I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I've heard about this book for years, so I was happy to run across a copy of it in a recent bookbox. In honor of Black History Month, I decided to try it.

I would say I liked it. I didn't love it, but parts of it kept me reading along at a nice clip. It's the story of a girl who considers herself ugly and is regarded as ugly by others. She is set aside by her mother and father and later her grandmother and uncle. She suffers from abuse by a step-parent when she was a very young girl. She is a member of the black population during the time that her people are tormented by her white peers. Yet she grows up strong and confident.

Parts of the book are poetic and beautifully written.