Brown Girls

‘Brown Girls flows like a late night FM-radio dedication to the crew, the block, and the mission. This book’s a gift’ Paul Beatty, author of The Sellout‘An ode to girlhood’ Raven Leilani, author of Luster A fiercely poetic coming-of-age novel following a group of young women of colour in Queens, New York.

If you really want to know, we are the colour of 7-Eleven root beer. Colour of the charcoal pencil our sisters use to rim their eyes. Colour of peanut butter.

Brown Girls dives deep into the lives of a group of young women of colour growing up in Queens, New York. Here, streets echo with many languages, subways rumble above dollar stores and the briny scent of the ocean wafts in from Rockaway Beach. Here, girls like Nadira, Gabby, Naz, Trish, Angelique, and many others, struggle to reconcile their immigrant backgrounds with the American culture they come of age in. Here, they become friends for life. Or so they vow.

In this bold debut told in a uniquely lyrical voice, Daphne Palasi Andreades paints a stunning collective portrait of the journey from girlhood to adulthood, set against a backdrop of race, class, and marginalisation in America today. Brown Girls is an unforgettable love letter to women of colour everywhere from a daring new writer.

‘Joyous, bittersweet, hilarious … a coming of age story for us all’ Nikesh Shukla, author of Brown Baby

‘A song of celebration, of mourning, of rage, of fierce living’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Starling Days

‘If you liked LUSTER try BROWN GIRLS’Sunday Times Style

‘Attracting huge amounts of buzz … a lyrical, urgent voice’ ipaper, Ten best books to read in 2022

‘A cracker of a first novel’ Glamour

‘A sensation in the US’ Guardian

‘Transporting … not to be missed’ Stylist

‘A daring debut … fearless’ New York Times

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTRE FOR FICTION 2022 FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2022 IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, GLAMOUR, STYLIST, INEWS, SUNDAY TIMES STYLE, LITERARY FRICTION PODCAST AND MORE.

© 2022 Fourth Estate (Audiobook): 9780008478087

Release date

Audiobook: January 4, 2022