Reading My Own Reflection: Finding Home in Ordinary Girls

A book review based on girlhood, grief, and the power of storytelling

We learned to be loud so no one could hear us cry.
We learned to run before we knew where we were going.
And we all had that one friend. You know? The one who didn’t make it. The one who should’ve.

When Jaquira wrote about her friend’s passing, I had to close the book and sit still. Grief like that doesn’t just read, it reaches through the pages and hol…