Piecing Me Together - Renée Watson - ★★★★.¼

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AUTHOR: Renée Watson
GENRE: Middle-Grade Fiction
PUBLICATION DATE: February 14, 2017
RATING: 4.25 stars.


Jade, a 13-year-old underprivileged and overweight black teen, gets accepted at an almost-white school on a scholarship. She must now prove her potential so that she can escape her neighbourhood and poverty. She is chosen for a mentorship programme, where a successful black woman is allotted to her for "support". But does Jade really need support? Does her mentor truly understand her or do they only have their skin colour in common? What's the borderline demarcating assistance from charity?

This is such a well-written book, I wonder why it is not more popular. It shatters assumptions and breaks stereotypes. Renée Watson deftly shows us how we look at a particular class of people with a certain preconception and why we can be terribly wrong. The book also shows how everyone has some kind of bias or the other. Jade is awesome as a teenager with a clear idea of what she wants and what she doesn't. It's perfect middle grade fiction.

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