We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge

We Love You, Charlie Freeman
by Kaitlyn Greenidge

This book has a weird premise. Once you get past it…

Mr. & Mrs. Freeman surprise their daughters one day by letting them know the family’s moving to rural Massachusetts to teach a chimpanzee to speak sign language. Before the move, these girls went to school with plenty of other kids who looked like them and understood them. Now they’re in the minority like they never have been before, and they’ve got to treat this chimpanzee like a brother.

The girls are each struggling to come into their own, and struggling to feel wanted by their parents who signed up for this job. They can’t really talk about why it’s weird to act like the chimpanzee is their brother now, and they feel like Mom is coddling him more than she ever did them.

This book is strongly written in a way that helps us examine the parts of American culture that we still struggle with. The author is discussing racism from an odd viewpoint, but in a way that is maybe easier to digest. I personally felt that I would need to read this book a few times to really understand some of the lessons the author is trying to share with us.

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Sellout, by Paul Beatty.)

( publisher’s official We Love You, Charlie Freeman web site ) | ( publisher’s Caitlyn Greenidge web page )

Recommended by Naomi S.
Eiseley and Williams Branch Libraries

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