Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences. Today we are featuring FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME by Mariama J. Lockington.

Eleven-year-old Makeda is black. The family that adopted her is white. When people see Makeda with her white sister or parents, they look back and forth between her and her family with question marks shooting out of their eyes. Her family, despite loving her with all their hearts, makes stupid mistakes, causing Makeda to question who she really is sometimes. She’s learned to deal with it by talking about her experiences with her best friend Lena, who is also an adopted black girl in a white family. But then, Makeda’s family moves half way across the country. Between her dad’s busy life as a musician in the symphony, her mom’s escalating mental illness, and her older sister’s sudden interest in her phone and friends, Makeda feels even more alone than ever. Her mom’s sometimes outrageous behavior, insensitivity, and occasional white tears only make matters worse. Makeda carves a place for herself in the world through poetry, song, and secret messages back and forth with Lena.

As she deals with constant microaggressions and overt racism (including the “N” word) from strangers and new schoolmates, Makeda can’t help but wonder about her birth mom, her black mom. What would it be like to have a family just like her? And then Makeda’s mom gets seriously sick with a condition that maybe be hereditary. This news impacts her and her sister in very different ways, which seems to make them further apart than ever. With her family literally falling apart, Makeda has to find the courage to push through, both to figure out who she is and to help bring her family back together.

Readers will instantly fall in love with Makeda, a strong girl who is very self-aware and keenly attentive to the problems in her family. Despite her isolation and questions about her identity, she shows great compassion for her family’s struggles. Her story is brilliantly told through multiple formats––prose, poetry, song lyrics, journal entries, and Tumblr posts. 

This story has everything going for it, an A-MAZING voice, a compelling plot, an infectiously charming main character, and important discussion topics such as racism, trans-racial adoption, micro-aggressions, mental health, the healing powers of creativity, and families going through stressful situations. I love books that make me feel and think, and this stunning debut checks all the boxes.

One of my favorite reads so far this year, FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME is an important story for reading and sharing. It will be available in bookstores on 7/30/2019. Please request it for your libraries and buy copies to share. FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME isn’t just for black girls, it’s for everyone. 

Warning: I don’t see it covered in many reviews, but there is an attempted suicide in the story. I think it’s important for readers to be aware of this before reading. In my opinion, it was handled carefully and the story is appropriate for readers 9+. Just like we need more books about trans-racial adoption, racism, and mental health problems, we need stories that cover suicide for readers who are emotionally ready for understanding these serious issues and challenges as well as their implications.

Thank you to #kidlitexchange for providing me a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

Mariama J. Lockington is an author, nonprofit educator, and transracial adoptee. This story draws on truths from her own experiences growing up with a white adoptive family. Visit her website or connect with her on Twitter or Instagram.