And as if dealing with an unreliable father, eviction and another new school aren't hard enough, Genesis must also contend with her own feelings of self-loathing and low self-esteem. And she knows exactly what the reasons are for feeling that way - she keeps a list of all things she hates about herself, a list begun by some cruel kids in 5th grade in a school she had once attended, and to which she has since added more things. And now she's added reason #86: "Because she let them call her Charcoal, Eggplant, and Blackie" (pg. 7). Genesis has very dark skin just like her dad, and has been told so often that she's too black by people, including her father and grandmother, that she has internalize their negative attitude.
But now, dad has moved Genesis and her mother to a big house in a more upscale suburban neighborhood and she's been enrolled in a fancier school than in the past. Things aren't quite a bad as in the other schools she attended and Genesis even begins to make some new friends, including shy Sophia, a white girl with her own school horror story. But it is her music teacher, Mrs. Hill, who believes in Genesis' musical talent and introduces her to such greats as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Etta James, black women who learned to put their joy, longing, loneliness and soul into their incredibly beautiful eloquent music. Can Genesis learn to use the negative voices that hold her back to finally begin to love herself for who she is?
Genesis Begins Again is a tough book to read. Genesis is so young and vulnerable, and people can be so cruel to her, and what makes it harder is the her story, in all its poignancy, is a story of so many girls just like her. At the heart of this novel is the issue around the colorism that Genesis faces every day at home, at school and within herself. She was supposed to take after her light-skinned mother and she is very aware of her father's disappointment that she didn't. Her grandmother, who intently dislikes Genesis' dad, introduces her the the brown bag test (a test he failed), and her belief that light-skin is a measure of superiority. Some of the conversations with her dad, grandmother, and even Sophia are heartbreaking to read. As are Genesis' attempts at trying to lighten her skin, all the more difficult to read knowing that they just won't work, but understanding her need to try. And try she does, with lemons, bleach, cream, even exfoliating her skin raw at one point.
I can't say I loved the book's ending, but I would still highly recommend it. I did wonder why Genesis's mother was not involved in the handling of the family's finances so that she didn't know the rent wasn't being paid, or why she didn't just take Genesis and leave.
On the whole, I thought Genesis Begins Again is a book that should be read by everyone regardless of their skin color. Sensitively written, it is an eyeopening window into the tough subject of colorism within the black community and racism in the white community, making it is a book that needed to be written for today's world.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL
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