The Length Of A String By Elissa Brent Weissman

The book, The Length of a String, by Elissa Brent Weissman, is a historical fiction that features a story of discovering self-identity through self-acceptance and taking risks. Imani, an adopted African- American girl is the main protagonist, who encounters questions about her past after finding her late great-grandma, Anna’s diary. When researching her cultural background for her upcoming bat mitzvah. Imani is caught between a Jewish society and what they think about her African heritage versus who she really is, which in turn, makes her question her identity. She also takes risks throughout the book to find out answers about her origins that her parents will not tell her, and that she can not find on her own. Self-identity through self-acceptance

Imani feels like she does not fit in with her Jewish community since the color of her skin is black. She feels alienated because she is adopted and constantly getting asked questions about where she is from. This leads her to question her identity as a whole since she herself does not know the answers to the question about her past origins. Furthermore, Imani feels isolated from everyone and is always being discriminated against due to her different appearance and because she does not fit the “norm” of what people expect when they see her, “Are you, like, half Jewish?” the boy asked. Another girl joined in. “Oh wait, are you from Ethiopia? There are black Jews in Ethiopia.” “I’m adopted,” I said dully and watched the

Weissman explores taking risks through Imani trying to find her birth parents and background. Imani takes risks by delving into her past while she was forbidden to do so. She characterizes this theme through several actions. For instance, Imani looks through the locked filing cabinet to attempt and find her adoption papers. Since Imani did not have her parents permission, she took the risk of getting caught and being punished or even worse, hurting her parents feelings who she was trying to protect by sneaking around, “... the door slid open, smooth and silent. The drawer was heavy with paper…I bolted from under the desk and sat in the chair…“ (pg. 81-82). Imani takes further risks while searching the internet for information about her birth parents. Again, she risks her parents finding out, while going behind their backs. She ultimately gets caught and hurts the feelings of her mother, “She saw the website that was there. Adoption search and reunion. And her whole body froze.” (pg. 244). Imani demonstrates that taking risks can have consequences, but sometimes you need to take risks in order to find the answers that you are looking