NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A “boisterous and infectious debut novel” (The Guardian) about a group of friends and their immigrant families from Queens, New York—a tenderly observed, fiercely poetic love letter to a modern generation of brown girls.
“An acute study of those tender moments of becoming, this is an ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields.”—Raven Leilani, author of Luster
FINALIST FOR THE NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar, Kirkus Reviews
If you really want to know, we are the color of 7-Eleven root beer. The color of sand at Rockaway Beach when it blisters the bottoms of our feet. Color of soil . . .
Welcome to Queens, New York, where streets echo with languages from all over the globe, subways rumble above dollar stores, trees bloom and topple over sidewalks, and the funky scent of the Atlantic Ocean wafts in from Rockaway Beach. Within one of New York City’s most vibrant and eclectic boroughs, young women of color like Nadira, Gabby, Naz, Trish, Angelique, and countless others, attempt to reconcile their immigrant backgrounds with the American culture in which they come of age. Here, they become friends for life—or so they vow.
Exuberant and wild, together they roam The City That Never Sleeps, sing Mariah Carey at the tops of their lungs, yearn for crushes who pay them no mind—and break the hearts of those who do—all while trying to heed their mothers’ commands to be obedient daughters. But as they age, their paths diverge and rifts form between them, as some choose to remain on familiar streets, while others find themselves ascending in the world, beckoned by existences foreign and seemingly at odds with their humble roots.
A blazingly original debut novel told by a chorus of unforgettable voices, Brown Girls illustrates a collective portrait of childhood, adulthood, and beyond, and is a striking exploration of female friendship, a powerful depiction of women of color attempting to forge their place in the world today. For even as the conflicting desires of ambition and loyalty, freedom and commitment, adventure and stability risk dividing them, it is to one another—and to Queens—that the girls ultimately return.
Genre: Literary Fiction
“An acute study of those tender moments of becoming, this is an ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields.”—Raven Leilani, author of Luster
FINALIST FOR THE NEW AMERICAN VOICES AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar, Kirkus Reviews
If you really want to know, we are the color of 7-Eleven root beer. The color of sand at Rockaway Beach when it blisters the bottoms of our feet. Color of soil . . .
Welcome to Queens, New York, where streets echo with languages from all over the globe, subways rumble above dollar stores, trees bloom and topple over sidewalks, and the funky scent of the Atlantic Ocean wafts in from Rockaway Beach. Within one of New York City’s most vibrant and eclectic boroughs, young women of color like Nadira, Gabby, Naz, Trish, Angelique, and countless others, attempt to reconcile their immigrant backgrounds with the American culture in which they come of age. Here, they become friends for life—or so they vow.
Exuberant and wild, together they roam The City That Never Sleeps, sing Mariah Carey at the tops of their lungs, yearn for crushes who pay them no mind—and break the hearts of those who do—all while trying to heed their mothers’ commands to be obedient daughters. But as they age, their paths diverge and rifts form between them, as some choose to remain on familiar streets, while others find themselves ascending in the world, beckoned by existences foreign and seemingly at odds with their humble roots.
A blazingly original debut novel told by a chorus of unforgettable voices, Brown Girls illustrates a collective portrait of childhood, adulthood, and beyond, and is a striking exploration of female friendship, a powerful depiction of women of color attempting to forge their place in the world today. For even as the conflicting desires of ambition and loyalty, freedom and commitment, adventure and stability risk dividing them, it is to one another—and to Queens—that the girls ultimately return.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"Wonderfully New York-centric in both voice and attitude - Brown Girls flows like a late night FM-radio dedication to the crew, the block, and the mission. This book's a gift - a smooth subway seat on a crowded Queens local bound to everywhere and offered to those people, places, and dreams that forever keep and feed us, because memory-like off-brand bodega cottage cheese - has no expiration date. This one's a ride - watch the open doors." - Paul Beatty
"A poetic story for anyone who has longed to leave home, only to find that home resides within you." - Sandra Cisneros
"Brown Girls is a masterful triumph by a brilliant new author with an original voice. An unforgettable novel written with pride, love, and tears. Every page captures moments of wonder and hard truths about brown girls coming of age, grappling with conflicting influences, loss, gender, sexuality, cultural expectations and being second generation immigrants in America. This spare yet richly detailed writing makes the heart ache for every brown girl whose desire is to be seen, and most of all, heard." - Nicole Dennis-Benn
"An acute study of those tender moments of becoming. An ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields." - Raven Leilani
"An exhilarating novel. It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness." - Megha Majumdar
"A poetic story for anyone who has longed to leave home, only to find that home resides within you." - Sandra Cisneros
"Brown Girls is a masterful triumph by a brilliant new author with an original voice. An unforgettable novel written with pride, love, and tears. Every page captures moments of wonder and hard truths about brown girls coming of age, grappling with conflicting influences, loss, gender, sexuality, cultural expectations and being second generation immigrants in America. This spare yet richly detailed writing makes the heart ache for every brown girl whose desire is to be seen, and most of all, heard." - Nicole Dennis-Benn
"An acute study of those tender moments of becoming. An ode to girlhood, inheritance, and the good trouble the body yields." - Raven Leilani
"An exhilarating novel. It is alive with the complicated yet vast love of immigrant mothers, American daughters, and childhood friends. I treasure this book's artistic daring, its pathos, and its marvellous playfulness." - Megha Majumdar
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