Girl Who Fell: First Impressions and Connections

       Similarly to the Grace of Silence, the Girl Who Fell From the Sky addresses the tension of racial dialogue in America.  The first chapter is from the perspective of a "light-skinned" black girl, Rachel, which is a paradox in itself.  She does not seem to fit in as either white or black, and is mistreated from both sides, likely as a result of her outlying nature.  Rachel is black with blue eyes, the eyes she received from her Danish mother, living with her grandmother she does not know.  She struggles through the same problems faced by Michele Norris as a child.  By trying to achieve and assert herself intellectually, she is said to be acting "white" and advised that she should not assert herself too much, because that is just not the way it is for black girls.  She is bullied because of her race, and bottles up her emotions to show that she is strong, an effective technique much like the one Jackie Robinson employed.  I predict this dialogue will continue throughout the book, and more perspectives will be added to make it more interesting.