Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim

                I’ve always been a voracious reader. My mother used to read me bedtime stories at night and as soon as I learned how to read, more often than not you would find me with a book in my hands. There are two books that stand out that were an obvious reflection of me and my family: The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton and Pass It On: African American Poetry by Wade Hudson. Those two books had Black people on the covers, Black people on the pages and were about Black people. Those were the two books I would always go back to. Even after years of reading Goosebumps, Fear Street and Stephen King. Even after imagining myself as Hermione in Harry Potter and well into my teenage years I would still find myself randomly grabbing those two books and reading the pages that influenced me so much when I was young. Reading this anthology brought me back to those books even though it’s been over a decade since I’ve read them. When I look back, those books are my anchors and I was lucky to be able to have those at such a young age.

                Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves is a beautifully curated anthology. It reflects the vast differences that make up Black women’s experience with literature. From seeing representation at an early age, to discovering true representation later on in life, to questioning your view of society or sexuality or what it means to be a woman and Black. That’s what I love about this book. Not only is it filled with essays by woman I admire and respect but their vulnerability and honesty on the page is invigorating. The stories they chose to share, all inspired by a literary work or works that affected their lives, gives the reader an in depth look at their lived experiences. Each essay is beautifully written and so reflective on who they were while reading and how that has affected the woman they’ve become. So much growth within these pages.

                I really enjoyed this collection as a whole. I knew while reading that this is something I would want to adorn my shelves, something I would reflect on and read again in the future. It’s also a resource. Edim made a really smart decision by listing different types of books throughout this anthology. I will now have a curated list of books from different genres by Black women that I can read, which is something I hadn’t expected but was very glad to see. This anthology is something that I believe every well-read Black girl can relate to, because we’ve all had that moment when we’ve read a book that has changed us. It’s beautiful to read a book where other Black women are sharing their experiences as well. I give this 5 out of 5 stars. 

Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.