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Book Review: "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky" by Heidi W. Durrow
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"This stunning debut novel finds the beauty – and confusion – in a young life touched by tragedy." - Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor
"This debut novel tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy.
With her strict African American grandmother as her new guardian, Rachel moves to a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring mixed attention her way. Growing up in the 1980s, she learns to swallow her overwhelming grief and confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white."
The book is a winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.
Heller McAlpin in a Christian Science Monitor review writes:
"“The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” comes at a time when biracial and multicultural identity – embodied so prominently by President Obama – is especially topical.
But set in the 1980s and focusing luminously on one unusually sympathetic girl overcoming apocalyptic tragedy and navigating her way through nascent sexuality and racial tensions, Durrow’s novel transcends topicality.
Like Rachel, Durrow is the light-brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish mother and an African-American father enlisted in the Air Force. With degrees from Stanford, Columbia Journalism School, and Yale Law School, it’s no wonder she endows her heroine with discipline and brains.
Rachel’s life, however, is clearly not Durrow’s. A detailed plot summary of “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” would give the impression of sensationalism or soap and fail to convey the power of this book. Yes, there’s alcohol and drug addiction; deaths by fire, trauma, and infection; and a runaway boy caught for a time in a downward spiral. There are mothers who lose their children, and a saintly drug counselor who loses his beloved fiancée. Through it all, what makes Durrow’s novel soar is her masterful sense of voice, her assured, nuanced handling of complex racial issues – and her heart." (Click here for the full review...)
You can order the book "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" from the online booksellers below:
Highbridge Audio (6-CD audio version). Enter promo code "Heidi" for a 20% discount!
New York, NY |
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