Betty Before X | TheBookSeekers

Betty Before X


,

No. of pages 256

Published: 2019

Add this book to your 'I want to read' list!

By clicking here you can add this book to your favourites list. If it is in your School Library it will show up on your account page in colour and you'll be able to download it from there. If it isn't in your school library it will still show up but in grey - that will tell us that maybe it is a book we should add to your school library, and will also remind you to read it if you find it somewhere else!

In Detroit, 1945, eleven-year-old Bettys house doesnt quite feel like home. She believes her mother loves her, but she cant shake the feeling that her mother doesnt want her. Church helps those worries fade, if only for a little while. Activists like Paul Robeson stir African Americans in her community to stand up for their rights. Betty finds purpose in volunteering for the Housewives League, which supports black-owned businesses. Soon, the American civil rights icon we now know as Dr. Betty Shabazz is born. Inspired by Betty's real life - but expanded upon and fictionalized in collaboration with novelist Rene Watson - Ilyasah Shabazz illuminates four years in her mothers childhood with this book, painting an inspiring portrait of a girl grappling with self-acceptance and belonging that will resonate with young readers today.

 

 

This book has been graded for interest at 10 years.

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published in 2019 by Palgrave USA .

Ilyasah Shabazz , third daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, is an educator, activist, motivational speaker, and author of multiple award-winning publications, including X: A Novel . She is also an active advocacy worker and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

 

This book features the following character:

Betty Shabazz
This book features the character Betty Shabazz.

"...this moving fictional account of the early life of the late civil rights leader and widow of Malcolm X draws on the recollections of family and friends. The result is a heart-rending imagining of Shabazz's personal challenges as well as a rare, intimate look at the complex roots of the American civil rights movement. A personal, political and powerful imagining of the early life of the late activist." --Kirkus starred review

 

 

"...absorbing...History comes alive in this illuminating portrayal of the early life of this civil rights activist..." --Publishers Weekly starred review

 

 

"An excellent work of historical fiction that will illuminate and spark discussion."--School Library Journal starred review

 

 

"The lessons from Betty's life are abundant: forgiveness, gratitude for life's blessings, and planting seeds for the future. Her response to hardship and injustice is timeless."--Booklist

 

 

"Set mostly in the black neighborhoods of 1940s Detroit, this affecting novel covers Betty's life from age eleven...to just before the start of high school... The authors tell Betty's story in an engaging and accessible first-person voice; they manage to portray Betty as a relatable pre-teen who likes to dance to Billy Eckstine records and read Ebony magazine even as they lay the groundwork for the remarkable woman she will grow up to be." --The Horn Book