When We Become Ours is a collection of stories by a number of authors with one thing in common – they are all adoptees. The collection fills a very apparent void not just in young adult literature, but in books in general. Each story describes the added complexity of adolescence as an adoptee and the challenges that come with searching for a sense of belongingness.
These stories, ranging from fantasy to sci-fi to contemporary fiction, have either never been told, or have been told by people unable to comprehend the reality of growing up in adoption. There is a special focus on the nuances of transracial adoptions, and the specific loneliness that can often present itself as anger. Each story succeeds in capturing the juxtaposition of “being close to someone yet realising that our experiences are so far apart”, and each author illustrates their own experiences of growing up feeling unseen and misunderstood. For many of the authors, their ethnicity felt “simultaneously familiar and foreign”, yet they still described an overwhelming comfort with feeling accepted within a community, and connecting with their history. The stories are short and succinct yet powerful and heartwarming.
When We Become Ours is an important book. It’s honest and revealing in its storytelling, and it communicates a larger story that is often left out or misrepresented. As the editors point out, “storytelling matters” and this book connects the emotions of each author and character to convey a single message: regardless of individual loneliness, anger or confusion, no feeling is unique. In sharing our experiences and our emotions, we lighten the load not only for ourselves, but for everyone else who has ever felt the same way.
Danielle Briody
When We Become Ours
Edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung
HarperTeen, 2023
Hardback, £14.99
ISBN 9780063144408
