I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by
Maya Angelou
adult autobiography
I had seen this book on a number of "must read" lists for years, but did not get around to reading it until just now. Marguerite Johnson and her brother are shuffled from their mother's house to their father's house to grandma's house and back a number of times while Marguerite and Bailey are growing up in the 1930's. Overall their childhood is poor and the Black folks keep away from White people. This book is an important look at how things were in America and how they are different today.
There are some not-so-nice scenes in this book which have landed it on the Banned Book list ever since it was published 40 years ago. Since it is an autobiography, these plot points are essential to the book.
