What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shape of New Beginnings
My Sorority Rush Checklist:
1. Create the perfect social resume. Check!
2. Register early for recruitment. Check!
3. Collect REC letters from Alumnae. Check!
4. Find a sorority that eases social loneliness. Ummm…
After a gap year in Europe, Destiny Lowry arrives at university with dreams of academic success and the freedom to do whatever she pleases. Her best friend, however, decides to attend a different university, leaving Destiny alone for the first time ever. What better reason to join a sorority?
Little does she know her life is about to be transformed by the ups and downs of rushing. She plans to become a Qousa woman, but when a relative pops up, she questions whether she truly fits in with her dream sorority. With other sororities vying for her attention, Destiny must find her voice and choose the path that works for her. Who knew rushing would have her questioning her perspective on life?
This captivating, collegiate coming-of-age novel is a relatable tale of self-discovery, friendship, and sisterhood set against the challenges of misogynoir.
1. Create the perfect social resume. Check!
2. Register early for recruitment. Check!
3. Collect REC letters from Alumnae. Check!
4. Find a sorority that eases social loneliness. Ummm…
After a gap year in Europe, Destiny Lowry arrives at university with dreams of academic success and the freedom to do whatever she pleases. Her best friend, however, decides to attend a different university, leaving Destiny alone for the first time ever. What better reason to join a sorority?
Little does she know her life is about to be transformed by the ups and downs of rushing. She plans to become a Qousa woman, but when a relative pops up, she questions whether she truly fits in with her dream sorority. With other sororities vying for her attention, Destiny must find her voice and choose the path that works for her. Who knew rushing would have her questioning her perspective on life?
This captivating, collegiate coming-of-age novel is a relatable tale of self-discovery, friendship, and sisterhood set against the challenges of misogynoir.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 17, 2023
3 people want to read
About the author
Doeliza
1 book2 followersDoeliza is a novelist from St. Louis, Missouri, who has traveled and lived in several countries. A self-declared lifelong learner, she likes to share her knowledge and experience through her art. The Shape of New Beginnings is her debut novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 29, 2023
Clever writing and storyline
I enjoyed taking this journey of rushing a sorority with Destiny! Some parts were emotionally hard to read. Otherwise, I enjoyed the clever writing, the storyline, and the graphics.
I enjoyed taking this journey of rushing a sorority with Destiny! Some parts were emotionally hard to read. Otherwise, I enjoyed the clever writing, the storyline, and the graphics.
November 10, 2023
I am absolutely proud of my work, and I hope you enjoy reading it. :-)
January 1, 2024
I received this book as a free ARC through Reedsy Discovery.
The Shape of New Beginnings written by Doeliza is an experimental fiction focused on interconnected themes. Within the novel, she uses multiple mediums to challenge the reader to think abstractly. Destiny, the main character, and readers are invited to explore a pseudo-claustrophobic campus that eventually expands into an intriguing, meaningful, and realizable universe.
Reminiscent of themes prevalent within School Daze (a coming-of-age film based on Black issues of colorism, perceived importance of sorority and fraternity selections, etc.), and Single White Female (a psychological, erotic thriller involving a woman who wishes to have everything her roommate has), this novel addresses themes faced by many young people entering college.
Destiny, a young African American female, leaves her family to attend college in search of her true self. Believing the "right" sorority will help her achieve her goal, conflicts arise when Destiny tries to navigate college life while still under the influence of her ingrained childhood ideologies. Realizing these ideologies conflict with her goal, Destiny attempts to unlearn them and "find her way" with a cast of characters, including Trixie (her Caucasian roommate), Marcel (her boyfriend), Erika (her childhood bestie), multiple sorority leaders, and family. Exploring themes including misogynoir, friendship, etc., Doeliza uses various experimental mediums, including poetry, formatting variations, streams of consciousness, etc. to convey Destiny's story.
Although a creative, well-written experimental work, the novel contains several problem areas. First, Doeliza's method of providing Destiny's back story using nuanced, negative depictions of Black characters is controversial. As an African American female, the author's seemingly relentless and imbalanced focus on fallacies involving several members of the fictional Black community was overwhelming. Portraying truth through writing is imperative. However, narratives reiterating Black stereotypes (with minuscule examples of positivity) are inherently harmful to all people. Second, several actions and timelines were in contrast to previously depicted characterizations and timelines. Finally, Doeliza's cherry-picked illustration of sorority life may leave many readers unfamiliar with Greek life with burning questions.
In conclusion, The Shape of New Beginnings is a formidable contender for readers wishing to explore the complexities of the experimental genre. Doeliza's penetrating discourse on the Black community's attitudes toward issues deeply rooted in colonialism is commendable (albeit somewhat imbalanced). In addition, her passionate discussion regarding veganism is natural and mesmerizing.
Consequently, I recommend reading The Shape of New Beginnings. Star rating: 3.5.
The Shape of New Beginnings written by Doeliza is an experimental fiction focused on interconnected themes. Within the novel, she uses multiple mediums to challenge the reader to think abstractly. Destiny, the main character, and readers are invited to explore a pseudo-claustrophobic campus that eventually expands into an intriguing, meaningful, and realizable universe.
Reminiscent of themes prevalent within School Daze (a coming-of-age film based on Black issues of colorism, perceived importance of sorority and fraternity selections, etc.), and Single White Female (a psychological, erotic thriller involving a woman who wishes to have everything her roommate has), this novel addresses themes faced by many young people entering college.
Destiny, a young African American female, leaves her family to attend college in search of her true self. Believing the "right" sorority will help her achieve her goal, conflicts arise when Destiny tries to navigate college life while still under the influence of her ingrained childhood ideologies. Realizing these ideologies conflict with her goal, Destiny attempts to unlearn them and "find her way" with a cast of characters, including Trixie (her Caucasian roommate), Marcel (her boyfriend), Erika (her childhood bestie), multiple sorority leaders, and family. Exploring themes including misogynoir, friendship, etc., Doeliza uses various experimental mediums, including poetry, formatting variations, streams of consciousness, etc. to convey Destiny's story.
Although a creative, well-written experimental work, the novel contains several problem areas. First, Doeliza's method of providing Destiny's back story using nuanced, negative depictions of Black characters is controversial. As an African American female, the author's seemingly relentless and imbalanced focus on fallacies involving several members of the fictional Black community was overwhelming. Portraying truth through writing is imperative. However, narratives reiterating Black stereotypes (with minuscule examples of positivity) are inherently harmful to all people. Second, several actions and timelines were in contrast to previously depicted characterizations and timelines. Finally, Doeliza's cherry-picked illustration of sorority life may leave many readers unfamiliar with Greek life with burning questions.
In conclusion, The Shape of New Beginnings is a formidable contender for readers wishing to explore the complexities of the experimental genre. Doeliza's penetrating discourse on the Black community's attitudes toward issues deeply rooted in colonialism is commendable (albeit somewhat imbalanced). In addition, her passionate discussion regarding veganism is natural and mesmerizing.
Consequently, I recommend reading The Shape of New Beginnings. Star rating: 3.5.
June 14, 2024
I was so disappointed that I didn't enjoy reading this one. I was excited to follow Destiny on her college journey. Unfortunately, there were too many aspects of this book that didn't work for me or that I didn't enjoy.
First off, I have to admit that it took me months to finish this book. I picked it up back in March, thinking it would be fun to read a college romance while I was living through my own college romance. The "insta-love" that Destiny experienced with Marcel honestly made me want to puke. I know that some people jump into relationships like this, but while I was amidst my own budding romance, their entire meeting made my stomach turn. I pretty much postponed this book for months until I finally had enough of it staring at me day after day.
The thing I found the most problematic about this book is how many issues it tries to address in such a short amount of pages. It talks about racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, capitalism, veganism and so much more. I feel it tried to cram too many hot-topic issues into one book, causing any time any of these issues were brought up to feel rushed, unfinished, and honestly, quite problematic. There was one page in which her parents were sexist, homophobic, and racist all on one page and it made me mourn the book I was reading. I wish that some of these issues would have been addressed more thoroughly in order to cut back on the problematicness of this novel.
A few other reasons I can't even bring myself to give this book a higher rating is the lackluster writing, the pettiness of sororities, and the overall toxic atmosphere of the book. Every relationship was vile, especially the ones with Marcel and Trixie, and it just made the entire book extremely unpleasant. I know this was kinda the point, but I just couldn't enjoy anything about this book.
Overall, I was very disappointed with "The Shape of New Beginnings." I'm not going to spend too much time dwelling on this book, but I am parting it feeling sad that I couldn't like any aspect of this novel.
First off, I have to admit that it took me months to finish this book. I picked it up back in March, thinking it would be fun to read a college romance while I was living through my own college romance. The "insta-love" that Destiny experienced with Marcel honestly made me want to puke. I know that some people jump into relationships like this, but while I was amidst my own budding romance, their entire meeting made my stomach turn. I pretty much postponed this book for months until I finally had enough of it staring at me day after day.
The thing I found the most problematic about this book is how many issues it tries to address in such a short amount of pages. It talks about racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, capitalism, veganism and so much more. I feel it tried to cram too many hot-topic issues into one book, causing any time any of these issues were brought up to feel rushed, unfinished, and honestly, quite problematic. There was one page in which her parents were sexist, homophobic, and racist all on one page and it made me mourn the book I was reading. I wish that some of these issues would have been addressed more thoroughly in order to cut back on the problematicness of this novel.
A few other reasons I can't even bring myself to give this book a higher rating is the lackluster writing, the pettiness of sororities, and the overall toxic atmosphere of the book. Every relationship was vile, especially the ones with Marcel and Trixie, and it just made the entire book extremely unpleasant. I know this was kinda the point, but I just couldn't enjoy anything about this book.
Overall, I was very disappointed with "The Shape of New Beginnings." I'm not going to spend too much time dwelling on this book, but I am parting it feeling sad that I couldn't like any aspect of this novel.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews