★ 05/20/2019
In this outstanding middle grade debut (told without commas in a mix of narration, letters, and poetry), Lockington (The Lucky Daughter for adults) introduces budding poet Makeda Kirkland, 11, a black girl adopted by a white family. Her cellist father and former violin prodigy mother move their family from Baltimore to Albuquerque, forcing Keda to leave behind her best friend, Lena, the only other black girl she knows with a mixed adoptive family like her own. While struggling to cope with racism at school, Keda, along with big sister Eve, is left to care for their increasingly erratic mother after their father goes on tour abroad. Keda’s persistent dreams of her birth mother and a family with skin that looks like hers collide with the unsettling reality of her mother’s mental illness and the frightening possibility that the only mother she’s ever known could be lost. With intimate authenticity, she explores how fierce but “colorblind” familial love can result in erasure and sensitively delineates the pain of facing casual racism, as well as the disconcerting experience of being the child of a mentally ill parent. Age 8–12. (July)
*A Today Show Best Children's Book of 2019!*
*The Guardian Best Book of 2019!*
*A Good Morning America Recommended Read!*
*A 2020 ALA Notable Middle-Grade Novel!*
*A Booklist 2019 Editors' Choice!*
*A School Library Journal Best Book of 2019!*
*An ALSC Notable Book!*
*A Junior Library Guild Selection!*
*A Bank Street Best Book of the Year!*
*A 2020 Charlotte Huck Recommended Book!*
*A Chicago Public Library Best Book for Young Readers!*
*A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice!*
*A Cooperative Children's Book Center Book of the Week!*
*A Book Depository Best Book of 2019!*
*A Denver Public Library Best & Brightest List Pick!*
*A 2019 Nerdie Best Middle Grade Book!*
*Five starred reviews!*
"Lockington’s middle grade debut is a gorgeous, tender depiction of a young Black girl seeking the space to thrive . . . the versatility of its style and structure means this novel could be used in many group discussions centering topics from transracial adoption to genre-blending literature. VERDICT An essential purchase for all collections." —School Library Journal, starred review
"An outstanding middle grade debut . . . With intimate authenticity, she explores how fierce but “colorblind” familial love can result in erasure and sensitively delineates the pain of facing casual racism, as well as the disconcerting experience of being the child of a mentally ill parent." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In this #OwnVoices middle-grade debut, Lockington captures the joy and angst of transracial adoption . . . an authentic and intimate portrayal . . . this is a necessary read for girls struggling with identity and purpose within their families, as well as a powerful coming-of-age story of Black womanhood." —Booklist, starred review
"Distinctive, lyrical prose with poems interspersed throughout. Keda's world is richly drawn and seamlessly presented in a strong, authentic voice. This magnificent middle grade debut from Mariama J. Lockington is an absolute gift of a book." —BookPage, starred review
"Lockington's focused imagery and impressively balanced rhythm between prose and poetry share the perspective of a black girl trying to find a place in her community and in her family." —Shelf Awareness, starred review
"The multimodal storytelling is visually accessible yet conceptually sophisticated, and Keda's narration, in a reflective, comma-free style, has a touch of adult perception to it that helps expand the audience range of the story. Readers will cheer Keda as she emerges with a stronger and more loving sense of herself." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Achingly honest, and so well-observed, FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME is like the most haunting blues song: lyrically rendered, heartbreaking, a wail of a novel that will offer young people and adults alike hope in the fact that we are not alone in our pain.” National Book Award Winner of THE POET X, Elizabeth Acevedo
"Mariama Lockington's novel FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME is a revelation and a gift, brimming with beauty, honesty, heartbreak, and—most of all—love. It is a story in which so many young people, especially transracial adoptees, will be able to catch glimpses of their own complicated realities. This book is one I dearly wish I'd had, growing up adopted—I am so grateful that it exists now. Mariama's is a voice we need, and this gorgeous debut novel is destined to be read, shared, and treasured by readers of all ages." —Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know
"For Black Girls Like Me is the book I needed as a young girl. My heart ached for Makeda in the difficult moments and swelled as she slowly learned to use her voice. This is a beautiful, necessary book." —Brandy Colbert, author of Finding Yvonne and Little & Lion
"Lockington's debut is a revelation. Her voice is a much-needed addition in a field that is far too sparse on #ownvoices stories, and this story in particular is one that only lived experience could bring to life. The language is delicious. Keda's story is searing and essential. I can't wait for everyone to read this." —Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of The Jumbies series
"I don't think I've ever read a more moving rendering of the complex dynamics of growing up as a young, black transracially adopted woman today. Debut novelist Mariama Lockington, herself a young black transracial adoptee, nails the experience of being 'loved and lonely at the same time.' She somehow manages to do this while exploring family mental illness, sibling relationships, moving schools and geographies, and the messiness of pre-adolescence. This is a gorgeous new voice that we desperately need in this time of overly-simplistic stories of race, family, and childhood in popular culture." —Shannon Gibney, author of the Minnesota Book Award-winning YA novel, See No Color
★ 07/01/2019
Gr 3–7—Makeda loves her parents and sister, but that doesn't make her feel any less different. A 12-year old transracial adoptee, Keda is all too familiar with the confused stares and intrusive questions of people who don't understand a Black girl with a white family. Her dad's new job takes them from Baltimore to Albuquerque, NM, bringing with it a new school with new kids and leaving behind Lena, Keda's best friend and fellow transracial adoptee who understands her struggles. Keda's sister Elle seems to be more into boys and magazines than spending time with her nowadays, and mom is acting more unpredictable than ever, sleeping all day or shredding her sheet music from her bygone violinist career. When a family tragedy shakes up her whole life, Makeda discovers a well of strength from which she must draw every ounce. Lockington's middle grade debut is a gorgeous, tender depiction of a young Black girl seeking the space to thrive. The abundant microaggressions and overt racism Keda faces from her classmates, teachers, and even her parents sting in their authenticity. The depiction of a parent's suicide attempt is not graphic, but may benefit from being discussed with a trusted adult. The narrative is interspersed with poetic, dreamy ruminations on Keda's place in the world and the lineage that has seemed lost to her for so long. The versatility of its style and structure means this novel could be used in many group discussions centering topics from transracial adoption to genre-blending literature. VERDICT An essential purchase for all collections.—Ashleigh Williams, School Library Journal
2019-05-12
A transracial adoptee navigates a new school, a mentally ill parent, and questions about her identity.
Eleven-year-old Keda, who is black and was adopted as an infant, has just moved to Albuquerque with her parents and older sister, Eve, leaving her best friend (and fellow black adoptee), Lena, behind. At school and around town, Keda knows she sticks out like a sore thumb next to her white family. When her musician father leaves for a world tour, Keda and Eve are left with their mother, whose undiagnosed, unmanaged bipolar disorder is spiraling out of control. The portrayal of their mother's disability is moving, but stylistic choices make the novel a difficult one to navigate, particularly for a middle-grade audience. Letters between Lena and Keda (both handwritten and in the form of Tumblr posts) and sporadic free-verse chapters break up Keda's first-person account, but the latter have an arbitrary rather than organic feel. On a sentence level, Lockington has such an aversion to commas that dialogue tags appear not to be attached to the speech they reference; asides, addresses, and appositives feel jumbled inside sentences; and list items aren't separated. An overreliance on sentence fragments causes them to lose any dramatic effect. From a characterization standpoint, aside from family members, too many others come across as straw men, walking onstage to hurl a racist slur and then vanishing from the narrative.
The myriad themes explored are compelling, but the execution gets in the way. (Fiction. 8-12)
