The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be by Shannon Gibney

The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be

By

Description

A Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book

Part memoir, part speculative fiction, this novel explores the often surreal experience of growing up as a mixed-Black transracial adoptee.

Dream Country author Shannon Gibney returns with a new book woven from her true story of growing up as the adopted Black daughter of white parents and the fictional story of Erin Powers, the name Shannon was given at birth by the white woman who gave her up for adoption. 

At its core, the novel is a tale of two girls on two different timelines occasionally bridged by a mysterious portal and their shared search for a complete picture of their origins. Gibney surrounds that story with reproductions of her own adoption documents, letters, family photographs, interviews, medical records, and brief essays on the surreal absurdities of the adoptee experience.

The end result is a remarkable portrait of an American experience rarely depicted in any form.

More Shannon Gibney Books

  • The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be

    The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be

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    Family & Relationships in Young Adult Fiction

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    Dream Country

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    Historical Fiction for Young Adults

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    When We Become Ours

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  • Where We Come From

    Where We Come From

    John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, Diane Wilson & Dion MBD

    Biographies for Kids

  • See No Color

    See No Color

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    Fiction for Young Adults

  • Working Toward Racial Equity in First-Year Composition

    Working Toward Racial Equity in First-Year Composition

    Renee DeLong, Taiyon Coleman, Kathleen DeVore, Shannon Gibney, Michael Kühne & Valerie Déus

    Education