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Genesis Begins Again
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
29 posts | 19 read | 25 to read
This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself. There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplanteven her own family. And #61: Because her family is always being put out of their house, belongings laid out on the sidewalk for the world to see. When your dad is a gambling addict and loses the rent money every month, eviction is a regular occurrence. Whats not so regular is that this time they all dont have a place to crash, so Genesis and her mom have to stay with her grandma. Its not that Genesis doesnt like her grandma, but she and Mom always fightGrandma haranguing Mom to leave Dad, that she should have gone back to school, that if shed married a lighter skinned man none of this would be happening, and on and on and on. But things arent all bad. Genesis actually likes her new school; shes made a couple friends, her choir teacher says she has real talent, and she even encourages Genesis to join the talent show. But how can Genesis believe anything her teacher says when her dad tells her the exact opposite? How can she stand up in front of all those people with her dark, dark skin knowing even her own family thinks lesser of her because of it? Why, why, why wont the lemon or yogurt or fancy creams lighten her skin like theyre supposed to? And when Genesis reaches #100 on the list of things she hates about herself, will she continue on, or can she find the strength to begin again?
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ashleyweer
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Pickpick

Loved this book!

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Michellesibs
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Pickpick

Genesis is a Black 13 years old girl. At school she's called Charcoal or Blackie, it's not much easier at home as her Dad wishes she was lighter skinned like her mum. And let's not get started on grandma and her brown paper bag test.

Genesis has tried multiple ways of lightning her skin.

Written in a age appropriate format and style for Middle Grade this is the story of Genesis beginning again.

Outstanding.

Available on Kindle Unlimited.

50 likes1 stack add
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amberpeltz
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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👍🏻

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Jhill24
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Relatable story about struggles of peers, family finances, bullying and then gaining confidence

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katifurrey
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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contemporary realistic fiction

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kierstenkaplan
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Lily‘s book

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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While this was a bit too young and writing wise too simplistic for me to really enjoy. I think the meat of the book is essential for pre-teen/teen readers. The way Genesis handles bullying, a traumatic home life, and family is both inspiring, and hard to read. With evictions in America - especially Detroit - being so incredibly high it is something that is not addressed enough in books.

ChaoticMissAdventures The way she has no choice but to soldier on and go to yet another new school, while knowing her options are so limited, is a reality for so many - 25,500 eviction cases filed in Detroit between March 2020 and March 2022. More books need this as a talking point, because so many American children know this life. 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures Genesis also struggles with not liking her outside self, through abuse from her father and her own cues from society. It was gut wrenching to hear her speak so badly about herself, and to see the lengths she would go to to be “pretty“. I thought that Williams handled these heavy topics well, and kept the story moving in a way that kept the attention, without weighing it down so much it would be too hard to read. 1y
27 likes2 comments
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Allylu
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Awesome cover 💗🧡 2y
19 likes1 comment
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Allylu
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Pickpick

I really liked this book. I say that a lot, but it gave me a different perspective on how a child feels about how she looks and about her parents. What happens with her parents affects her so much. She loves her father so much but he doesn‘t realize what his words, actions and inactions do to her self-esteem. Another heart-tugging middle grade! #BookSpin #BFC22 #MGMarchThroughTime #MiddleGradeMarch #Pantone2022 Poinciana #20in4

Clwojick Great job! 💚 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
29 likes2 comments
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Tracey3
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Genesis is no stranger to eviction. She‘s been the new kid many times. So when her family moves again, her expectations are low. This is not an easy read. Genesis is subjected to verbal abuse which affects her self-image. She internalizes her self- hatred along with the complicated worries of the threat of another eviction. The reader has access to the deepest thoughts of Genesis and her perspectives about her life.

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megnews
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Pickpick

So many times I wanted to wrap my arms around Genesis and tell her she is beautiful, special, enough.

#MGMarch book 21

TheBookHippie It‘s a good read 🤍 3y
Zoe-h Loved that one! 3y
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Daisey
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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This was good, and again I think it‘s an important book for the kids who see themselves in the story and others who need a wider world view. There are some tough topics. However, this book also seemed long for a #MiddleGrade book and that always makes me a bit nervous when trying to recommend. I enjoyed seeing how Genesis grew through the course of the story and was able to discover her strengths as well as true friends.

#audiobook #TRS2020

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TheBookHippie
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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#integrateyourshelf

This is a good middle grade

ChasingOm Oh wow, this one sounds intense. 4y
59 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Peaceful_Reader
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Wonderful story of Genesis as she deals with bullies and her family as they try to begin anew near Detroit. #BLM #hairmatters #alcoholism #family #integrateyourbookshelves

14 likes2 stack adds
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Katies_always_booked
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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#BookReport #KatiesReadingWeek
📖 Genesis Begins AGain
📖 Inkling
🎧 The Girl Who Came Home
📖 The Lost Wonderland Diaries - ARC
🎧 Children‘s Bible
🎧 The War that Saved Us
📖 Kill the Farm Boy
📖 I‘ve Wolves
🎧 Love Her Or Lose Her

#CurrentlyReading
🎧 Where the Red Fern Grows - with my kids ❤️
🎧 Picture Us in the Light
🎧 Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

#WeeklyForcast
📖 Attachments
📖 More than Maybe
📖 The Adventures is Rockford T Honeypot

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ness
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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This was a great read about colourism and poverty and addiction and fitting in and finding your people. (It also had a large number of ableist slurs that felt authentic to how middle-schoolers speak, but still detracted from the story for me.)

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MissAimz_55
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ an awesome read for #middlegrademarch . I loved how real this one felt, I really loved the message and it made me feel all the emotions. This was also my #doublebookspin book
✔️challenges
#afbreadingchallenge : POC on the cover
#booked2020 head covering (headband counts I hope?)
#readingrainbow: Orange
Facebook bingo : 3 word title

Cinfhen Absolutely ❤️🙌🏻 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great review and I love the stacked challenges!! 4y
26 likes2 comments
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MissAimz_55
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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“Like you know how you can‘t see dust drift in the air, but you see the filthiness after it‘s settled? That‘s something like how Dad‘s words were for me. “
#isolationinteractions

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MissAimz_55
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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I love beautiful dedication pages. #truth #dedicationpages #youaregoodenough

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Me too!! ❤️ 4y
Branwen Me too! 📚💕 4y
30 likes1 stack add2 comments
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MissAimz_55
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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#randosurvey #covid2019
1. I‘m worried about running out of toilet paper. I am missing my friends and family. For work I‘m noticing it‘s harder to close deals and I‘m sure it‘ll get worse. I feel for others more affected such as my brother who makes his living from events.
2. I have 4 rolls currently.
3. I didn‘t have any before
4. Tagged book plus listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama and A Man Called Over
5. I just watched moulin rouge.

MommyOfTwo Love Moulin Rouge! 4y
21 likes1 comment
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MissAimz_55
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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A little late but I loved the prompts so #friyayintro ! #latepost
1. Me and my love at our nephews first bday. It was NASA themed.
2. Well I‘m reading the tagged right now. My library books are wonder, island of the blue dolphins , and Charlie and the chocolate factory for #middlegrademarch . Also a Man Called Ove for a buddy read in #tbrcrew
3. Social distancing. Netflix, board games. Reading

NeedsMoreBooks Lovely picture! 💖❤️ 4y
21 likes1 comment
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Nitpickyabouttrains
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Mehso-so

A girl learns to love herself

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BucklingBookshelves
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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What a moment — tapping into all that pain to create something so beautiful. 😢❤️🎵

Pg. 348 #buddyread. @smilingshelves

smilingshelves That was amazing. I wonder what this book is like on audio. Do they have her singing, or at least some background music when they talk about the singers? That seems like it would be a nice addition. 4y
smilingshelves I did get a chance to finish today. I really enjoyed this book and all the perspectives it opened up for me. My one...I can't even call it a complaint...is that the kids seemed older than twelve or thirteen. I kept thinking of Genesis as 15 in my head, and their actions and maturity levels seemed to fit high school better than middle school for me. But that's a very small thing in what is a very good book! 4y
BucklingBookshelves @smilingshelves oh, that‘s a good question about the music! And yes, they did seem a little older than middle school at times. A stylistic pet-peeve of mine was (in my opinion) the over-use of exclamation points. It almost read to me like texting in places if that makes any sense. I know I over-use exclamation points in texting/email/writing myself — I‘m just not used to it in a finished book, i guess. 🤔 (edited) 4y
BucklingBookshelves @smilingshelves I agree it is a very good book. Realistic to the point it was truly painful to read in places. Though I know it‘s even deeper than simply shame regarding appearance with the racial elements, I imagine many, many young people (and adults!) can relate to her desire to change herself, especially at this age. Even those of us who like to think we don‘t care about appearances — it often takes a long time to reach that realization. (edited) 4y
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BucklingBookshelves
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Gotta love Troy ❤️

pg. 324 #buddyread @smilingshelves

smilingshelves Absolutely! Not many middle schoolers have that figured out already! 4y
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BucklingBookshelves
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. And in the midst of it all, such a tender moment. 😢

#buddyread

smilingshelves That must be so hard for her mom. I'm glad we got this tender moment so Genesis (and us) can have the realization of just how stuck she is. Also makes me realized how incredibly blessed I am! 4y
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smilingshelves
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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And her grandmother is telling her this?! No wonder Genesis' view of all this is so messed up! My heart is breaking for her right now. #buddyread
@BucklingBookshelves

BucklingBookshelves 😭 So heartbreaking. I can‘t pretend to fully understand the dynamics at play here, but I know enough about the pressure put on women more generally regarding appearance to know that the racial element must compound things further. The internalized shame and the subsequent judging based on color seems so deep-rooted here. It started seemingly out of self-preservation and a desire for a better life, but so harmful & sad nonetheless. (edited) 4y
BucklingBookshelves And, of course, we need to dig deeper to WHY lighter skin was desirable and why Grandma & her family felt and acted this way. It seems like they are being so harsh, which they are, but it was because society treated lighter skinned Black people relatively better. It‘s hard to blame them for wanting better for their family, but the way racism in our society fuels these problems & turns people against one another, unfortunately still persists. 4y
BucklingBookshelves I‘m not sure I‘m expressing my thoughts exactly clearly here, I just know that the specific issues we are seeing are MUCH BIGGER than they might appear at first glance. 4y
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BucklingBookshelves P.S. in terms of #buddyread scheduling, I‘m home sick and doing nothing this weekend, so I can definitely catch-up and pick up the pace if you want :) (edited) 4y
smilingshelves @BucklingBookshelves I think I understand what you're trying to say. I had no idea that this issue was so multi-faceted, even among the people for whom I thought it would be more cut and dried. Which is exactly why I need to read books like this! 4y
smilingshelves @BucklingBookshelves I hope you feel better soon! I'm fine with reading a bunch this weekend. We've got no plans. Read as much as you like, and I'll catch up with you! 😊 4y
BucklingBookshelves @smilingshelves thanks :) sounds good! 4y
4 likes7 comments
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BucklingBookshelves
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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Newbery #buddyread number 4 coming up next! Let me know when you would like to start @smilingshelves :)

smilingshelves I'm ready anytime! How's tomorrow sound? 😊 4y
BucklingBookshelves @smilingshelves I did start yesterday, but haven‘t gotten too far yet. Hoping to read a nice chunk this evening :) 4y
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smilingshelves I've started, too, but haven't got that far either. Enough to figure out that this book is set in Michigan (yay!), and that I already hate her dad. 4y
BucklingBookshelves @smilingshelves I need to play catch-up! I got to where we know it‘s Michigan. So far, I just feel sorry for the dad. He seems to care about them and they have good memories together, but his life/decisions are a hot mess in the present. I‘m also always so conflicted when addiction is involved — it causes so much pain & heartache, but is also so difficult to break the cycle once physically/biologically addicted to something harmful. 😞 4y
smilingshelves You're right about the addiction aspect. 😟 It takes a lot of willpower and help to break out of a cycle like that, and her dad isn't there yet. I really hope he is by the end of the book! 😊 4y
5 likes7 comments
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cosmicv1bes
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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i have no words. genesis begins again exposed me to so much more than i already new, and in a thoughtful way too. i‘ve been reading books on racism and other issues lately, and this is probably my top book on these issues. i highly recommend if you‘re looking to learn more about racism in a way that isn‘t as heart-breaking as other books because it‘s fictional.

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brandymuses
Genesis Begins Again | Alicia D. Williams
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1. Genesis Begins Again
2. The Bridge Home
3. War and Peace (BBC Series)
#weekendreads