Blackbird Fly is a very difficult story to read. It is not because it is poorly written, or in any way that you think, but because it challenges me as a person.
The protagonist of the story, Apple is much more than a character I could relate with. A Filipino main character who migrated in US at an early age, is currently having a mid-life crisis figuring herself out. That was me. I was her in Elementary and throughout High School, even now when I’m in my early twenties, I could still see Apple flaring within me every once in a while. Identically and culturally speaking, we are very much attune. That never happened to me before. I rarely see …show more content…
Having moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, she always felt estranged by her Filipino roots. Her mother expects her to embraces her culture, but Apple always feel she’s inadequate to belong.
In a meanwhile, her friends ditch her after learning she is part of the “Dog Log”, a list for the least attractive girls in the school.
Honestly, I don’t have anything much to say about this book, aside from my in depth analysis of the racism, discrimination and the diaspora we regularly experience. So if you want to stop reading now, you should go ahead. In other words, YES, you should definitely get it, especially if you want to read something that doesn’t conform to Middle Grade’s white kid woes.
As I already lamented above, Apple has a difficult time celebrating her culture. According to our default’s standard, her mom has an accent that isn’t pleasing to the ears. She still cooks food that would be considered unappealing, and so on. That cause, an understandably embarrassment from Apple’s side. All of her friends are white and they necessarily don’t understand her culture. For the most part, they doesn’t want