ReenuYou Michele Tracy Berger 9781942302483 Books
Download As PDF : ReenuYou Michele Tracy Berger 9781942302483 Books
New York City, August 1998. On a muggy summer day, five women wake up to discover purple scab-like lesions on their faces—a rash that pulses, oozes, and spreads in spiral patterns. City clinic doctors dismiss the women’s fears as common dermatitis, a regular skin rash. But as more women show up with the symptoms, one clear correlation emerges an all-natural, first-of-its-kind hair relaxer called Reenu-You. As the outbreak spreads, and cases of new rashes pop up in black and latino communities throughout New York, panic and anger also grows. When the malady begins to kill, medical providers and the corporation behind the so-called hair tonic face charges of conspiracy and coercion from outraged minority communities and leaders across the country. At the heart of the epidemic are these five original women; each from different walks of life. As the world crumbles around them, they will discover more about each other, about themselves, and draw strength to face the future together.
ReenuYou Michele Tracy Berger 9781942302483 Books
Reenu-You is a powerful post-apocalyptic alternate history hard sci-fi novella (man that's a mouthful!) about a group of five women of color who each use a new, "natural" hair care product to relax their hair straight without needing additional products. Things turn for the worse when they each contract a nasty skin condition. The first protagonist we're introduced to, Kat, is an African-American ski instructor who is introduced to the product by her best friend and cousin. She uses it and finds it works--but shortly afterwards discovers an awful skin rash that spreads in rings from the middle of her head.After she goes to the doctor and is told they can't help her (which is a brutally painful scene to read, as Berger does a fantastic job of capturing both the sexism and racism felt by minority women seeking any sort of medical help), she heads to the Center for Disease Control and is put in a room without being informed that she and the other five women in said room are under quarantine. This is where we meet Constancia, our other POV protagonist, a Puerto Rican woman obsessed with her appearance and who carries the painful burden of a troubled home life and rough relationship. She feels the only thing she has in life is her looks, so when the terrible affliction takes them away from her, she's left emotionally decimated and lashes out on Kat in particular for her perceived "superiority complex."
Berger does a fantastic job of developing both protagonists and their relationships to each other and the other three women they've come into unwitting contact with. The struggle for identity as a person of color with "white" interests is also well developed in the case of Kat, as is the struggle to relate to others of the same race when most of the character's life has been spent around people of the dominant race. Hair is indeed political, and the idea that a hair care product was "dumbed down" in name in order to seem more "Ethnic" after a once POC-owned company was purchased by a predominantly white pharmaceutical firm was a nice touch, although disheartening in how realistic it was.
Her style is highly readable and I found myself binge-reading the book within a few hours of picking it up. Given how much I read these days, this is a rarer and rarer thing.
5/5, well worth your time and attention.
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Tags : Reenu-You [Michele Tracy Berger] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. New York City, August 1998. On a muggy summer day, five women wake up to discover purple scab-like lesions on their faces—a rash that pulses,Michele Tracy Berger,Reenu-You,Book Smugglers Publishing,1942302487,FICTION Science Fiction Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic
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ReenuYou Michele Tracy Berger 9781942302483 Books Reviews
I was given an advance reader’s copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review. This review is also informed by an essay from the author, included with the eBook but not the print version.
A strange health crisis has emerged in communities of color in American cities. While its cause is unknown, there are rumblings that a new “natural” hair relaxant product, Reenu-You, might be at the root of the outbreak. In her eponymous novella, Michele Tracy Berger tells a story of a small group of women in New York who have been impacted by this potentially serious situation. Told primarily from the points of view of two of the women, the non-linear Reenu-You also uses corporate memos and government reports to build the mosaic of the unfolding drama. With echoes of works like “The Stand”, “The Andromeda Strain” and also unexpectedly Chris Rock’s “Good Hair”, Reenu-You draws on Ms. Berger’s own experiences growing up as an urban woman of color and how the notion of “good hair” is viewed in communities like that of her upbringing in ways largely not experienced by Caucasians. Interspersed with these ideas, uncommon in most works of speculative fiction, is a compelling story on which I hope Ms. Berger, whose work was also featured in 2016’s UnCommon Origins anthology, can expand and release as a longer, full novel in the future.
Hair is a complicated topic, especially if your hair isn't naturally long and straight and pliable you know, white. That's why the women in this story relax their hair, with the newest wonder-product on the market Reenu-You. The product is touted as all natural, so pure you could even eat it. Of course, it's not all it's made out to be.
Pulling from a wide range of tropes of science fiction, Berger has written a compelling story full of conspiracy and danger. Five women who all used the product and had horrifying side effects are drawn together in ways they themselves don't fully understand. The story was political commentary, a cautionary tale, an exploration of women's friendship, and an apocalyptic infection story, among other things. Berger uses the playground of this speculative tale to explore and consider issues of race, gender, age, class, urbanity, and so much more, yet it doesn't feel preachy or pedantic. You just find yourself thinking and considering while you're quickly turning the pages to find out what will happen next.
The novella read very quickly, pulling me along with my curiosity to understand what was going on with this product and its effects on the group of women the story follows. I was left feeling a little lost at the end, when the mystery is not fully resolved. I did wish for at least a little more resolution, even while part of me felt that an open ending might be the right one for the story. There's definitely room for the story to go further.
Michele Tracy Berger weaves an intricate story with interesting and creative characters. Combining a bit of science fiction with real world reality, Berger creates a compelling story line that instantly draws in the reader. This novella was thoughtfully conceived and makes one consider the possibility of fictional situations that could indeed become daily truths. Fantastic read!
A dark and gripping read! The concept is original and well executed. Michele does an excellent job taking something as innocuous as a hair care product and weaving it into a truly terrifying plague. I look forward to reading more by this author!
This novella offers a brilliant concept; shines light on issues present in today's world; and takes an unconventional approach to storytelling in terms of structure. Plus, how wonderful to read a book driven by well-drawn, funny, capable, smart, very HUMAN women of color. Just fantastic.
Reenu-You is a powerful post-apocalyptic alternate history hard sci-fi novella (man that's a mouthful!) about a group of five women of color who each use a new, "natural" hair care product to relax their hair straight without needing additional products. Things turn for the worse when they each contract a nasty skin condition. The first protagonist we're introduced to, Kat, is an African-American ski instructor who is introduced to the product by her best friend and cousin. She uses it and finds it works--but shortly afterwards discovers an awful skin rash that spreads in rings from the middle of her head.
After she goes to the doctor and is told they can't help her (which is a brutally painful scene to read, as Berger does a fantastic job of capturing both the sexism and racism felt by minority women seeking any sort of medical help), she heads to the Center for Disease Control and is put in a room without being informed that she and the other five women in said room are under quarantine. This is where we meet Constancia, our other POV protagonist, a Puerto Rican woman obsessed with her appearance and who carries the painful burden of a troubled home life and rough relationship. She feels the only thing she has in life is her looks, so when the terrible affliction takes them away from her, she's left emotionally decimated and lashes out on Kat in particular for her perceived "superiority complex."
Berger does a fantastic job of developing both protagonists and their relationships to each other and the other three women they've come into unwitting contact with. The struggle for identity as a person of color with "white" interests is also well developed in the case of Kat, as is the struggle to relate to others of the same race when most of the character's life has been spent around people of the dominant race. Hair is indeed political, and the idea that a hair care product was "dumbed down" in name in order to seem more "Ethnic" after a once POC-owned company was purchased by a predominantly white pharmaceutical firm was a nice touch, although disheartening in how realistic it was.
Her style is highly readable and I found myself binge-reading the book within a few hours of picking it up. Given how much I read these days, this is a rarer and rarer thing.
5/5, well worth your time and attention.
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