Brown Girl, Brownstones

Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, this prize-winning 1959 novel chronicles the efforts of Barbadian immigrants to surmount poverty and racism, and to make their home in a new country.

Selina Boyce, the novel’s sturdy heroine, is caught between respect for her hard-working, ambitious mother and deep love for her easy-going, romantic father. As she grows into young womanhood, she must forge her own identity, sexuality, and sense of values.