"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.
| 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. Her mother is dead, her father is gone, and she and her brother have to start over again by moving in with their grandparents. At first, things seem like they could be good: a new friend, a new church, a new school. But when her brother seems to be going down the wrong path, the old fears set in. Will he end up like their dad? Will she end up like their mum? In this exquisite coming of age story, Serenity discovers it is the power of love that keeps you sure of who you are, and who you will become.
What Momma Left Me features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Sharing Diverse Voices, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Fiction
What Momma Left Me is available in Paperback
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
