Jaclyn’s Review: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
written by Maya Angelou
published by Random House, 1969

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, Target, Kobo, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book? I’m honestly not sure why I’m even bothering to write this review. This book is a timeless classic and is amazing on so many different levels. There is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said; no encouragement that I can give that hasn’t already been given. My favorite part of this book is reading it again and again at different points in my life. It simultaneously feels like an old friend and a new book every time you read it. This book is the definition of how the written word can be a work of art.

Would I recommend it? This book was required reading when I was in high school, and now I come back to it again and again as an adult. If you’ve never read it, please do. If you’ve already read it, please read it again.
 

 
About the book – from Goodreads: Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.
 

 
 

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** This post first appeared on Every Free Chance Books (everyfreechance.com) on February 22, 2021.