“inspired by the early life of Betty Shabazz. Author is the daughter of Malcolm X and Dr Betty Shabazz. In the dedication she quotes her father, “When you educate a boy, you teach a community; when you educate a girl, you raise a nation.” Includes timeline and more info on events and characters in the novel.

This book has an old fashioned, well manned protagonist that feels refreshing and simple and good. Were it not for the descriptions of lynchings and police murders, this book would be easy to fit on a list of books for sheltered children. It is full of the religious optimism of its adolescent main character Betty. the writing was very good, full of rich descriptive passages. ( )

Apassion for social justice blossoms during the middle school years for the girl who grew up to become Dr. Betty Shabazz.

Loved but unwanted by her mother, 11-year-old Betty finds solace in friends and church. In 1945 Detroit, Betty’s African-American church community is a hub for activism in the face of Jim Crow racism, police brutality, and economic inequality. With renowned guests such as Thurgood Marshall and Paul Robeson coming to speak and perform, Betty and her friends are swept up in the fervor and demand for social justice that would become a movement. They volunteer for the Housewives’ League, a group that encourages the community to give its dollars to black-owned and -employing businesses. But the movement is also personal for Betty, who struggles to find her place in a world that treats brown-skinned black girls as lesser—less beautiful, less worthy, less deserving. Authored by her daughter Ilyasah Shabazz in collaboration with Watson, this moving fictional account of the early life of the late civil rights leader and widow of Malcolm X draws on the recollections of family and friends. The result is a heart-rending imagining of Shabazz’s personal challenges as well as a rare, intimate look at the complex roots of the American civil rights movement.

A personal, political, and powerful imagining of the early life of the late activist . (Historical fiction. 10-14)

-Kirkus Review

The book “Betty Before X” by Ilyasah Shabazz is about a girl named Betty that felt unwanted by her mother that found comfort in her friends and church. This historical fiction is based in 1945 Detroit during Jim Crow and economic inequality. The intended audience for this book is 10-14 years old. ( )