Bright Red Fruit

 

Rating: 5 for heartwrenching story telling and poetry that will make you cry

My Thoughts:

Safia Elhillo. Safia. Elhillo. If I see her name on a book, I grab it. I have not been disappointed. For all the brown girls who think their world is small. For all the brown girls who think their word is confining. For all the brown girls who think they are invisible. This is your author. This is your poetess. Author of my favorite novel in verse, Home is Not a Country as well as the book of poems Girls That Never Die comes my new favorite Bright Red Fruit.

I wanted to shake Samira, yell at her to wake up, but also hug her on the floor of the bathroom. That is how viscerally this hit me. I feel like I have been in this kind of relationship. I feel like I have lost good friends forever because of this kind of relationship. I have carried this shame of my own actions that got dredged up from this novel in verse. I have also recognized the achingly precise portrayal of Samira's story as in some ways, all of our stories. Would this have saved my younger self if I had read this then? Maybe not. But I hope it will speak to someone who needs to be immersed in Samira's story. I hope the words crackle into a large, cautionary billboard sign for someone who needs the message called out. If not, I  hope the message readers get from this is that they are enough. They are more than enough. 

For teachers who want to use this:

• Check out the Penguin Random House teacher guide. It will give you some good ideas on things to do pre- during- and post-reading. I trust this publisher and the teachers they use to create their guides. 
• As a former yearbook advisor and a poet, I like to spend some time before a novel in verse talking about visual literacy cues. I like to look at white space in gutters, in bleeds, between words, between lines. It adds to the meaning making of novels in verse  in ways that cannot be done in prose. 
• Use some of these as mentor texts for students' own writing.

From the Publisher:

Bad girl. No matter how hard Samira tries, she can’t shake her reputation. She’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt—not from her mother or the aunties who watch her like a hawk.

Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community.

In this gripping coming-of-age novel from the critically acclaimed author Safia Elhillo, a young woman searches to find the balance between honoring her family, her artistry, and her authentic self.

Publication Information:

Author: Safia Elhillo

Publisher: Make Me a World (March 25, 2025)

Print length: 400 pages

Grade level: 7-12