The Only Black Girls in Town – Brandy Colbert

The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: March 10th, 2020
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Recommended Age: 10+
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Family, Friendship, Racial Relations, LGBTQIA+

REVIEW:

I love it. I just love it when authors branch out. I have read YA Fiction from Brandy Colbert and now I’ve had the chance to read Middle Grade. Believe it or not, some authors don’t transition from one to the other smoothly. I think that to write a well-told story in any category, one must study the category beforehand very well and understand its audience. Brandy Colbert has managed that quite nicely.

She touches upon popular middle grade topics, such as family relationships, friendship drama and first crushes, but also darker topics, for example racial relations, identity, feeling left out or like an outcast and bullying to name a few. It’s a story that is both light and heavy at times but always eloquent. Brandy Colbert conveys her message, through the narration, nicely. I’ve felt that reading Little & Lion and The Revolution of Birdie Randolph and I’ve felt it again with this book.

The main reason why I’m giving it 3.5 stars instead of the full four one is because, while the setting is arguably original and the themes explored important and explored in good ways, I think that the friendship drama took more place than necessary in the plot. Personally, I wanted the focus to be more on the relationship between Albert and her biological mom and Eddie and her father. But that’s me. Otherwise, well done! Excited to read more MG from you, Brandy Colbert.

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