The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

This is one of those books that, you look at the description and think, "that sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I'm up for that." But I picked it up anyway (on my Nook, on Sunday morning, online!) and I am glad I did.

Set in 1980's Chicago and Portland (OR), this is the story of Rachel, a young girl of mixed race who is the sole survivor of a horrible tragedy. Rachel's mother is Danish and her father is African-American, and after the accident she goes to live with her father's family in Portland, where she experiences the black community for the first time. There she learns that, to other people, she is not just a girl - she is a black girl who isn't "black" enough.

The novel is written from varying first-person perspectives - Rachel's mostly, but also her father's, her mother's, and most touchingly, the young boy who saw the accident happen and was deeply affected by it. If you like Toni Morrison I think you will find Durrow's work to be similar, and equally provocative. I am glad I didn't pass this one by.

Heidi W. Durrow'sThe Girl Who Fell from the Sky [Hardcover](2010)