It reads like a narrative poem, depicting the experiences of Brown Girls and I felt as if was there in “the dregs of Queens” with them because Andreades takes you there with her wonderful writing, introduces you to these Brown Girls born here of families from multiple places in the world, bonded by their skin Connected by the place, their shared experiences growing up, prejudice and racism, their teachers not being able to tell them apart, their brothers going to jail for selling drugs and so mu...

2.5 stars In this intriguing debut, Andreades relies heavily on a communal narrator - the titular "Brown Girls" - to transport readers into their lives and experiences in Queens and beyond. There are some interesting moments here, but this one never quite grabbed me. The communal narrator comes off as too gimmicky, but the bigger issue is two-fold. First, it's extremely difficult to connect with or become invested in any one character. In fact, the one character I did start to become invested in...

This reminded me so much of Jacqueline Woodson's Another Brooklyn. It would be a perfect companion read.

Daphne Palasi Andreades’ debut novel, Brown Girls, details the life of a collective of brown girls who have grown up in the “dregs of Queens.” It is structured as a collection of vignettes in rough chronological order and separated into five parts. Andreades notes that she writes with the “choral we”, and the entire book is told in that first person plural narration.It’s ambitious, to tell the story of a collective of people this way. It can verge on gimmickry, moreso than even second person nar...

This book was nothing short of exquisite. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt as represented in a work of fiction as I have with this novel. Wonderfully and fearfully done!Each chapter, though very short, reads like a poetic essay told from the perspective of all “brown girls” (women of color). I saw myself in so many of the anecdotes. I also saw my friends and family. Though the point of view mostly represents daughters of immigrants, I was able to relate in a sense that I am disconnected from my

I wasn’t quick to escape my hometown though my departure over a dozen years ago would suggest otherwise. After all, I left Michigan in a cloud of dust, not to mention disgust and disappointment. To quote the great, criminally underrated musician Brendan Benson – fittingly another Detroiter who eventually skedaddled his way elsewhere – "I’d had enough, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I turned and I ran straight for the door." It hadn’t always been that way. I was one of many who returned (almost)

Ok lol I went off on a very long tangent here but tl;dr: As a "brown girl", this book feels like it was made to sit on a bookshelf of a white moderate/liberal woman in an attempt to diversify their reading.I've realized, only very recently, that I've started to become tired of "the immigrant novel". So picking up this book probably wasn't a great thing to do, at least in my current mindset, seeing as this is all that Brown Girls is about. But the title and premise intrigued me, and I felt like I...

More like 3.5 stars. Diaspora poetry vibes, powerful “we” voice, almost made me tear up at some points

the best book I could have read while trying not to freak out about my first week in uni that turned out to be virtual. such an unique, distinctive book, a gem.

Beautifully written (not surprising all the accolades Daphne Palasi Andreades has received), this debut, told in a collective first person, masterfully recounts the experiences of the second generation of girls growing up in the "untrendy part of Queens." Known as the most diverse of the five boroughs and a melting pot for immigrants, particularly if newly arrived and seeking some familiarity among the strangeness of a new home, resting their hopes upon their children. Described as "good girls,"...

4.5 ⭐️ - i definitely wasn’t expecting the format, but the poetic writing style grew on me as i continued reading. i really liked how the book was telling the story of one group of girls, yet the writing made it inclusive to all brown girls (if some way or another). whether it was the complex relationship between immigrant mothers and their daughters, the constant feeling of exclusion in white spaces, the struggles of allowing ourselves to truly love, or the truth behind the “american dream,” i’...

Wow!! This book is absolutely stunning!! Beautiful, heartbreaking, honest and so so needed. It celebrates the beauty of brown girls; their resilience and need to break away while also staying close to their family. It celebrates lasting friendships and growing apart. It honors womanhood and aging. It might be one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year!

A love letter to Black Women and I was here for ALLLL of it!

This book reminded me so much of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, of course, barring the fact that in Brown Girls we are exposed to a variety of voices - of all brown girls trying to navigate and find their way in the world. While Cisneros's work was about the coming-of-age of one young girl, Brown Girls is the story of many. It also somewhere down the line becomes the story of the marginalised, the unseen, the unobserved, the ones who are struggling every single day to make their p...

I devoured this book in one sitting. Daphne Palasi Andreades' poetic, contemporary fiction novel, Brown Girls needs to be mandatory reading in high school. I'm telling you now that everyone needs to read this. The story focuses on a group of women of color and their experience growing up in Queens. The characters struggle with their family, both in terms of immigration and their traditional values, while also struggle with their place in American society. This book is less of a work of ficti...

Daphne Palasi Andreades did something here. The writing is on point, and although sometimes the story felt slightly disjointed to me, I felt like that feeling added character, because there was so much to focus on. Brown girls lives are full and Daphne made sure I felt that as a reader, and I appreciate this book for that reason! I enjoyed the opportunity of following our heroines through their lives, loves, passions, family life, thought processes. It was Brown girls telling their stories, narr...

Brown Girls By Daphne Palasi AndreadesTold in the first person collective thought in five parts, this anthem to brown girls' experience set in Queens NYC, of the American experience growing up from immigrant families. I loved the writing and feeling all the angst, emotions, and struggle - i thought this was a powerful anthem for the lived experiences of young women from diverse backgrounds. I love supporting Filipino authors and I am so happy to see these books available for me and for my childr...

I loved this book so much that I immediately reread it. The choral "we" voice worked so well, and yet each girl's voice and story was distinct and unique. You root for all of the characters, and the descriptions (the airplanes flying low into LaGuardia! the sound of loud family parties passing on generations of gossip! seagulls circling above and popsicles dripping in the Rockaways!) are so vivid that it feels like you're in Queens with them, coming of age and experiencing all of the excitement

Haven’t stayed up until 2am reading since March, so you know this one was sooooo good. I saw myself in this book so much that it made my heart smile. It was warm, sad, important, inclusive. Had so many things I related to. To all, you won’t regret reading this.

This book is a treasure. A gift. Beautiful and ferocious work right here.