Genesis Begins Again
by Alicia D. Williams

“Reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
—New York Times

• 2020 Winner of The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent
• John Newbery Honor for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature
• 2020 William C. Morris Award Finalist
• A Kirkus Prize Finalist 2019
• William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist 2019
• An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
• A School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book of 2019
• A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019
• Top AALBC Book on the subject of “Colorism”

This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who is filled with self-loathing and 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. It’s not that Genesis doesn’t like her grandma, but she and Mom always fight—Grandma haranguing Mom to leave Dad, that she should have gone back to school, that if she’d married a lighter skinned man none of this would be happening, and on and on and on. But things aren’t all bad. Genesis actually likes her new school; she’s made a couple friends, her choir teacher says she has real talent, and she even encourages Genesis to join the talent show.

But how can Genesis believe anything her teacher says when her dad tells her the exact opposite? How can she stand up in front of all those people with her dark, dark skin knowing even her own family thinks lesser of her because of it? Why, why, why won’t the lemon or yogurt or fancy creams lighten her skin like they’re supposed to? And when Genesis reaches #100 on the list of things she hates about herself, will she continue on, or can she find the strength to begin again?