Black boy smile A memoir in moments

In this memoir, author and prolific essayist Watkins (We Speak for Ourselves, 2019) delves into his boyhood through a series of personal stories that illustrate how Black boys are all too often forced into a facade of manhood as a method of self-preservation and protection. Through his relaying of memories, Watkins critiques the patriarchal structures of violence, abuse, and emotional guardedness that have impacted his coming-of-age, the East Baltimore community he grew up in, and, largely, Black men everywhere. Watkins writes from a place of nuanced vulnerability, sharing, for instance, both the love he has for his father and the traumas of being raised by a man battling addiction during the height of the so-called war on drugs. Watkins' story is not one of villains and heroes, but one of systems and expectations that put individual decision-making on a back burner, especially when those individuals are marginalized. Watkins advocates the destruction of harmful white supremacist norms, as well as a path forward that acknowledges the full humanity of those who may have caused harm while living under the burden of those norms. Black Boy Smile is a must-read exploration of white supremacy, toxic masculinity, and the need to undermine them both.

How a sexually and physically abused Black boy from Baltimore became a violent, wildly successful drug dealer--and then something else entirely. Watkins has parceled out his life in earlier books, particularly The Cook-Up (2016), but here he shares different vignettes, showing off his homegrown storytelling style, often hilarious characterizations, and dead-on dialogue. From the moment he decided to hide the abuse he suffered at a summer camp for disadvantaged youth, he bought into a life of lying and repression of emotion. Though his success as a drug dealer led to a "a house big enough for two families, two Mercedes, a CL 600 and CLK to run errands in, and money busting out of my sweatpants pocket, my socks, the Nike boxes under my bed, my roof safe, and the closet in the stash house," his accumulated trauma blocked any possibility of happiness. One touching section contains the author's close observation of the intense relationship between childhood friends Troy and Tweety. Though Watkins also craved "somebody I was willing to go crazy over," he had convinced himself he didn't need anybody. When a nurse in the hospital loaned him Sister Souljah's The Coldest Winter Ever, Watkins became a reader overnight, beginning to see what he had done to himself by choosing the hardened heart and lies; why, as a Black man, he was compelled to do it; and what he had lost in the process. In response, he started writing, and some years later, he allowed himself to experience true love. Both exploded into his life like a geyser. The literary journey wasn't always easy, but his entrepreneurial obsession with making money drove him through every obstacle. Watkins does magic with brand names--in childhood, every house has "unlimited Crown Royal bags…Red Rooster hot sauce, Newport cigarettes and petroleum jelly"--and every character is nailed down by descriptions of their clothing, even the author himself, who often "surveys his fit." A startling and moving celebration of a brutal life transformed by language and love. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.