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Title details for Songs of Irie by Asha Ashanti Bromfield - Available

Songs of Irie

by Asha Ashanti Bromfield
Asha Ashanti Bromfield
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

This program is read by the author.
"Author and narrator Asha Bromfield offers an engrossing performance of this coming-of-age audiobook. Bromfield's experience as an actress and her ease with Jamaican Patois will draw listeners into a story that has multiple levels of emotional intensity." —AudioFile on Hurricane Summer
Perfect for fans of The Black Kids, Songs of Irie is a sweeping coming-of-age novel from Asha Bromfield about a friendship struggling to survive amidst the Jamaican civil unrest of the 1970s.

It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind to a sound and a way of thinking she's never heard before.
As tensions build in the streets, so do tensions between the two girls. A budding romance between them complicates things further as the push and pull between their two lives becomes impossible to bear. For Irie, fighting—with her words and her voice—is her only option. Blood is shed on the streets in front of her every day. She has no choice. But Jilly can always choose to escape.
Can their bond survive this impossible divide?
Asha Bromfield has written a compelling, emotional and heart-rending story of a friendship during wartime and what it means to fight for your words, your life, and the love of your life.
A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 10, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250290441
      • File size: 319721 KB
      • Duration: 11:06:05

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 9, 2023
      In 1976 Jamaica, a forthcoming election between an egalitarian platform and a capitalist agenda sows civil unrest. Light-skinned teen Jilly, from the upper echelon of Jamaican society, reckons with a lack of agency when her parents arrange her marriage to the capitalist party leader’s son. Jilly’s best friend, dark-skinned Irie—a reggae songwriter with a knockout voice living in the “not-so-nice parts” of the island—forfeits her dreams to work alongside her family at their record shop. After a friend is murdered, Irie determines to follow her desires and accepts a performance gig at a dancehall party with Jilly in attendance. But a violent encounter with egalitarian soldiers and her family’s disappearance throw Irie’s life into further chaos; meanwhile, Jilly wrestles with her parents’ involvement in the brewing oppression. While Jilly’s development can sometimes feel low stakes in comparison to Irie’s clear-sighted observations, their juxtaposition prompts compelling conversations surrounding class privilege, and their slow-burn romance heightens tensions. Bromfield (Hurricane Summer) depicts a harsh reality around predation of young women in Jamaica to craft a devastating and nuanced look at two teens’ battle for freedom, hope, independence, and love. An author’s note provides context about civil unrest in Jamaica. Ages 13–up. Agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary.

    • School Library Journal

      January 1, 2024

      Gr 10 Up-Bromfield, who narrated her debut, also voices her second novel. For audiences who might struggle with reading Caribbean patois in print, Bromfield's confident performance-seamlessly navigating between speech patterns and accents-is to be relished. Bromfield also sings, although repetition of the same lyrics becomes tiresome. Most frustrating is the lack of clear distinction between her two protagonists, who (unevenly) alternate chapters to reveal their polarized realities. In 1976 Jamaica, BFFs Irie and Jilly have just graduated high school to utterly diverging futures: Irie dreams of escaping the ghetto with her music, while wealth cages Cambridge-bound Jilly who's expected to marry into the island's reigning political family. Over their final summer together, friendship turns to forbidden love amid the dangers of a racialized, haves vs. have-nots, fatal revolution. VERDICT Little-known Jamaican history-colonialism, widespread corruption, the unifying power of reggae music-vibrantly enhance an intense teen romance.

      Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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