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A review by xangemtheelibrarian
The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this poetry collection. Hearing an author narrate their own work is often such a pleasant experience for me.
I am not the target audience for this collection. That being said, I found this book to be both painful and lovely. Shanté does not shy away from showing what it was like for her growing up. All the pain, the sexualization, the boxes people and society put her into. How hard school was, how others considered her impoverished, or even the looks her mother received for being a single mom. Shanté talks about her life as it has been so far and her desire to see Black girls get to stay girls for as long as they are girls. And that resonated with me, because in working with teens, I have begun to wish we as a society would stop pressuring teens to grow up so fast. Too many teens have hidden in my library to cry over the pressure their parents place on them to find good jobs, good schools, and good futures. No, it's not the same, but Shanté's wish resonates with mine.
I am not the target audience for this collection. That being said, I found this book to be both painful and lovely. Shanté does not shy away from showing what it was like for her growing up. All the pain, the sexualization, the boxes people and society put her into. How hard school was, how others considered her impoverished, or even the looks her mother received for being a single mom. Shanté talks about her life as it has been so far and her desire to see Black girls get to stay girls for as long as they are girls. And that resonated with me, because in working with teens, I have begun to wish we as a society would stop pressuring teens to grow up so fast. Too many teens have hidden in my library to cry over the pressure their parents place on them to find good jobs, good schools, and good futures. No, it's not the same, but Shanté's wish resonates with mine.