The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
Heidi W. Durrow, . . Algonquin, $22.95 (264pp) ISBN 978-1-56512-680-0
Durrow's debut draws from her own upbringing as the brown-skinned, blue-eyed daughter of a Danish woman and a black G.I. to create Rachel Morse, a young girl with an identical heritage growing up in the early 1980s. After a devastating family tragedy in Chicago with Rachel the only survivor, she goes to live with the paternal grandmother she's never met, in a decidedly black neighborhood in Portland, Ore. Suddenly, at 11, Rachel is in a world that demands her to be either white or black. As she struggles with her grief and the haunting, yet-to-be-revealed truth of the tragedy, her appearance and intelligence place her under constant scrutiny. Laronne, Rachel's deceased mother's employer, and Brick, a young boy who witnessed the tragedy and because of his personal misfortunes is drawn into Rachel's world, help piece together the puzzle of Rachel's family. Taut prose, a controversial conclusion and the thoughtful reflection on racism and racial identity resonate without treading into political or even overtly specific agenda waters, as the story succeeds as both a modern coming-of-age and relevant social commentary.
Reviewed on: 10/19/2009
Genre: Fiction
Compact Disc - 978-1-6651-6453-5
Compact Disc - 6 pages - 978-1-59887-923-0
Hardcover - 313 pages - 978-1-4104-2704-5
MP3 CD - 978-1-6651-6452-8
Open Ebook - 300 pages - 978-1-61620-037-4
Paperback - 256 pages - 978-1-85168-745-9
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-61657-615-8