Friday, June 17, 2016

Breathless excitement...




Earlier this year I posted a review of two novels by Daniel Jose' Older.  My writing was stilted because for the first time since becoming more aware of diversity issues in the world of book publishing, I was a white woman reviewing books that were not set in my world.  I was aware of my white privilege and trying too hard.  Not this time!

I LOVE THE WORLDS CREATED BY OLDER, and yes, I am shouting.  Like his Bone Street Rumba novels, there is a connection between the worlds of the living and the dead, but that is not to say it is the same.  What is the same is the vibrancy of the language, the tempo set for the telling of the story, and the wondrous world created in Brooklyn.

Sierra Santiago is a graffiti artist (my words) busy painting a dragon on the wall of a building recently constructed and abandoned.  She notices that a tear has emerged in the eye on another mural, and suddenly paintings are beginning to fade.  Sierra's coming of age journey brings her to a full understanding of her life as a Shadowshaper.  Her abuelo, no longer able to speak clearly, begins the story, but Sierra must follow clues and make connections.  No spoilers ever in my reviews, but I want to live in this world.  It is the same feeling I had when reading Older's other novels.  

Shadowshaper is a YA novel, and this retired high school English teacher wishes she was still working with young adults.  Older shares the world of the Hispanic teens and the challenges they face due to white privilege - not just as barriers in how they are viewed by others, but how they view themselves.  Sierra is viewing herself in a mirror: "Her skin was another matter.  It wasn't bad skin - a zit here and there and the occasional dry island.  But once when she was chatting with some stupid boy online, she described herself as the color of coffee with not enough milk"(79).  This line will resonate with students of color.  Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, this knowledge that life could be better if only my skin was lighter feels like a slap in the face for me as a white reader.  I cannot imagine how a young person of color deals with this racism every single day.  Sierra also has an aunt who reminds her that her hair is too bushy.  

There are other subtle reminders of white privilege as seen through these eyes; Sierra and her friends attend Octavia Butler High School.  (If you have never read anything by this marvelous author of science fiction, I recommend beginning with Kindred.)  And one of my favorite conversations in the novel is not plot developing but another reminder of white privilege:

“Imma write a book,” Tee announced.  “It’s gonna be about white people.”
          Izzy scowled.  “Seriously, Tee:  Shut up.  Everyone can hear you.”
“I’m being serious,” Tee said.  “If this Wick cat do all this research about Sierra’s grandpa and all his Puerto Rican spirits, I don’t see why I can’t write a book about his people.”  (161)

I laughed aloud reading this because of the irony.  How many white people think they can write about other cultures and peoples without doing any research?  This quick bit of dialogue is a reminder of the inequities in our country.

I’m still not thoroughly happy with this review, but it is much better than my review of the Bone Street Rumba novels.  I am looking forward to many more trips into the magical realism of Brooklyn through the eyes of Daniel Jose’ Older.

Older, Daniel Jose’. Shadowshaper. NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2015. Print.