She’s Like A Rainbow by Eileen Colucci is outside my comfort zone, but every now and then I need to shake myself up.
I have read so much murder and death, that they all began to run together and I needed a break. This ray of sunshine fit the bill.
MY REVIEW
She’s Like A Rainbow by Eileen Colucci is an original and creative story that illustrates how we are more similar than different, with our own insecurities and problems dogging us. Teens and adults alike can learn a thing or two from Reema.
I had been looking for books outside my normal reading and when Eileen offered me a copy, I accepted. The cover was what first drew me in, but when I read the blurb I thought it would be a fun story.
The allusion to the legend of the White Buffalo fits Reema’s life. The baby starts out white and changes color when he gets older. Most of us are a collection of nationalities.
Reema is a strong and determined young girl who refuses to give up on what she believes to be the truth. She shows love, patience and persistence as she seeks the answers to her questions.
All the childhood angst, plus…
The writing is wonderful and touches on many issues, such as being Muslim, and adoption.
I would highly recommend this story to people of all ages.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“The summer I turned ten, my life took a fairy tale turn.”
So begins Reema Ben Ghazi’s tale set in Morocco, SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW. Reema awakes one morning to find her skin has changed from whipped cream to dark chocolate. From then on, every few years she undergoes another metamorphosis, her color changing successively to red, yellow and ultimately brown. What is the cause of this strange condition and is there a cure? Does the legend of the White Buffalo have anything to do with it? As Reema struggles to find answers to these questions, she confronts the reactions of the people around her, including her strict and unsympathetic mother, Lalla Jamila; her timid younger sister, Zakia; and her two best friends, Batoul and Khalil. At the same time, she must deal with the trials of adolescence even as her friendship with Khalil turns to first love. One day, in her search for answers, Reema discovers a shocking secret – she may have been adopted at birth. As a result, Reema embarks on a quest to find her birth mother that takes her from twentieth-century Rabat to post-9/11 New York.
Reema’s humanity shines through her story, reminding us of all we have in common regardless of our particular cultural heritage. SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW, which will appeal to Teens as well as Adults, raises intriguing questions about identity and ethnicity.
ABOUT EILEEN COLUCCI
A native New Yorker, Eileen Colucci has been living in Rabat with her Moroccan husband for the past thirty-plus years. She is a former teacher and recently retired after twenty-eight years as a translator with the U.S. Embassy, Rabat. Her articles and short stories have appeared in various publications and ezines including Fodor’s Morocco, Parents’ Press, The New Dominion and Expat Women. SHE’S LIKE A RAINBOW, which was recently published, is her second novel.
Colucci holds a BA in French and English from the University at Albany and an MA in Education from Framingham State University.
When not writing, Colucci enjoys practicing yoga, taking long walks and playing with her chocolate Labrador Retriever, Phoebo. Now that she and her husband have four grandchildren, they spend as much time as possible in Virginia with their two sons and their families.
Author Links: Website│Goodreads
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