Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert

Synopsis: Since she was seven years old, Yvonne has had her trusted violin to keep her company, especially in those lonely days after her mother walked out on their family. But with graduation just around the corner, she is forced to face the hard truth that she just might not be good enough to attend a conservatory after high school.

Full of doubt about her future, and increasingly frustrated by her strained relationship with her successful but emotionally closed-off father, Yvonne meets a street musician and fellow violinist who understands her struggle. He’s mysterious, charming, and different from Warren, the familiar and reliable boy who has her heart. But when Yvonne becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she has to make the most difficult decision yet about her future.

Review: Brandy Colbert is officially an autobuy author from me. Little and Lion already blew me away and Finding Yvonne was somehow even better. For such a short book, Brandy shows us incredible growth in Yvonne's character. I adored Yvonne and her journey as she struggles with letting go of something she loves, as well as finding something new to love. The thing Brandy does the best with this story is show the dynamic between Yvonne and Warren as well as Yvonne and Omar. Warren is someone Yvonne has cared for a long time, and he also represents the food industry which Yvonne is beginning to understand better as she tries her hand at baking. Omar is a new affection, but he also embodies her love of music. Her relationships with both people highlights her complex love for music and baking. Yvonne's unexpected life event also helps her to maybe understand her mother a bit better.

The story was well done and I thought Brandy handled the difficult topic of teen pregnancy very well. I felt for Yvonne and some of that might be because I was the friend girls would come to when they thought they were pregnant. I remember going to get pregnancy tests for some people and I still think about their terror. Finding Yvonne does a great job of sharing that moment with anyone who reads Yvonne's story. A smaller thing that I appreciated was how it normalizes smoking pot. It never glorifies it and there are a few times where we see Yvonne talk about how uncomfortable her dad's habit is. That being said, her dad is never neglectful because of his desire to smoke weed. It's just a thing that he does and it's something Yvonne has to grow up with. I think more stories need to have this kind of thing in it especially since there are some states that legalize weed. 

Beautiful book of growth and heartbreak.

5 howls