Review by Lee-Ann20 -- DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight...

[Lee-Ann20]

[Following is a volunteer review of "DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland" by Judy Juanita.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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De Facto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland by Judy Juanita is a collection of essays relating experiences from the author’s life spanning forty years. These essays deal with racism, gender inequality and activism that the author puts up with and joins as a way to deal with the injustices of daily living. Other essays are correspondence between writers and the author. What comes through very strongly in this book is the author’s sense of language and the importance of words.

While these essays speak to the author’s experience with racism and gender bias, what really comes through for the reader is her eloquence. The author’s way with words and her appreciation for the written word and writers is so refreshing for a reader. Juanita knows that words matter and this manuscript shows the feeling that is given to each word and phrase that she chooses. This book would be excellent for classrooms doing units on 60’s counter-culture as well as poetry units. General readers of historical non-fiction would also like this book.

Readers who enjoy fast-paced fiction books might want to give this one a pass. This manuscript is set up in short chapters that relate to parts of the author’s life, so there is a timeline to the book, but one that is not necessarily linear. This could also add to readers who would not like to read this book. This is a struggle because this book should be read by everyone who watches the nightly news.

This book is very well edited. There are areas of poetry and letters interspersed throughout the general prose of the manuscript, so the structural style does change, but there are no grammatical errors found. As the author is a professor of creative writing at Laney College in Oakland, this comes as no surprise.

Overall I would give De Facto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland by Judy Juanita a 4 out of 4 stars. These essays show that the issues that were dealt with in the 60’s that gave rise to the Black Panther Party are still being felt today and are giving rise to the The Black Lives Matter Movement. The connections are there, right below the surface of her incredible writing. The importance and impact of words handled by a superb writer who has been honing her craft for a long time really comes through in this book. I would encourage everyone to read this book.

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DeFacto Feminism: Essays Straight Outta Oakland
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I definitely want to read this book. It sounds fascinating, and I love that the author has paid so much attention to the language and words that she uses.

[Lee-Ann20]

It was amazing. I had to really focus on one aspect of the manuscript when I was writing the review, and this is what really stood out for me.

[KL9999]

I agree that Juanita has a beautiful way with words. Even though it's not necessarily a fast-paced book, I was captivated by her stories. Great review!