Before she was Betty X and before she was Dr. Betty Shabazz she was just Betty. A girl who lost her beloved aunt. A girl who had to move to Detroit to live with a mother and family she did not know. A girl who had to deal with the life of a black girl in the 1940s. Loosely based on the life of Betty Shabazz, her daughter Ilyasah Shabazz (with the help of Renée Watson) gives you a peak at the events that would make an activist, wife, mother, teacher, and so much more.
Betty Before X is fiction, but considers the historical facts of the time, without going into extreme detail (the riots, World War II, lynching, etc.). The language allows for almost any age to read it and be comfortable with the subjects. Short chapters and the narrators voice helps Betty to be relatable. Bordering on poetic prose, Shabazz and Watson tell you a story that was not just the story of Betty, but the story of the Betty’s of the time. The peppering of historical figures is a nice touch. There is a biography at the end, along with a timeline, to tie the fiction and fact together.
As an adult reader, I would have enjoyed more “action” (there is a lot of tell and not a lot of show), yet it works for the ages it is geared towards. The authors only cover a few formative years of Betty’s life but it whetted my curiosity enough to make me look for an actual biography of Dr. Shabazz. This is a story about a girl who wants what everyone wants: love, family, friends. Yet, she takes it farther and helps not only better herself, but her community and extended family.
