voices.
This is an absolutely crucial book and I hope you give it a try. I finished this sometime around 2am last night while nursing my little guy and I immediately recommended this to 5 people when I woke up this morning. If you have junior high or high-school kiddos in your house, this book would be appropriate for them. I hope one day to see books like Piecing Me Together as part of required school curriculum. Jade and Renèe Watson have so much to tell you if you can take the time to listen.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars
EVERYONE GO READ THIS! GO BUY THIS FOR THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES IN YOUR LIFE! OKAY THAT IS ALL THANKS FOR READING! BYE
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