Naomi Jackson—The Star Side of Bird Hill (Barbados/USA)
A tender yet colorful coming of age story, The Star Side of Bird Hill centers around two sisters suffering from an acute sense of culture shock who must learn to navigate the trials of love, heartbreak and what it means to ‘come home’ after being exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill, Barbados. Another first-time author, Naomi Jackson gains command of a language and heritage that had always belonged to her but one that she did not fully inherit until a later date. Drawing on her own experiences as she discovered her culture for the first time, the Brooklyn native inserts her voice into each of her characters, sharing this new-found identity with a young girl wanting to know everything about her culture, an older sister longing to be ‘anywhere but here’ and a grandmother who serves as the only link to their mother’s mysterious life. Read our interview with Naomi Jackson here.