Our 13th choice for BLM Book Fairies is What Momma Left Me by Renée Watson. Read more about the book and our review!

A Book Fairy review:

This book was very easy to read although it takes up very difficult topics. The author takes heavy, difficult subjects and brings them to a young readers audience in a sensitive and appropriate way.  It is a story of a young teenage girl who’s had a difficult childhood.  It is about tragedy and pain by losing family members and friends way too soon, about violence, murder and abuse and how to deal with this, and about how choices change your life in a good or bad way.

I liked that the story was told through the eyes of a thirteen year old girl who tells the story like she would write in her diary. She feels very authentic and the story feels real. I like that she is not the perfect teenage girl you might expect as she is living in a very religious community.  She’s falling in love with the wrong boy , having faith that people can change but starting to question God at some point.

For me the main message was that you need to speak up even though it might be difficult some times. Keeping secrets can lead to more pain, even if you think keeping a secret protects others.

About the book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Piecing Me Together, a 2018 Newbery Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner.

Serenity knows she is good at keeping secrets, and she’s got a whole lifetime’s worth of them. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and she and her brother have to start over again by moving in with their grandparents. At first, things seem like they could be good: a new friend, a new church, a new school. But when her brother seems to be going down the wrong path, the old fears set in. Will he end up like their dad? Will she end up like their mum? In this exquisite coming of age story, Serenity discovers it is the power of love that keeps you sure of who you are, and who you will become.

Get your hands on a copy:

You can find this book at all good book shops (or ask them to order one in!) as well as on the Bloomsbury Books website here.

Subscribe to the Book Fairy Box:

We love putting together our bookish subscription box every two months, and this one is especially exciting. Each box contains two new books from a BLM Book Fairies list of twenty, as well as lots of goodies!

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Our #BookFairyBox REVEAL for Sept/Oct is here! However! There are SO many variations in this box that this really is only one example – read on to find out more 🤗 Contents: 📦 Two #BLMBookFairies titles from a possible list of twenty featured in this box 📦 Equality print created for us by a Black artist 📦 Washable African print face mask made by hand by a Black-owned business – one of four different designs 📦 Handmade sustainable hemu wood soap dish 📦 Solid lemon dish soap to help you reduce plastic in the kitchen 📦 Book Fairy Survival Kit 📦 Letter from a book fairy 📦 List of 20 recommended #BLMBookFairies titles 📦 One of three designs of stickers celebrating racial equality 📦 One of 12 postcards created by a book fairy to celebrate hidden heroes in Black history To get your hands on one of these boxes head to the book fairy website! https://ibelieveinbookfairies.com We have a “one off” option as well as different subscription options. Our whole ethos is to encourage reading and a sustainable lifestyle – and each and every box follows these lines. Our boxes come out every two months 💚 #ibelieveinbookfairies #subscriptionbox #instabooks #bookstagram #boxsubscription #unboxing #unboxingvideo #readblackwriters #readblackauthors #blackwriters #blackauthors #blackhistorymonth #blackhistory #blackhistorymonth2020

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You can subscribe to the Book Fairy Box or buy a one-off to give it a go – or for a gift!