Overview

‘Brown Girls flows like a late night FM-radio dedication to the crew, the block, and the mission. This book’s a gift’ Paul Beatty, author of The Sellout ‘An ode to girlhood’ Raven Leilani, author of Luster A fiercely poetic coming-of-age novel following a group of young women of colour in Queens, New York. If you really want to know, we are the colour of 7-Eleven root beer. Colour of the charcoal pencil our sisters use to rim their eyes. Colour of peanut butter. Brown Girls dives deep into the lives of a group of young women of colour growing up in Queens, New York. Here, streets echo with many languages, subways rumble above dollar stores and the briny scent of the ocean wafts in from Rockaway Beach. Here, girls like Nadira, Gabby, Naz, Trish, Angelique, and many others, struggle to reconcile their immigrant backgrounds with the American culture they come of age in. Here, they become friends for life. Or so they vow. In this bold debut told in a uniquely lyrical voice, Daphne Palasi Andreades paints a stunning collective portrait of the journey from girlhood to adulthood, set against a backdrop of race, class, and marginalisation in America today. Brown Girls is an unforgettable love letter to women of colour everywhere from a daring new writer. ‘Joyous, bittersweet, hilarious … a coming of age story for us all’ Nikesh Shukla, author of Brown Baby ‘A song of celebration, of mourning, of rage, of fierce living’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Starling Days ‘If you liked LUSTER try BROWN GIRLS’ Sunday Times Style ‘Attracting huge amounts of buzz … a lyrical, urgent voice’ ipaper, Ten best books to read in 2022 ‘A cracker of a first novel’ Glamour ‘A sensation in the US’ Guardian ‘Transporting … not to be missed’ Stylist ‘A daring debut … fearless’ New York Times SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTRE FOR FICTION 2022 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022 IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, GLAMOUR, STYLIST, INEWS, SUNDAY TIMES STYLE, LITERARY FRICTION PODCAST AND MORE.

Full Product Details

9780008478063

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Brown Girls ... [is] a gift - a smooth subway seat on a crowded Queens local bound to everywhere ... This one's a ride - watch the open doors' Paul Beatty, Man Booker prize-winning author of The Sellout 'An acute study of those tender moments of becoming. An ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields' Raven Leilani, author of Luster 'Brown Girls is filled with an unforgettable cast of characters ...Precise and powerful, this is a coming-of-age story for us all' Nikesh Shukla, author of Brown Baby 'A heady, poetic exploration of growing up, Brown Girls fizzes with life. It left me speechless.' Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love 'A beautiful story of sisterhood... Daphne is a masterful storyteller and this is an absolutely breathtaking debut' Sara Jafari, author of The Mismatch 'Brown Girls is a song-of celebration, of mourning, of rage, of fierce living. Palasi does for the present what Yoko Ogawa does for history' Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Starling Days 'I swallowed this book and was swallowed by it in return. For those of us who were once teenage girls, it is an irresistible chorus of remembrances, a lyric ode to brown girlhood. I absolutely loved it' Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here 'Riveting, powerfully observed, and seething with raw, exuberant life, Brown Girls is an epic told in the register of the yearning, vivid experiences of its characters. It's hard to think of another book with more spirit or a keener eye' Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun 'Exhilarating ... It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness' Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

'Brown Girls flows like a late night FM-radio dedication to the crew, the block, and the mission. This book's a gift - a smooth subway seat on a crowded Queens local bound to everywhere and offered to those people, places, and dreams that forever keep and feed us, because memory-like off-brand bodega cottage cheese - has no expiration date. This one's a ride - watch the open doors' Paul Beatty, Man Booker prize-winning author of The Sellout 'An acute study of those tender moments of becoming. An ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields' Raven Leilani, author of Luster 'An exhilarating novel. It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness' Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning 'A poetic story for anyone who has longed to leave home, only to find that home resides within you' Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street 'Riveting, powerfully observed, and seething with raw, exuberant life, Brown Girls is an epic told in the register of the yearning, vivid experiences of its characters. It's hard to think of another book with more spirit or a keener eye' Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun 'Exhilarating ... It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness' Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning 'A glorious anthem of a book, written effortlessly, ingeniously, in a vibrant choral voice. It sings, it aches, it shimmers; it leaps from the page with pure life. I loved it.' Lucy Caldwell, author of Intimacies 'An unforgettable novel written with pride, love, and tears.' Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy

'Wonderfully New York-centric in both voice and attitude - Brown Girls flows like a late night FM-radio dedication to the crew, the block, and the mission. This book's a gift - a smooth subway seat on a crowded Queens local bound to everywhere and offered to those people, places, and dreams that forever keep and feed us, because memory-like off-brand bodega cottage cheese - has no expiration date. This one's a ride - watch the open doors' Paul Beatty, Man Booker prize-winning author of The Sellout 'An acute study of those tender moments of becoming. An ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields' Raven Leilani, author of Luster 'An exhilarating novel. It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness' Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning 'A poetic story for anyone who has longed to leave home, only to find that home resides within you' Sandra Cisneros 'Brown Girls is a masterful triumph by a brilliant new author with an original voice. An unforgettable novel written with pride, love, and tears. Every page captures moments of wonder and hard truths about brown girls coming of age, grappling with conflicting influences, loss, gender, sexuality, cultural expectations and being second generation immigrants in America. This spare yet richly detailed writing makes the heart ache for every brown girl whose desire is to be seen, and most of all, heard' Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun

Author Information

Daphne Palasi Andreades was born and raised in Queens, New York. She holds an MFA from Columbia University, where she was awarded a Henfield Prize and a Creative Writing Teaching Fellowship. She is the recipient of a Bread Loaf Writers' Conference scholarship, among other honors. Brown Girls is her first novel.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available