The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow; 2010; $22.95; 264 pages; Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; 978-1-56512-680-0; Checked out from Multnomah County Library, Woodstock; 1/20-1/24

Why did I pick this up? This is this years Multnomah County’s Everybody Reads book and I like to know what the book is about when someone asks me about it.

What is the story? Rachel is the daughter of an African-American father and a Danish mother, who have some bad family history.  Rachel’s mother leaves her husband and moves to Chicago on her own, living with an abusive man.   The mother takes her three children and commits an unspeakable act which only Rachel survives.  She then moves to Portland and in with her African-American Grandmother.  This is a story of race, privilege  and attitudes in several different cultures.

Did I  like it? I am not a fan of the narrative structure but it is a good well told story that will start many discussions about race, privilege and societal attitudes, which is the aim of the books chosen for the everybody reads books.

Grade-B

What is with the title of the review? This is the everybody reads for Multnomah County and the books are designed to get people to think and discuss issues.