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Songs of Irie by Asha Ashanti Bromfield

A historical coming-of-age YA novel set in 1976 Jamaica.

A historical coming-of-age YA novel set in 1976 Jamaica

CBC Books Posted: Jul 12, 2023 4:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: February 7

A book cover shows two women, one with a red flower in the hair, as they face one another and their noses are touching.

It's 1976 and Jamaica is on fire. The country is on the eve of important elections and the warring political parties have made the divisions between the poor and the wealthy even wider. And Irie and Jilly come from very different backgrounds: Irie is from the heart of Kingston, where fighting in the streets is common. Jilly is from the hills, where mansions nestled within lush gardens remain safe behind gates. But the two bond through a shared love of Reggae music, spending time together at Irie's father's record store, listening to so-called rebel music that opens Jilly's mind to a sound and a way of thinking she's never heard before.

As tensions build in the streets, so do tensions between the two girls. A budding romance between them complicates things further as the push and pull between their two lives becomes impossible to bear. For Irie, fighting with her words and her voice is her only option. Blood is shed on the streets in front of her every day. She has no choice. But Jilly can always choose to escape.

Can their bond survive this impossible divide? (FromSt. Martin's Press)

Asha Ashanti Bromfieldis awriter,actress, singer and producer of Afro-Jamaican descent. She is known for starringas Melody Valentine, drummer of Josie and the Pussycats in the television show Riverdaleand as Zadie Wells in the Netflix show Locke and Key.Her YA novels includeHurricane Summer and Songs of Irie. She is from Toronto. CBC Books named Bromfield aBlack Canadian writerto watch in 2022.

WhyAsha Ashanti Bromfield wrote Songs of Irie

"In the beginning, I dealt with [the question of] who am I to tell this story? I wasn't there. I didn't live in the 1970s. And I just realized that's all an illusion. Thesearemy stories. They're my people, my family, you know? And if I don't tell them, who will? So that was my saving grace of like, what if it didn't go like this? It went something like this based off the research that I did, and if I were living in that time I feel like these are characters that would have existed. I also feel like a lot of the political history that happens in it is pretty on the nose.

These are my stories. They're my people, my family, you know? And if I don't tell them, who will?- Asha Ashanti Bromfield

"I hope that through my stories, Black girls find a bit more humanity and a bit more redemption, like their struggles aren't in vain [and] that they're not alone, because I think sometimes that journey can feel very lonely. And I hope that my books also inspire young girls to tell their stories and know that they have a story worth telling."

Interviews with Asha Ashanti Bromfield

The Next Chapter13:55Riverdale's Asha Ashanti Bromfield talks about her new career in writing

The Canadian actress and author talks with Ryan B. Patrick about her new novel Songs of Irie, which takes place in 1970s Jamaica.

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