"An authentic coming-of-age treasure in which a grieving teenager tries to heal her heart."
Renée Watson’s remarkable What Momma Left Me is a wise and nourishing story rooted in themes of resilience, healing and love.
With high school on the horizon, African American Serenity is struggling to piece her life back together following the brutal death of her beloved momma and the loss of her dad. Amidst this sensitively evoked maelstrom, Serenity finds hope in the form of her wholesome grandparents, church (where Grandpa is a pastor), brother Danny and new friend and confidante Maria, a bright beam of light who harbours her own bleak secrets.
Serenity handles her grief, set-backs and challenging dilemmas with dignity, her grandparents a constant, calming presence as they impart wisdom, such as this nod to Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’ poem: “That’s why we say ‘we rise’, children. There have been lots of things that have tried to keep us down. But we’ve got resilience running through these veins.”
Empathetically charting Serenity’s grief, first romance and growing up (what Serenity does to save Maria from an unsafe situation shows strength and wisdom way beyond her years), this huge-hearted novel comes highly recommended for its honesty, depth and engaging readability, along with Watson’s Piecing Me Together and Watch Us Rise (the latter co-authored with Ellen Hagan).
Rediscover Newbery Honor- and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner Renée Watson's heart-rending debut, about one girl's journey to reconnect to joy.
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Rediscover Newbery Honor- and Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner Renée Watson's heart-rending debut, about one girl's journey to reconnect to joy.Serenity 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 starting life over at her grandparents' house is strange.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed What Momma Left Me and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
What Momma Left Me features in the following genres: Featured Books for 13+ readers, Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, PSHE: Bereavement and Grief, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Paperback. Not Available.
What Momma Left Me was written by Renée Watson and published by Bloomsbury Young Adult an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing
What Momma Left Me has 223 pages
