I'm so glad you enjoyed Henri! I am always so happy to read about people really GETTING my books.
We experience as children that people can only give us what they have to give, but it's not something that we often can articulate explicitly; we often don't have the language to talk about feelings of being slightly Other in our early spaces, spaces which for others seem to be wholly sufficient for them to be deeply rooted and grow. The misunderstood/outsider thing you noted is also tied up, for me, in the idea also of the "you have to work twice as hard" narrative spoken in Black and immigrant communities - what happens if you're one of those people for whom working twice as hard will STILL not get you half as far? What then? So much of "conventional wisdom" doesn't work for everyone, so I think I wanted to write (myself) permission to have taken steps to embrace my Otherness and just... find the people who got me, find the things I could love, find what else would work to make a life. I hope that's the same for any kid (of any age) who reads this.
I loved so much how, as an adult reader, it was so *clear* to me where her mother was coming from, that she was trying to protect Henri in some ways and that she was also trying to give her a foundation for success... BUT that so much of the difficulty they have is rooted in the idea that "success" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to everyone, and that no two people will walk exactly the same path.
I hope the same for kids (and adults) who get to know Henri--that they can find their way towards embracing themselves and finding the things and people they love, find their way towards creating a life for themselves that works for *them*.
Mmmm, sounds like a good one...
It is! Hopefully I was at least somewhat able to convey why I loved it so much--it really is so much harder to talk about the ones I love, sigh.
Well, THIS was wholly unexpected!
I'm so glad you enjoyed Henri! I am always so happy to read about people really GETTING my books.
We experience as children that people can only give us what they have to give, but it's not something that we often can articulate explicitly; we often don't have the language to talk about feelings of being slightly Other in our early spaces, spaces which for others seem to be wholly sufficient for them to be deeply rooted and grow. The misunderstood/outsider thing you noted is also tied up, for me, in the idea also of the "you have to work twice as hard" narrative spoken in Black and immigrant communities - what happens if you're one of those people for whom working twice as hard will STILL not get you half as far? What then? So much of "conventional wisdom" doesn't work for everyone, so I think I wanted to write (myself) permission to have taken steps to embrace my Otherness and just... find the people who got me, find the things I could love, find what else would work to make a life. I hope that's the same for any kid (of any age) who reads this.
I loved so much how, as an adult reader, it was so *clear* to me where her mother was coming from, that she was trying to protect Henri in some ways and that she was also trying to give her a foundation for success... BUT that so much of the difficulty they have is rooted in the idea that "success" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to everyone, and that no two people will walk exactly the same path.
I hope the same for kids (and adults) who get to know Henri--that they can find their way towards embracing themselves and finding the things and people they love, find their way towards creating a life for themselves that works for *them*.
Such a sweet review!! I'm so happy to see Henri getting lots of attention!
She's wonderful!!