Genesis Begins Again - by Alicia D Williams

About the Book

Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

Book Synopsis

"Reminiscent of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye." --The New York Times

"One of the best books I have ever read...will live in the hearts of readers for the rest of their lives." --Colby Sharp, founder of Nerdy Book Club

"An emotional, painful, yet still hopeful adolescent journey...one that needed telling." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"I really loved this." --Sharon M. Draper, author of the New York Times bestseller Out of My Mind

This deeply sensitive and "compelling" (BCCB) debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself.

There are ninety-six reasons why thirteen-year-old Genesis dislikes herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list:
-Because her family is always being put out of their house.
-Because her dad has a gambling problem. And maybe a drinking problem too.
-Because Genesis knows this is all her fault.
-Because she wasn't born looking like Mama.
-Because she is too black.

Genesis is determined to fix her family, and she's willing to try anything to do so...even if it means harming herself in the process. But when Genesis starts to find a thing or two she actually likes about herself, she discovers that changing her own attitude is the first step in helping change others.

About the Author

Alicia D. Williams is the author of Mid-Air, which was longlisted for the National Book Award; Genesis Begins Again, which received Newbery and Kirkus Prize honors, was a William C. Morris Award finalist, and for which she won the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent; and picture books Jump at the Sun, Nani and the Lion, and The Talk, which was also a Coretta Scott King Honor book. An oral storyteller in the African American tradition, she lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.