This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself. There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplant -- even her own family. And #61: Because her family is always being put out of their house, belongings laid out on the sidewalk for the world to see. When your dad is a gambling addict and loses the rent money every month, eviction is a regular occurrence. What's not so regular is that this time they all don't have a place to crash, so Genesis and her mom have to stay with her grandma.…
"Genesis Begins Again, we would say, is for 12 years and up. This book is definitely hard-hitting. The book tells the story of a 13-year-old called Genesis, who deals with colorism, self-loathing and problems like her father’s gambling and alcoholism. She has a list of 96 things she doesn’t like about herself. Her family keep getting evicted from their house so it’s hard for her to make friends. Once again, it’s middle school—it’s so hard to be in middle school! It’s just a really, really powerful book that I think kids in this age range haven’t really seen before. It really opened up questions and we thought it was beautifully written. Also, there’s hope at the end. It wasn’t just misery, misery, misery and all these awful things. She begins to see the possibility of her self-worth, which once again speaks to resilience. So we were very, very excited to have this as an honor book. I know, that first interaction. I was like, ‘Oh no, there is so much pain here. This is going to be a ride, this is a journey we’re going on.’ Yes, we all have that experience at middle school. Everything is changing for us, we’re hurtling towards adulthood, which can be frightening in itself. Then to have all these other things that seem insurmountable piled on you is just really hard. She does it in a beautiful, heartfelt way. It’s crazy. I guess we were all on the same page, we all saw the excellence in these books. It was quite shocking when they announced it, we were like, ‘I guess they saw what we saw in these books.’ It’s always surprising when that happens. Yes, a completely different group, because the Caldecott Medal is for illustrations. Genesis Begins Again won the new talent award. I was on the 2017 Newbery Medal Selection Committee. That was my first foray into being on a book award committee. Yes, I really did. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything. It’s getting to talk to people, who are excited about books and are excited about stories for children. One of the reasons we love the award is because we feel it respects children. It lets children know that they’re seen and heard and that their stories matter. So I think everyone was just so excited to be part of it; I know they were excited to be part of it. It’s so hard. It was extremely tough for us as well. It’s like someone coming in from the public asking, ‘What do you have that I can read? I need a little readers’ advisory.’ We think this award is really important."
The Best Children’s Books: The 2020 Newbery Medal and Honor Winners ·
fivebooks.com
"Thirteen-year-old Genesis is doing the usual work of fitting in and figuring out who she is – all while struggling with a new school, her father’s alcoholism and family members who think that lighter skin makes for an easier life. First-time novelist Alicia Williams takes on colorism and prejudice, and I can’t recommend this book enough to help readers think past the dichotomy of black and white."
