Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson – A book review
It has been a hot minute since I read Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson during our staycation last month. But I have been avoiding to pen down my review/thoughts for a while because I was not sure if I could ever do it some justice. Finally I braved to get on with it and here is my review of Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson!
Have you read Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson? What other hyped books that have lived up to your expectations in the recent past? And which ones dropped the balls? Let us talk. Click To TweetAbout the book
Book Name: Red at the Bone
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Young Adult
Characters: Iris, Aubrey, Melody, Sabe, Po’Boy
Setting: Brooklyn, New Jersey, The USA
Plot Summary
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson begins with the sixteen year old Melody getting ready for her coming out party and fighting with her mother on the song that she chose.
Seeing her walk down the stairs in a dress her mother missed out on wearing stirs up emotions and memories for the whole family, which the reader gets to know from the number of alternating point of views.
Melody grew up largely as a motherless child with a doting father and supportive maternal grandparents. Her relationship with her mother Iris was turbulent at best.
Book review
Red at the Bone is an intergenerational family drama, that involves several intense themes like teenage pregnancy, motherhood, fatherhood, grief, ambition, classism, sexism, poverty and racism.
It walks us through the aftermaths of an unexpected teenage pregnancy in an African American family and the costs of the choices that each one of them makes.
And Woodson does a phenomenal job in keeping the readers on toes with her lyrical writing and acute observation of complex human emotions. Alternating between a number of point of views might seem overwhelming for a few but it worked so brilliantly for me.
I knew Red at the Bone had raving reviews but I wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming emotions that swept me off as I began connecting to each character and the choices they make. And the fact that I could feel all these in just 200 pages is just mind blowing.
Initially I was not sure why Melody was so cold to Iris and later, about how Iris could treat Aubrey the way she did. But just within a chapter or two, I found myself thinking “maybe, that’s what I would have done too”. And that is a win for the writer on my books.
Red at the Bone is a powerful book that talks about the invisible threads of misery, secrets and anger that holds the family together.
What worked for me
- To just say I loved the author’s writing style and her powerful words would be unjust. She is phenomenal.
- Each and every character is etched to perfection. Sabe and Po’Boy’ were my favorites.
What may have been better
- If you are not a fan of multiple POVs, watch out. Red at the Bone has five POVs (though very well done).
- This is definitely not a plot intensive drama.
Bottom line
While this poignant story may not be entirely new or memorable, it is the impact of the lyrical writing and the emotions that the author packed into her words that makes Red at the Bone so powerful and popular.
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson is worth all the hype it gets and pick up this short book if you are into literary fiction.
Similar books
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
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Let’s chat
Have you read Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson? What other hyped books that have lived up to your expectations in the recent past? And which ones dropped the balls? Let us talk.
