First Lines Fridays — July 24, 2020

Welcome to First Lines Fridays! I don’t think the OP is doing these anymore, but I still love it so, let’s do this!

What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author, or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? If you want to make your own post, you are welcome to use or edit my banner, and follow the rules below:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet — you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

If you’re using Twitter, don’t forget to use #FirstLinesFridays

Here we go…

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“My mother is a wizard. Wizards can freeze time and sit on ceilings. My mother isn’t doing either of those things right now, however, because she’s passed out on the bathroom floor, where she’s been all day.”

 

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These are the first lines from the following book off my TBR…

 

Black Girl Unlimited
The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard

by Echo Brown

Genres: Magical Realism, Biographical Fiction, African American Fiction

Amazon | Goodreads

I love the first lines of this book. They give me the impression that this will be a story that that is both magical and painful to read. I purchased this book after hearing great things and am looking forward to reading it. If you have read this book I would love to hear what your thoughts on it are!

⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙

Blurb:

“Brown has written a guidebook of survival and wonder.”—The New York Times

“Just brilliant.”—Kirkus Reviews

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism—all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson’s Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi’s American Street.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.

Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

 

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