The Good Braider was selected as the 2013 Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year and a book of Outstanding Merit. In spare free verse laced with unforgettable images, Viola's strikingly original voice sings out the story of her family's journey from war-torn Sudan, to Cairo, and finally to Portland, Maine. Here, in the sometimes too close embrace of the local Southern Sudanese Community, she dreams of South Sudan while she tries to navigate the strange world of America - a world where a girl can wear a short skirt, get a tattoo or even date a boy; a world that puts her into sharp conflict with her traditional mother who, like Viola, is struggling to braid together the strands of a displaced life. Terry Farish's haunting novel is not only a riveting story of escape and survival, but the universal tale of a young immigrant's struggle to build a life on the cusp of two cultures.
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“Cherise Boothe narrates this award-winning
story of war, dislocation, and immigration with restrained feeling. Her soft
cadence is measured so as not to overwhelm the listener but holds enough vigor
to testify to the horrors experienced by Viola, the teenaged protagonist.
Boothe’s lilting voice captures the Sudanese background of the novel, lacing
the speech of the older characters with a slight accent that makes their
dialogue authentic. Her vocal dexterity brings this novel alive for the
listener. At varying times gentle, angry, and sad, Boothe’s narration captures
the complexity of this family’s journey from Sudan to Egypt to the United
States.”
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