Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir
Nominated by: Sylvia Vardell
Finalist blurb: Nikki Grimes? poetry sings with emotion, imagery, and phrasing in this gripping memoir of her recollections of young life. In her author?s note, Grimes delves into the challenge of writing a memoir, and the difficulty of bridging gaps that trauma has taken. At the same time any reader of Ordinary Hazards will tell you that Grimes has done just that, bridging gaps by including snippets from notebooks through the years and piecing together a life that was left in pieces by traumatic experiences at each of life?s turns. As Grimes notes in her prologue: ?It?s a long story, but I?m a poet. I can cut it short.? Ordinary Hazards is a simply stunning memoir in verse that will lead readers to understanding and empathy while being dazzled by the words that make a life.
— Ellen Zschunke, On the Shelf 4 Kids