Review: When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright

When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright
266 pages, Library Book (hardcover)
Finished on 24/5/2012
Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction
Synopsis via GoodReads:

Lahni Schuler is the only black student at her private prep school. She's also the adopted child of two loving, but white, parents who are on the road to divorce. Struggling to comfort her mother and angry with her dad, Lahni feels more and more alone. But when Lahni and her mother attend a local church one Sunday, Lahni hears the amazing gospel choir, and her life takes an unexpected turn.

It so happens that one of Lahni's teachers, Mr. Faringhelli, has nominated her for a talent competition, and she is expected to perform a song in front of the whole school. Lahni decides to join the church choir to help her become a better singer. But what starts out as a way to practice singing becomes a place of belonging and a means for Lahni to discover her own identity.

Motivation to Read It: My cousin read this and said that it was really good. I saw it at the library and put it in my hands automatically.

Review: This novel was better than I thought it would be. Lahni really clicked with me, and the author had more than one plotline going on at once, which really added flavor to the book.

Lahni is almost in high school, she's nowhere near the top of the social ladder at her school (a school she doesn't even like at that), and then some crazy guy starts stalking her. But she finds a new home when she and her mom start going to church.

The characters were really good. I had to keep reminding myself that Lahni was just in the 8th grade. Sometimes she seemed a couple years older than what she was, but that's a good thing; just means she was mature :). Donna and Amber were your usual "queens" of the school, but every book has them I think.

The plot, like I said before, had little stories running off of it. There was the problems with her parents and the crazy stalker kid. These added some extra flavor to the story, which I really liked. The main plotline, which was Lahni's singing and being in the talent competition at her school, was amazing. I really enjoyed reading about Lahni's experience with this. She definitely earned more confidence in herself.

Overall, this book is really great, and I think you should take some time out to sit and read it. It isn't too long of a read, and it's a great story.