With everything going on in the United States I really wanted to focus on reading about Black culture and experience and I think this was a good one for me to choose. Genesis had such a complex about her nationality and thought she couldn’t fit in or be pretty unless she was lighter skinned and it honestly broke my heart knowing young girls actually feel that way. A good read with some good messages!

Wow, this was beautiful. I don’t read ebooks very fast, and I think I finished this entirely in one day. That is possibly the fastest I’ve ever read an ebook because every time I put it down, I immediately picked it up to read it again. It is so good.

I feel like there’s so much that’s going to reflect the experience of so many of its readers, especially the young ones who it’s obviously meant for. There’s so much in here that I think reflects the experiences and feelings of kids like Genesis and the author takes such care in how they handled those things.

I will say that if you are recommending this to a child, you may want to think about if that child will need someone to talk to afterwards and if they have a safe someone. There are some things in this that are heavy things for a young reader, and I think as an adult you should take care to think about how those things will affect the children you recommend them to. Not that they shouldn’t read it, but maybe don’t wallop a kid with something that may trigger them and then leave them floundering in the wind, you know?

Honestly, that’s how I feel about a lot of books and kids – we don’t really think about trigger warnings and self-care with middle grade the way we do with YA or adult books, but they may need them just as much. This one especially deals with racism, obviously, both internalized and external, self-harm, bullying, poverty, and a parent who’s dealing with addiction and is sometimes abusive.

Though while we’re talking about that, I really want to commend the author for how nuanced the depiction of Genesis’ relationships with her parents are, especially with her father. His depiction as a man who is clearly making the wrong choices in a lot of areas, but is still a complicated human being who isn’t just villanized is really wonderful. Genesis’ journey into asking about family history and learning more about her parents and her grandmother and why they don’t talk about a lot of their history is also so good.

That sometimes the people you love have done things that are harmful, not just to you, or that they have views that are harmful – that’s something that could have been treated in a very binary way, and it’s not. The book really shows how much those things can hurt the people who feel that way, too, and it doesn’t excuse them, but it’s… I don’t know, I want to say more fair to Genesis, that the book doesn’t expect her to stop loving people and caring about them because they’re “problematic”. It’s not that easy sometimes, especially for kids. It doesn’t invalidate Genesis’ pain, but it doesn’t erase her love for people either.

Wow, I’m not sure that paragraph made a lick of sense. Do you know what I mean?

My only real complaint to mention is a lack of queer people. Would have been nice if a classmate had had two moms or something. Otherwise, props for her best friend having OCD – it’s very normalizing. The character was previously bullied by classmates, but Genesis’ reaction is rather similar to if she had asthma or something. She doesn’t make a big deal out of it while respecting her friend’s needs. I also loved that her music teacher, who is a big positive influence and role model, was fat. It’s great to see that.

I didn’t mean to talk so much here but this was so good and I just want to praise so much of it. Obviously there’s a lot I’m not qualified to talk about here, but this is such a solid middle grade book, and should be on like all the rec lists. Four and a half roses out of five.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

There are some books that I really don't feel qualified to review, and this is one of them. I can tell you that I learned so much about the impact of skin color on a young girl's self-esteem. I can tell you that I loved watching Genesis have an opportunity to discover her inner power and to share it with others. I can tell you that my heart broke watching her and her mother try to come to terms with her father's drinking and its impact on their lives. I gave this book 5 stars because it made me think, and feel, and I believe others will greatly benefit from it, too. I hope you'll add it to your TBR and experience it for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This books is just wonderful. I got attached to Genesis immediately and couldn’t stop reading her story. Amazing work from the author.

This is an emotional story about a young girl who learns to love herself.

Genesis goes on a journey throughout this book. She starts out with friends who bully her and her family being evicted. She has to learn to love herself, but she makes many mistakes along the way, such as changing her hair, choosing the wrong friends, and even bleaching her skin.

Genesis is also bullied by her father. It was heartbreaking to see how her father yelled at her and put her down because she had his dark skin instead of her mother’s light skin. It was really difficult to read at times. Her strength was put to the test with all of the abuse, and she can’t be blamed for the things she did.

This book really tugged at my heart. It is an emotional, but powerful, story.

Wow! I have no words. It has been a long time since I was invested in a novel. I love that it is a sorry about growing up, complicated families, and making friends. There is no element of romance, which I found refreshing. The story felt very authentic and getting to know Genesis was a honour. I can not believe that this is a debut novel. I very much look forward to seeing what Alicia writes next!

I will be posting a full review on my blog soon!