L. B. (blackeyedsusan) reviewed Opportunity Missed on 4/5/2009 + 22 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I really wanted to like this book because I liked the premise: a young feminist committed to supporting her peers, helping them build self-esteem and find their girl power. Kayla is smart, athletic and articulate. How could you not love her? What bothers me most is what's not here. Kayla and her best friend spout off feminist quotes like boys cite sport stats. Pretty impressive except as a quote collector and black feminist myself, who the girls aren't quoting sticks out like static hair. Kayla wants to be a journalist, but she doesn't quote any notable black journalists like icons, Daisy Bates or Nancy Maynard. Kayla's grandmother and Rosalie's mother are both professors and feminists. If you know anything about women of color feminists, you know there are some rifts with the majority movement so it is more than strange that there isn't a single quote by notable black feminists such as Belle Hooks, Alice Walker or Audre Lorde. And the book reads as if Winston can't quite figure how to balance traditional gender roles and a modern feminist view of how women are defining themselves. Kayla is a teen so you expect her confusion but competing sub-plots suggests Winston isn't sure how to create a believable cast.

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