I look forward to Friday’s. Not just because TGIF, but because every Friday, the Skimm has a book recommendation. I’d say 95% of the time, I end up adding the book to my “to read” list; then, I wait. I wait until the book is finally available at the library. Usually it takes weeks, at the minimum.
Somehow, when I went to return An American Marriage to the library, I found this next read. There on the shelf was a single copy of a book, recommended by the Skimm, released in mid-September. How could I not snatch it from the table and check it out? I even decided to read this one before #39 (The Moment of Lift) because I felt so lucky. What a day!
Book Read: Red at the Bone
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Number of Books Read, 2019 Edition: 38
It is 2001, and a family is celebrating Melody’s coming of age at a party in her grandparents’ Brooklyn home. Sixteen years prior, Melody’s mother Iris was supposed to have a celebration as well. Instead, the dress was put away, never worn (until Melody sixteen years later), and a baby was on the way.
Throughout this book, different narrators tell stories from sixteen years ago to the present, including the years in between. Melody’s story begins when Iris and Aubrey, Melody’s father, starting seeing each other in high school. At fifteen, Iris makes a decision to keep her baby. A life changing, long lasting decision made before Iris knows who she is or who she wants to be.
After her family moves to Brooklyn to avoid the rumors and side-glances, and Melody is born, Iris itches to get away. When she is accepted to college eight hours away, she jumps at the chance. Away at school, she tells people Melody is her sister, and begins to find out who she is without those left behind in Brooklyn.
Aubrey, with the help of Iris’s parents, raises Melody. Aubrey works in a mailroom in Manhattan, content with his life, while Melody navigates her teenage years in Brooklyn. Aubrey holds onto Iris despite Iris’s pulling back. Throughout the book, all are discovering how to navigate their family dynamic.
I read this book in three days. I even skipped one day completely, so really it was two reading days. That’s how quickly this book moved. The format was different than most books I’ve read - the book had short pages, with wide margins, spaced out paragraphs and decently short chapters. Until you were reading each chapter, you didn’t know who was telling the next part of the chapter - there were no titles on the chapters. I liked it.
Red at the Bone explores family dynamics, sexual exploration, education, class and parenthood. At its core, it examines how young people have to make decisions they are not prepared to make, and how these decisions impact the rest of their lives, as well as the lives around them.
When Iris makes a decision at 15, she not only impacts Aubrey and Melody, but the decision uproots her family life. Then, Iris is given the chance to get away from it all, while her family is left behind, dealing with the impact of her leaving. This book also examines the pressure society puts on young people to make decisions and deal with the consequences that result.
Despite being a relatively short book, this book packs a punch, with plot twists, depth, love and loss. Overall it is beautifully written, worthy read.
Next Read: The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
