by Echo Brown. Christy Ottaviano Books-Little Brown and Hachette; 2022.
Echo Brown was only 39 when she became an ancestor, but she packed a powerful creative punch in her short life. For two years, she performed her one-woman play, “Black Virgins are Not for Hipsters,” to sold out crowds around the globe. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard (2020)was praised by We Need Diverse Books as a “transcendent coming-of-age story for fans of Renee Watson’s Piecing Me Together and Ibi Zoboi’s American Street.” And before her passing, she was working on a book with producer Tyler Perry.
As in her semi-autobiographical first novel and her play, Brown’s sophomore novel (The Chosen One: Triumphs of a Black Girl in the Ivy League) places her life center stage. The memoir mixed with magical realism begins with Echo entering her first semester at Dartmouth College. Though graduating at the top of her class grants her entry to this “promised land,” the first-generation college student from an impoverished Cleveland neighborhood quickly discovers that life at an Ivy is nothing like the promotional brochures—especially if you’re Black. She struggles academically and socially in an overwhelmingly white and privileged space that others—and sometimes even Echo herself—think she wasn’t built for.
Things change once she’s deemed “The Chosen One.” Her world literally shifts, and Echo finds portals in everyday spaces (her dorm room, the cafeteria, a first-year outdoor retreat) that lead her to realms and worlds she never imagined. Time travel is confusing for sure, and Echo often emerges discombobulated. But she is not alone. Bolstered by a small but tight community of Black friends (from Chicago and ATL), the Defiance (her brain’s internal hype team), a campus therapist, a college dean who guides her, and “The Keepers” who keep watch, Echo learns the importance of healing family trauma and older ancestral wounds to truly be free.
What works? Brown uses humor and vulnerability to confront a range of issues from sexual assault to addiction, racism, mental health, interracial relationships, and most of all faith and love (especially of oneself). She weaves in pop culture with ease, and she doesn’t shy away from present-day issues that impact college campuses: the free speech-hate speech debate, conservative attacks against DEI initiatives, and the limitations of white allyship.
Mostly, the story’s power lies in Brown’s narration. At times vulnerable, at times willful, her voice is often prescient, and always clear and strong. We don’t just read Echo’s innermost thoughts. We feel them. And we know she is honest and real.
As her former editor Jessica Anderson acknowledged, “[Echo] was spiritual and knew better than anyone that souls do not disappear. Light does not disappear.” Though Brown is no longer on this earthly plane, she and her creations remain. Her spirit and voice shine brightly in the book which ends with a letter in which she lovingly tells readers: “I hope you answer the call of your soul” (324).
What doesn’t work? Echo’s first few trips to other worlds may be jarring and confusing to readers. But those who love fantasy and speculative fiction will quickly appreciate the journey.
Grab it or pass it? Grab it! Brown takes readers on a winding, mystical, yet deeply affecting ride. I would recommend it for teens who are on the cusp of leaving high school and crossing the threshold into adulting and college life. I also would grab it for high schools and public libraries to bolster their Black speculative fiction collections. Overall, The Chosen One is truly a gift to young adults, especially to Black girls seeking the inner knowledge that they are the light, and they are enough.
Black Cotton Reviewers 