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Book Summary and Reviews of Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

Black Girl Unlimited by Echo Brown

Black Girl Unlimited

The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard

by Echo Brown

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  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2020, 304 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism - all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson's Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi's American Street.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic...everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.

Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she's worked for.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Using wizardry as a way to explore making something out of nothing and developing the skills it takes to survive traumatic events, Brown's novel gives readers a potent glimpse into heartbreaking, unjust experiences and profound resilience...deftly integrating magically realistic components and allegory into contemporary scenes." - Publishers Weekly

"A graphic look at the magical black girls who are often forgotten or fetishized. Through Echo's lessons, readers learn what it's like to persist despite hopelessness, survive in a world propelled by oppressive and exploitative systems, and cope with feelings of connection and disconnect. A much-needed story. Just brilliant." - Kirkus Reviews

"Brown's novel deals with some very heavy themes including sexual violence, drug addiction, depression, and racism. However, it treats these themes and readers with care while uplifting both its main character and readers who may share Echo's struggles. A treasure of a story that's poignant, soulful, and inspiring." - Booklist

This information about Black Girl Unlimited was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Sandy

Braveheart
This story follows the story of a black wizard, Although the book is a teen to ya book, it definitely covers strong and hurtful topics. The violence in this book is the main thing; it is strong, frequent and gory. The sex in this book is also strong and frequent. It gets physical in some places, but mainly the characters talk about it. The language in this book is also strong and frequent. This will be right up your street, although it deals with dark, upsetting and strong topics.

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Author Information

Echo Brown

Echo Brown is an African-American writer, performer, and playwright from rural Ohio. A Dartmouth alumna and the first female college graduate in her family, she is currently based in Northern California. Echo is best known for her one-woman show Black Virgins Are Not For Hipsters. Black Girl Unlimited marks her debut.

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