So many books fit the criteria for FCPL’s July Reading Challenge-Read a Book by or About Someone With a Different Background From Your Own-that it’s hard to choose just one. Here are two more recommendations for patrons seeking diverse books.
When We Were Vikings is a coming-of-age story about a young woman with fetal alcohol syndrome who sees herself as a modern Viking, loving fiercely and on a personal quest to become legendary. While Zelda finds herself in tough situations and crosses paths with some unsavory characters in the course of the story, she never betrays her Viking code or loses sight of her North Star. Fans of quirky protagonists with hearts of gold will love this novel.
You may be familiar with comedian Amber Ruffin from her show The Amber Ruffin Show or her regular appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers. If so, you’ll recognize Ruffin’s down-to-earth humor in her new book You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey in which she describes a few of her own experiences as a Black woman in the United States.
While the book’s tone is light, its topic is heavy. Yet as Ruffin herself notes, her own struggles with racial bias pale in comparison to the encounters her sister Lacey has experienced. From childhood on, Lacey seems targeted in unusual ways at school, the workplace, and even shopping. But Lacey is nobody’s victim and her insightful anecdotes paint a vivid, even at times humorous picture of someone dealing with personal obstacles in present-day America.
If you’re looking for a book about real-life race relations from a Black woman's point of view, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey is a great introduction. Check out the audio version to hear the sisters banter in their own voices, or read the print version to see photographs. In one of Lacey’s most memorable stories, a clerk mistakes a photo of abolitionist Harriet Tubman for a picture of Lacey. Viewing both images side by side, it's pretty hard to spot any resemblance.
Alicia Cavitt
Information Specialist
#WeKnowBooks
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