Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

We previously enjoyed Jacqueline Woodson’s autobiographical poetry book, Brown Girl Dreaming, on one of our trips, and we found it delightful, even if we did have to evacuate for the Creek Fire. For this book, we had a trip cancel (dang wildfires and vehicle breakdown) so we didn’t get to this one when I thought we would. Since it was running out of renewals, we went ahead and listened to it while driving to and from school related stuff. 

 

This book isn’t written in the same obviously poetic style, but Woodson’s generally poetic way of writing tends to come through. The title is based on Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” and the poem serves as kind of a theme throughout the book, both the imagery of feathers and the idea of hope. Feathers is set in the 1970s, and probably reflects some of the author’s experiences, even if the plot is fully fictional.

 

The book is about the experiences of 11 year old Frannie, as she seeks to make sense of the world around her, particularly her school classmates and her family. Her older brother, Sean, is deaf, so he goes to a different school. Frannie grew up with him, so she doesn’t even remember a time before she learned to speak sign language. But she is fairly unique in that, and, as she comes to understand, Sean wishes he could connect better with the “normal” world as well. Her mother has had a series of miscarriages, and before that, her infant sister died of congenital issues. 

 

School too has people she struggles to understand. Her longtime friend Samantha seems to be becoming more invested in her faith, which Frannie doesn’t really understand. The school bully, Trevor, has a white father who abandoned him, and lives on the other side of the highway, and his insecurity about his lack of a father and his biracial identity drive his meanness. And then there is “Jesus Boy.” We never learn his real name, but he is a white kid with long hair who Samantha thinks looks like Jesus - and may even be Jesus himself. Well, he isn’t, of course, he’s just a kid. A kid who was adopted by a black family, and who transferred to Frannie’s school because his parents and siblings were subjected to racial terrorism when they tried to live in the white section of town. Naturally, Trevor decides to direct his bullying toward “Jesus Boy.” 

 

As a result of the events in the book, Frannie comes to see others as more human than she had, and decides that “Jesus Boy” is right: there is something of the Divine in everyone, if you are willing to see it, and this makes hope possible. 

 

It is a gentle and inspiring ending to a book that feels very real. Frannie’s inner life is lovingly and perceptively portrayed, and all the characters seem well drawn and nuanced. My eldest has read other Woodson books, and also agrees that she is a wonderful writer of both prose and poetry. Having read two now, I have to agree. Her writing is beautiful, and her outlook on life is equally lovely. As I noted with Brown Girl Dreaming, her books aren’t “issue” stories about civil rights, but are rather lovingly told stories of African American boys and girls living ordinary lives in ordinary (and often loving) families, and experiencing the usual conflicts at home and school, and feeling ordinary human feelings. You know, the kind of books that white kids are in all the time. I think this is a wonderful thing - and her books feel truly universal. We will definitely be reading some more. 

 

This audiobook was read by Sisi Johnson, who does a fine job. Brown Girl Dreaming was read by Woodson herself, which was really great.