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14th out of 45 books
—
110 voters
The Good Braider
by
Terry Farish
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...more
Hardcover, 213 pages
Published
May 1st 2012
by Marshall Cavendish
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Viola’s story is one that will resonate with immigrants, their children, and people who care about others struggling under oppressive regimes and in war-ravaged lands. Those from South Sudan must become Muslim, or the soldiers from the North can kill, conscript, or rape them. This last is what happens to Viola. Her innocent days with her mother singing hymns and braiding her hair, her grandmother telling her about the strength of the elephant and giving her a bone to help her remember, and her s...more
I really loved this book. It is beautifully written and the verbal rhythm and imbedded poetry seem to capture the voice of the young South Sudanese girl who is the main character. Viola, her mother and small brother flee their war-torn home of Juba in South Sudan after she is targeted by a government soldier for sexual abuse. They endure a harrowing journey to Cairo and the little boy sadly dies after contracting an illness enroute. Mother and daughter wait over two years for an Uncle and Cathol...more
One year around Christmas I was part of a church group tasked with taking gifts around to nearby recently-immigrated Bosnian families. They spoke no English. We spoke no Bosnian. There were a lot of awkward “IF I TALK LOUDER MAYBE YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ME” moments, and a lot of “How could my mother have suggested I come sit in these strangers’ house?” and just when I thought little tween me was going to die of overall uncomfortableness, the daughter went into the kitchen and brought out a plate of...more
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title: The good braider
author: Terry Farish
date: Marshall Cavendish, May 2012
main character: Viola/Keji
I usually reviews books some time after they’ve hit the market, however I’ve been intrigued by the cover of The good braider for too long. I picked it up one afternoon and finished reading it that evening. Upon turning the first page, I was transported to the Sudan where all the men are gone (forced to fight) and women and children live in fear not of what the soldiers will do to them, but whe...more
author: Terry Farish
date: Marshall Cavendish, May 2012
main character: Viola/Keji
I usually reviews books some time after they’ve hit the market, however I’ve been intrigued by the cover of The good braider for too long. I picked it up one afternoon and finished reading it that evening. Upon turning the first page, I was transported to the Sudan where all the men are gone (forced to fight) and women and children live in fear not of what the soldiers will do to them, but whe...more
Publication date 1 May 2012
Viola and her mother are doing their best to survive in their small town of Juba in the Sudan, but food is scarce and the soldiers make life difficult for everyone. After Viola is raped, the family escapes to Cairo, where Viola's brother dies. Viola and her mother sleep in the courtyard of a church, clean houses, and try to contact relatives in the US to sponsor them. Viola makes a good friend who helps her to study English, knowing that the only way she can earn money...more
Viola and her mother are doing their best to survive in their small town of Juba in the Sudan, but food is scarce and the soldiers make life difficult for everyone. After Viola is raped, the family escapes to Cairo, where Viola's brother dies. Viola and her mother sleep in the courtyard of a church, clean houses, and try to contact relatives in the US to sponsor them. Viola makes a good friend who helps her to study English, knowing that the only way she can earn money...more
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Who knew elephants, and braids could have such a significant and deep meaning.
The good braider is a novel based on a young woman named Viola who is originally an African. She was taken by soldiers to live in Muslim countries. These soldiers were allowed to do whatever they wanted to, to any woman who was taken by them. Viola was raped various times, which made her traumatized of men for a certain period of time. Through various attempts of fleeing the country, Viola, her brother and mother had...more
The good braider is a novel based on a young woman named Viola who is originally an African. She was taken by soldiers to live in Muslim countries. These soldiers were allowed to do whatever they wanted to, to any woman who was taken by them. Viola was raped various times, which made her traumatized of men for a certain period of time. Through various attempts of fleeing the country, Viola, her brother and mother had...more
Written in lyric style, this novel is unique in structure and the way it melds memoir/biography with fiction and recent history. An eye-opening work- educational and informative while still engrossing. An excellent introduction to fictionalized biography.
catalog Info:
1st ed.
Physical Description 221 p. : map ; 19 cm.
Note Follows Viola as she survives brutality in war-torn Sudan, makes a perilous journey, lives as a refugee in Egypt, and finally reaches Portland, Maine, where her quest for free...more
catalog Info:
1st ed.
Physical Description 221 p. : map ; 19 cm.
Note Follows Viola as she survives brutality in war-torn Sudan, makes a perilous journey, lives as a refugee in Egypt, and finally reaches Portland, Maine, where her quest for free...more
The Good Braider tells the story of Viola coming to America with her family from war-torn South Sudan. It is written in prose, which makes for a wonderfully lyrical story. I can't imagine Viola's tale being written in any other way.
Viola, our narrator, is a fifteen-year-old girl living in South Sudan with her Mother, Grandmother, and little brother, Frances. She has a wonderfully descriptive and believable voice that reflects her personality, upbringing, and past experiences. The voice reflects...more
Viola, our narrator, is a fifteen-year-old girl living in South Sudan with her Mother, Grandmother, and little brother, Frances. She has a wonderfully descriptive and believable voice that reflects her personality, upbringing, and past experiences. The voice reflects...more
So I picked the book originally because of 2 reasons. 1) The cover intrigued me and 2) It's about Africa. Anything about Africa I pretty much give a shot.
Once I started reading it I was glad I "picked" it up (or in this case downloaded it onto my Kindle). Farish writes the story of Viola and her family's escape from war torn South Sudan in the early 2000's in Viola's voice and in poetry form rather than the normal form of a novel. It worked so well. It made the book easy to read, enjoyable to r...more
Once I started reading it I was glad I "picked" it up (or in this case downloaded it onto my Kindle). Farish writes the story of Viola and her family's escape from war torn South Sudan in the early 2000's in Viola's voice and in poetry form rather than the normal form of a novel. It worked so well. It made the book easy to read, enjoyable to r...more
Viola lives with her mother and young brother in war-torn Sudan. All the men are either dead or fighting and soldiers prowl throughout the town, taking whatever they wish. After Viola is raped by one of these soldiers, the family decides to attempt a move to America. First they must travel out of Sudan and into Egypt, where they live in a refugee camp while waiting for the appropriate documents. It takes many long months to get the paperwork in order, but they are finally able to travel to Ameri...more
This book wasn't terrible. It wasn't blow-my-mind fantastic, but it didn't crash-and-burn either.
After book club selection The Fault in Our Stars (John Green), I knew that it would be difficult to find a book that lived up to expectations. Case in point with Terry Farish's The Good Braider.
For those of you that don't care for the format of poetry, I would consider carefully about picking up this book. Although Farish's poetry is not inundated with "read between the lines" subtlety, it still affe...more
After book club selection The Fault in Our Stars (John Green), I knew that it would be difficult to find a book that lived up to expectations. Case in point with Terry Farish's The Good Braider.
For those of you that don't care for the format of poetry, I would consider carefully about picking up this book. Although Farish's poetry is not inundated with "read between the lines" subtlety, it still affe...more
Viola and her family live in Sudan until the war-torn country’s turmoil forces them out. With her mother and brother, Viola moves to Cairo before finally arriving in Portland, Maine. While Viola dreams of Sudan, she struggles with the differences she faces in America. Her mother also struggles, as she is a traditional Sudanese woman at heart. How will Viola manage to adapt to her new world when she feels the pull of her old country so strongly?
There’s a lot happening in Terry Farish’s sparse ver...more
There’s a lot happening in Terry Farish’s sparse ver...more
Farish clearly knows something about the issues that surrounded Sudanese refugees in Portland in the early 2000s; it's not a topic I ever would have expected to inspire a YA novel, but what a good one this is. Viola's voice is authentic and relatable, and although I don't ordinarily care for novels in verse, it works well for Viola's story. More a snapshot of a place and time in history than a heavily plotted story, The Good Braider will offer teens a glimpse into a world they may not even know...more
This verse novel offered a unique, challenging perspective in YA literature. Viola is a girl growing up in war-torn Sudan, and she and her family flee to Cairo and then to Maine. The book is about her journey. There are very intense scenes of abuse by a parent, and of rape, so please be aware of that if you pick up this book - it's potentially triggering.
The writing is good, beautiful and moving. Viola is a strong character, one I really liked and rooted for. Viola's relationship with her mothe...more
The writing is good, beautiful and moving. Viola is a strong character, one I really liked and rooted for. Viola's relationship with her mothe...more
I wrote about this book on my blog booksploitation.com and that post is excerpted below:
http://booksploitation.com/2013/02/12...
The Good Braider is a young adult story told in short prose poems in the style of book like the acclaimed Make Lemonade and its sequels. While it doesn’t match the magic of Make Lemonade, The Good Braider is definitely a worthwhile read.
Viola and her family live a precarious existence in the early 2000s in war-torn Sudan and without being too graphic, the book depicts r...more
http://booksploitation.com/2013/02/12...
The Good Braider is a young adult story told in short prose poems in the style of book like the acclaimed Make Lemonade and its sequels. While it doesn’t match the magic of Make Lemonade, The Good Braider is definitely a worthwhile read.
Viola and her family live a precarious existence in the early 2000s in war-torn Sudan and without being too graphic, the book depicts r...more
Read this book. Just read it.
About four chapters in, I was already incredibly grateful for being born where I was, for being able to make choices about my life with such a degree of freedom, for the ability to have my child(ren) when and how I choose because birth control is so widely available and I am not in constant danger of being raped and/or killed at any moment.
Written in free verse, this isn't the type of thing I would usually pick up, but it's a very fast read, and one that will stick w...more
About four chapters in, I was already incredibly grateful for being born where I was, for being able to make choices about my life with such a degree of freedom, for the ability to have my child(ren) when and how I choose because birth control is so widely available and I am not in constant danger of being raped and/or killed at any moment.
Written in free verse, this isn't the type of thing I would usually pick up, but it's a very fast read, and one that will stick w...more
Written in free verse, this is the story of a very strong young lady. Viola and her family flee the violence in Sudan, but she has to live with the horror of what happened to her there. She was raped--something that shames both her and her family, and lessens her in her mother's eyes. Now living in Portland, Viola must find a way to move forward, even though she feels she is stuck because has one foot in America and one foot in Africa. Farish does a brilliant job of presenting the culture and fa...more
The actual writing in the book made this book a more interesting/enjoyable read. But soon we come to find out that there is some Content Advisory issues I was having!
Content Advisory: There is a rape. I skipped over that part so I don't know how graphic it is. But it isn't just easy to skip over it in a sense because she brings up the rape later or perhaps has flashbacks. It's not the type of stuff I want to read about, so I'm leaving this book unfinished.
For being labeled as a "children's" bo...more
Content Advisory: There is a rape. I skipped over that part so I don't know how graphic it is. But it isn't just easy to skip over it in a sense because she brings up the rape later or perhaps has flashbacks. It's not the type of stuff I want to read about, so I'm leaving this book unfinished.
For being labeled as a "children's" bo...more
Full Review at Rumor Has It
To date, this has to possibly be the hardest review I’ve had to type. The best books are not only those that transport you to a far, far away alternate universe. Although I love those books very much, every now and then I have to be reminded of the ones that keep you grounded enough to thank whatever entity you believe in that you haven’t had to go through what others go through in this world. The best books will always remain, at least for me, those that make you FEEL...more
To date, this has to possibly be the hardest review I’ve had to type. The best books are not only those that transport you to a far, far away alternate universe. Although I love those books very much, every now and then I have to be reminded of the ones that keep you grounded enough to thank whatever entity you believe in that you haven’t had to go through what others go through in this world. The best books will always remain, at least for me, those that make you FEEL...more
Viola is from war-torn Sudan, living along the banks of the Nile. She sees a young man shot and what the soldiers could do to women. Fearing for their lives her family finds a way to travel to Portland, Maine where her Uncle lives. Once there she struggles between wanting to fit into the American way of life but wanting to keep her own culture alive also. Written in prose this story pulls you in and allows you to see the struggles of an immigrant. The dangers they have to face in the one place t...more
This is a galley I got from a friend. It's the story of a Sudanese teenager who is forced to flee her country's civil war. She and her mother end up in Maine, where is it very difficult to adjust to a new culture and a new country. This book is written in verse, which makes it a quick read - but it's also a very powerful and unforgettable story. I learned a lot about Sudan's conflicts and problems, and also what the refugees face in fleeing their country and coming to the US. The author works wi...more
4.5 stars
The Good Braider is a well-written read centering around Viola, a Sudanese young woman in the middle of a war. Viola, her mother, brother and grandmother attempt to escape from the horrors of war in Sudan. This is very much Viola's story and you really come to hear her as a real living breathing human being. Sadly there are far too many Violas in the world, many in Africa but also in other war-torn places around the globe. After having read numerous non-fiction accounts much like Viola'...more
The Good Braider is a well-written read centering around Viola, a Sudanese young woman in the middle of a war. Viola, her mother, brother and grandmother attempt to escape from the horrors of war in Sudan. This is very much Viola's story and you really come to hear her as a real living breathing human being. Sadly there are far too many Violas in the world, many in Africa but also in other war-torn places around the globe. After having read numerous non-fiction accounts much like Viola'...more
Teenager Viola lives in Juba, in southern Sudan, with her mother, grandmother, and little brother. They live in constant fear for their lives as civil war erupts all around them. This novel in verse describes how Viola, her mother, and brother escape through Sudan north to Egypt and end up in Cairo, from whence they emigrate to Portland, Maine. Frankly, I found the first half of the book, where they're trying to survive while on their way through Sudan and Egypt, more gripping than the latter ha...more
Feb 12, 2013
Julie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
young-adult,
poetry,
african-american-lit,
contemporary-lit,
historical-fic,
military,
murder,
political,
rape
The Good Braider was a quick read that reminded me a lot of other novels about refugee and marginalized populations. There are thematic undercurrents that weave together these types of stories, like the loss of home, questioned identity, acclimating and/or assimilating to new culture and mores, etc. Surprisingly, Farish did a good job of exploring these ideas through Viola, a seventeen year-old South Sudanese refugee who has relocated to Portland, Maine with her mother. This novel is written in...more
Terry Farish's "The Good Braider" is a beautiful, lyrical novel that tugged on my heartstrings in many moments. It's the story of a teenage African girl named Viola who survives hardships in her homeland to travel with her family to America in search of a better life, out of the heart of war. The novel is written in verse, and the flow of the language and Viola's voice feels authentic and heartfelt. I really gained a sense of who Viola was and how much she cared for her family, alongside the fea...more
Viola is a teenager living in warn-torn South Sudan with her grandmother, mother and younger brother, Francis. When the danger and desperation become too much to bear, they leave their small town of Juba and escape to Cairo, where they finally gain refugee status and come to the US, and the town of Portland, Maine. However, once in the US, Viola finds it difficult to keep her identity straight. The Good Braider tells the story of Viola's transition to a new life, and the struggles and sorrows th...more
I didn't exactly enjoy this sad tale of a girl escaping the Sudan with her mother durig the civil war/genocide. It's pracically impossible to enjoy such a tale as hers. However, I do think that it was well written. It did a good job of portraying the horrors she faced without going overboard into graphic violence. The fact that the novel was written in poetry helped this. It is a touching tale of a girl growing up facing the horrors of war & the difficulties of fitting into her new american...more
This story follows Viola from her life in Southern Sudan to the United States. Readers will follow her family fleeing their war-torn home through Egypt and eventually to America where Viola is split between two worlds: the way her Sudanese mother thinks she should be and the American culture she learns about through new friends and new high school in Maine.
This book would be good for people wanting to better understand what it's like to be an immigrant and for those who have lived her story.
This book would be good for people wanting to better understand what it's like to be an immigrant and for those who have lived her story.
It's hard to say positive things about a book like this that brings the Sudanese war and genocide into such stark relief. Farish explores the idea of what it means to use sexual violence as an act of war through Viola's story--how it changes her, her mother, her brother, her community in Sudan and later in Egypt and the United States, the friendships she tries to build later. The story feels so real that you know Farish has spent time with many girls like Viola in the United States who are refug...more
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Terry Farish is the author of several young adult novels. She says of THE CAT WHO LIKED POTATO SOUP, "This story began in the kitchen of our old-timer neighbor, Jimmy Fowler. My daughter and I were visiting with him there, gossiping about some village cat or other. Jimmy didn’t have a cat, but he said if we got one, wouldn’t we name it after him? And we did . We got a cat and named her Jimmy."
More about Terry Farish...
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“The story rolls along like drumbeats from house to house.”
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“I have slipped out of Africa for a breath of time.”
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