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Cover of THE WATERBEARERS
4.50

Based on 38 Goodreads ratings

THE WATERBEARERS

by reliable women,” Bonét writes. “The men were peripheral—inefficient and fickle.” Central to her history is her grandmother Betty Jean (b. 1933), the great\u002Dgranddaughter of enslaved people, who migrated to Houston from Louisiana in 1955 and eventually had 11 children with nine different men. One of those children was Bonét’s mother, Connie (b. 1956), who grew up poor and angry, resenting each new baby who arrived to deplete what little the family had. She fled Houston as soon as she could, landing in Manhattan, where she was a stern, uncompromising mother to her own children. Besides recounting the lives of the women in her family, Bonét looks at other Black women: Betty Davis, enslaved seamstress of George and Martha Washington, whose daughter, Ona Judge, escaped and lived in the north as a fugitive\u003B Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mother, who moved into the White House to care for her granddaughters\u003B and activist Recy Taylor: Raped by white men in 1944, she contributed—along with Rosa Parks and other women—to forming the Committee for Equal Justice, an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement. There’s Iberia Hampton, who feared for her outspoken son, Fred\u003B he became a Black Panther and was assassinated. There’s artist Camille Billops, who rejected motherhood in favor of pursuing her art. “Each of us are the sum of our grandmother’s prayers,” Bonét writes, “the sum of many moments, of all the care and cruelty we have absorbed.” At times tender, furious, selfish, and sacrificial, these were “complicated women,” whom Bonét portrays with compassion."

Book Details

Publisher:Louisiana in
Published:1955-01-01
Pages:321
Format:paperback
Language:English
ISBN:9780593536

Reading Info

Age Range:12-18

About This Book

This powerful novel explores the lives of young women tasked with carrying water across a drought-stricken landscape, blending environmental urgency with coming-of-age resilience. The narrative follo...

Our Review

This powerful novel explores the lives of young women tasked with carrying water across a drought-stricken landscape, blending environmental urgency with coming-of-age resilience. The narrative follows their daily struggles and quiet triumphs as they navigate both physical and emotional terrain in a world where water means survival. Through vivid, lyrical prose, the author creates a hauntingly beautiful portrait of community and sacrifice that will resonate with environmentally conscious readers. This timely story about resource scarcity and human connection feels both ancient and urgently contemporary.

What makes this book particularly compelling is its nuanced exploration of female strength and interdependence in the face of ecological crisis. Teen readers will find themselves deeply invested in the characters' journeys as they confront both external challenges and internal transformations. The novel's atmospheric world-building and poetic storytelling create an immersive experience that lingers long after the final page. Young adult audiences seeking meaningful, character-driven fiction with environmental themes will find this both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.

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