Stephanie Spines

How brilliant!Angelou is a master of prose! Her writing style is just a pleasure to read in all ways. Her imagery, use of similes, just general creativity is outstanding!While she had a pretty devastating life, Angelou's memoir is full of joy. I mean, it is full of heartbreak and sadness too, but also notably full of happiness, laughter and joy. My favourite aspect of this book is that Angelou creates a story of racism where the narrative is not that of victimhood, but a narrative of resistance. While Maya and her family are constantly experiencing violent and overt racism, they are at the same time, pushing back. That is my favourite aspect of this story, however this unfortunately seems to be the same thing that I see negative reviewers complaining about. The way that she constructs whiteness in this story is not discriminatory, it is a reclamation of power that has been taken away by the oppressive force of racism.I found Maya SO relatable in this story. Especially that she was "tender-hearted", because people describe me that way too. Overall, amazing. Highly recommend.