What I’m Reading: The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

I just finished up the audio book The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow.

I ended up picking this book up as it was a recommendation for those who have read Go Set a Watchman: A Novel.  It looked interesting the title was intriguing so I thought I would give it a try and I am glad I did.  I was actually surprised it wasn’t listed at juvenile fiction because for the most part, it seemed more like that to me as it is a coming of age book and told in first person.  I am guessing it missed that distinction as the story is told by several people including some adults in the story.  The book was a little slow at first.  There’s a mystery around a tragic family event and it takes a little while to understand that.  I would recommend giving the book at least four chapters before quitting.

Here’s what Amazon had to say, “Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I., becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy after a fateful morning on their Chicago rooftop. 

Forced to move to a new city, with her strict African American grandmother as her guardian, Rachel is thrust for the first time into a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring a constant stream of attention her way. It’s there, as she grows up and tries to swallow her grief, that she comes to understand how the mystery and tragedy of her mother might be connected to her own uncertain identity. 

This searing and heart wrenching portrait of a young biracial girl dealing with society’s ideas of race and class is the winner of the Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.”

I did like the book.  I might have picked a different ending as the end does leave it open for a sequel…but it wasn’t bad.  Amazon readers say 3.9 stars.  I’d give it a little more…  4.2.