"An authentic coming-of-age treasure in which a grieving teenager tries to heal her heart."
Renée Watson’s remarkable What Momma Left Me is a wise and nourishing story rooted in themes of resilience, healing and love.
With high school on the horizon, African American Serenity is struggling to piece her life back together following the brutal death of her beloved momma and the loss of her dad. Amidst this sensitively evoked maelstrom, Serenity finds hope in the form of her wholesome grandparents, church (where Grandpa is a pastor), brother Danny and new friend and confidante Maria, a bright beam of light who harbours her own bleak secrets.
Serenity handles her grief, set-backs and challenging dilemmas with dignity, her grandparents a constant, calming presence as they impart wisdom, such as this nod to Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’ poem: “That’s why we say ‘we rise’, children. There have been lots of things that have tried to keep us down. But we’ve got resilience running through these veins.”
Empathetically charting Serenity’s grief, first romance and growing up (what Serenity does to save Maria from an unsafe situation shows strength and wisdom way beyond her years), this huge-hearted novel comes highly recommended for its honesty, depth and engaging readability, along with Watson’s Piecing Me Together and Watch Us Rise (the latter co-authored with Ellen Hagan).
Head to our 'Black Lit Matters' list to find more must-read novels by black writers.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Piecing Me Together, a 2018 Newbery Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner.
| Primary Genre | Young Adult Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
From the New York Times bestselling author of Piecing Me Together, a 2018 Newbery Honor Book and a Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner. Serenity knows she is good at keeping secrets, and she's got a whole lifetime's worth of them.
What Momma Left Me features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Sharing Diverse Voices, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Fiction
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
What Momma Left Me was written by Renee Watson and published by Bloomsbury YA an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
What Momma Left Me has 219 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
