“The Red Pencil” by Andrea Davis Pinkney Is a Must For Your Reading Pleasure

It is March and in the United States, that means that it is Women’s History Month. It’s beginnings trace back to 1911. Women and our existence traces back to the beginning of time. No one can tell a woman’s story like a woman and there are many stories that have gone untold for centuries. Sure, we’ve been portrayed as mothers and daughters. We know that we’ve existed as astronauts doctors and athletes. America loves these stories, these Cinderella stories of women on a “come up.” Not often enough do we hear of our bravery and triumphs in a way that doesn’t belittle us to a trophy yet again. It is a sweet, sweet joy when you come across a story that is more. A story of triumph that doesn’t turn it’s young woman into a trophy. A story of a young woman’s dreams that don’t include a prince or a sweet savior. A story of a woman of color not born of this land that I share a hate/love relationship with, but one of her own. The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney is a beautiful and courageous young adult fiction novel that is joyful, challenging and endearing.

The Red Pencil weaves the tale of a young Sudanese woman with big dreams. She lived in her small village with her family until the Janjaweed attacked. She and her family were uprooted, not unlike the many happenings of today. Finding safety doesn’t mean that life becomes easier. Adjusting to this change and fitting her new and big dreams into this new life in a refugee camp created struggles. That is, until the red pencil. The …