Official Review: Kingdom Vision for Audacious Women:

[VISHWA129]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kingdom Vision for Audacious Women:" by Marie Chewe-Elliott.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Kingdom Vision for Audacious Women is an anthology of poems and essays written by multiple women of color and edited by Marie Chewe-Elliott. Throughout the book, poets and authors share their experiences and the wisdom they have gained as a result of those experiences, particularly as African American women. While each writer tackles a different issue with every vignette, ranging from the double standard to cancer, the book ultimately delivers a message of acceptance and self-appreciation. Many of the vignettes also incorporate religious themes in their motivational message, and a few are about the importance of religion directly.

The mixed-media approach to this book was a fun and enjoyable concept that captured my interest throughout. Some of the writers only had one essay or poem featured in the anthology, while others had multiple pieces that were at once complementary and unique. Since the purpose of this book is to be a motivational guide for young people, having multiple authors offer their advice makes it easier for each reader to find a message he or she resonates with in particular. By reading through the table of contents I can recall which vignettes were my personal favorites, including “Discovering the Strength of Women” and “Black Girl Magic.” The downside to this format is that the essays I didn’t resonate with as well made the reading experience feel arduous at times. I felt that only a few of the author’s messages about femininity and womanhood were compelling; the others conveyed trite messages that I had heard before in some form and therefore didn’t gain much from.

Whether or not every single addition to the anthology contained a profound and life-altering message, all of these vignettes were unique in the sense that they focused solely on the views of African American women, which is a group of people who are not represented in literature as often as they perhaps should be. Even though the target demographic of this book is African American girls, this book is a great insight into heritage and history that many readers can gain perspective on. Also, there are some messages about self-respect in the book that are universal.

Perhaps my least favorite aspect of the book was its emphasis on religion, which would not have been such a deterring factor in my enjoyment if I had been more aware of the religious influence in each of the vignettes before I began reading. Instead, I was completely surprised by how many times the Bible was referenced and how much emphasis the writers placed on religion. For the first half of the book, I was able to separate the authors’ messages about God from their messages about self-improvement and appreciate both of them individually, but eventually my confusion as to why this was not presented as a religious book made it difficult for me to enjoy.

Though I did not find any significant errors throughout the book, Kingdom Vision for Audacious Women is a very short anthology that could have expanded its messages more if it had been longer. Also, since the book is intended for a specific audience, I can easily see older readers finding it bland and unengaging. If I was focusing solely on the first half of the book I would have given it a higher rating, but ultimately I am rating this book 2 out of 4 stars.

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Kingdom Vision for Audacious Women:
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[LuciusM]

Thanks for sharing your great review.

[Dayodiola]

A fair review of the experience of many, thanks

[Chiawa]

I like this review, it's quite objective.

[Croc_81]

Thanks for your informative review! I think this book is still something I can get behind, though I can see how the repetitiveness might bother many people. I guess I’m just kind of a sap, though- I’ll hear the same words thousands of times and it will definitely still hit me right in the heart!