Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert

 

It's been awhile since I posted here, but I have still been reading as much as I can. Starting my masters program has been time consuming, to say the least. I've definitely slowed my pace, but I did still manage to finish a few things. My next few reviews will be on the shorter side, but I still wanted to get my thoughts down here.

I read Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert towards the beginning of the month. This is a nonfiction middle grades novel about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. I didn't know much about the topic before reading, and I did feel like I had a good understanding of the horrific event afterwards, so the book did its job. Even though I really shouldn't be surprised by the extent of historical racism anymore, I found myself truly stunned by the events described here. This is a shameful part of American history and it should be discussed more. 

The text itself was clearly well researched and not too difficult to read. One small issue I had was the amount of background information provided. I'm not sure if Colbert didn't have enough information to fill out the whole novel or if she thought all the backstory was necessary, but this book spends over 100 pages on other historical topics that are related to Tulsa. I found myself disengaging from the narrative during these sections and wishing to get back to the main point.

Aside from that though, I thought this was an excellent and very informative nonfiction novel for middle grades and young adult readers. Anyone who doesn't know much about the Tulsa Massacre would benefit from giving this one a try. I disagree with those who want to deliberately forget about events like this. It is only through understanding and confronting the past that we can do better in the future. 

Challenge Tally

Middle Grade Mission: 27/24 - Finished!  

Total Books Read in 2022: 86