Book review: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

In graduate school I listened to the audiobook of "Peace, Locomotion," and enjoyed the story told in Woodson's descriptive free-verse.  I had not had the chance to read this National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, and Newbery Honor winning autobiography until now.  And after reading it, I regret missing the author's breakfast with Woodson last year at NCSLMA.  

The free-verse-poetry style is the same as that in "Peace, Locomotion;" the type of poetry that can just be enjoyed as opposed to analyzed for symbolism and imagery.  Woodson grew up in Ohio, New York, and Greenville, South Carolina in the 60s and 70s.  I was surprised at the similarities of her memories of her grandparents' home in Greenville and my memories of my grandparents' home an hour further north, a decade later--the religious rituals, the food, the fresh vegetables from the garden, the summer heat.

But the differences stood out just as much in Woodson's descriptions of Jim Crow-era injustices.  Her family could not ride in the front of the bus, and even after the laws changed, they often did not, because of the reception they got.  There were certain restaurants where they could not eat--and even when the laws changed, they often could not get served.  The one store where her grandmother felt she was treated equally was the fabric store.  I was able to understand, as much as I could from a book, why her mother was eager to escape to New York, and why her father refused to take I-77 south from Cleveland in the first place.

The book also went into how Woodson came to love words, and stories, and writing--inspiration for any budding writer, even those for whom academics is not their strong suit.