Blog Tour Review: Libertie

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Libertie

Kaitlyn Greenidge

Published March 30, 2021 by Algonquin
336 Pages

The critically acclaimed and Whiting Award–winning author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman returns with an unforgettable story about the meaning of freedom.

Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson was all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, had a vision for their future together: Libertie would go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, who can pass, Libertie has skin that is too dark.

When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it—for herself and for generations to come.

Inspired by the life of one of the first Black female doctors in the United States and rich with historical detail, Kaitlyn Greenidge’s new novel resonates in our times and is perfect for readers of Brit Bennett, Min Jin Lee, and Yaa Gyasi.

My Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the moment I saw the cover of this book I was drawn in and wanted to know more about the wonders held within the pages of Libertie. What I found was a beautiful and powerful story of a young girl transitioning to adulthood and her struggles to understand life and love and her mother. We travel from Brooklyn to a free Black college in Ohio to Haiti, a journey unlike any other. The themes and cultural issues shown in Libertie are plenty and leave the reader thinking about race, family, misogyny, patriarchy. Kaitlyn Greenidge is a passionate writer and weaves a beautiful tale with Libertie. If you’re looking for your next mind blowing historical fiction read, this is it.

 

Meet The Author

Kaitlyn Greenidge received her MFA from Hunter College. Greenidge was the recipient of a Hertog Fellowship and the Bernard Cohen Short Story Prize. She was a Bread Loaf scholar, a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Workspace artist-in-residence, and a Johnson State College visiting emerging writer. Her work has appeared in the Believer, the Feminist Wire, At Length, Fortnight Journal, Green Mountains Review, Afrobeat Journal, the Tottenville Review, and American Short Fiction. Originally from Boston, she now lives in Brooklyn. Her debut novel, We Love You, Charlie Freeman will be published by Algonquin Books in March 2016.

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