Echo and her younger brothers are growing up in a family with limited economic resources and parents who find respite from their struggles with drugs and alcohol. As Echo also navigates a school system that undervalues Black students and underestimates their abilities, her determination to attend Dartmouth drives her to succeed. Then an abusive boyfriend assaults her and she shuts down, unable to get out of bed. Echo knows she and her mother are wizards who can freeze time. She realizes the two of them aren't alone with their magic when her mother calls on other women in their community to help Echo rise. A story that regularly jumps back in time-a shift marked visually on the page with a mid-sentence gap and broken vertical dash before the sentence picks up again at a time in the past that relates to the present-reveals Echo was sexually assaulted as a child, a memory she has deeply buried. In this arresting fictionalized account of the author's life growing up in Cleveland, systemic racism and personal trauma have palpable weight. The magical realism underscores the impact of that trauma while also illuminating the vulnerabilities and especially the strength of Echo and others in her African American family and community. Following Echo to her first year at Dartmouth, this is a story full of both pain and grace. (Age 13 and older)

A William C. Morris Award Finalist

"Brown has written a guidebook of survival and wonder."—The New York Times

"Just brilliant."—Kirkus Reviews

Heavily autobiographical and infused with magical realism, Black Girl Unlimited fearlessly explores the intersections of poverty, sexual violence, depression, racism, and sexism—all through the arc of a transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson's Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi's American Street.

Echo Brown is a wizard from the East Side, where apartments are small and parents suffer addictions to the white rocks. Yet there is magic . . . everywhere. New portals begin to open when Echo transfers to the rich school on the West Side, and an insightful teacher becomes a pivotal mentor.

Each day, Echo travels between two worlds, leaving her brothers, her friends, and a piece of herself behind on the East Side. There are dangers to leaving behind the place that made you. Echo soon realizes there is pain flowing through everyone around her, and a black veil of depression threatens to undo everything she’s worked for.

Christy Ottaviano Books