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The Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor
In this poignant and timely memoir--written with the searing power of Beautiful Struggle and Born a Crime--Degrassi Junior High star Anais Granofsky contemplates the lingering impact of a childhood spent in two opposite and warring worlds.
Though recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi, Anais Granofsky's true childhood story is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais's parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn't anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India.
Young Anais and her mother teetered on the abyss of poverty, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From her earliest youth, Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week.
Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High.
The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais's story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them. As Anais shares her experiences growing up in opposing worlds, she offers a heart-wrenching exploration of generational trauma, love, shame, grief, and prejudice--and essential insight for healing and acceptance.
Though recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi, Anais Granofsky's true childhood story is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais's parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn't anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India.
Young Anais and her mother teetered on the abyss of poverty, sharing a mattress in a single room in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From her earliest youth, Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week.
Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High.
The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais's story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them. As Anais shares her experiences growing up in opposing worlds, she offers a heart-wrenching exploration of generational trauma, love, shame, grief, and prejudice--and essential insight for healing and acceptance.
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About the author
Anais Granofsky
1 book16 followersAnais Granofsky is an actor, director, producer and writer. Best known for her role as Lucy Fernandez on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, she has directed and starred in a number of films. She is also developing a fictional TV series loosely based on her childhood. The Girl in the Middle is Granofsky’s first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 1, 2022
Memoirs make up the bulk of my reading. I picked this one up a few months ago over the Jewish holiday busy season because the title caught my eye on the Jewish book council page. I have admittedly never heard of the show DeGrassi nor the author but selected her memoir because I was intrigued how she navigated life between parents from two distinctly different backgrounds. Knowing that she succeeded as an actress, one could say that Anais Granofsky learned the art of code switching from an early age and met every challenge thrown at her. But it was hardly an easy climb, between a mother who struggled with relationships and to stay off of welfare to a father who belonged to an Indian madras and left for months to years at a time. Although her father identified with the yogis, he is Jewish and Granofsky was also fortunate to spend a bulk of her childhood with her paternal grandparents, who happened to be among the richest denizens of Toronto. It was in their home that she learned about Judaism and about her grandfather’s rags to riches story, realizing that there is life beyond begging for one’s next meal. With three distinct religions and lifestyles colliding, it is a small miracle that Granofsky prevailed to become a successful actress. While not the greatest of writing, I was drawn in by the author’s story and rooted for her from page one. Now, because my interest has been piqued, I will have to dig up some old episodes of DeGrassi.
4 stars
4 stars
May 16, 2022
Anais Granofsky will be familiar to anyone who watched the Canadian television series “Degrassi High” back in the 1990’s, where she played the teen character Lucy Fernandez. Even if you aren’t familiar with her, though, you will still find this an interesting read. Granofsky describes what her childhood was like, growing up in Toronto and being pulled between two worlds. She and her single Black mother lived in a one-room apartment in a rooming house in one of the less desirable areas of the city during the week, barely scraping up enough money to pay the rent. She spent her weekends with her paternal grandmother. White, Jewish and wife to one of the richest businessmen in the city, her grandmother introduced Granofsky to a totally different world as they basked by the pool in the family mansion’s backyard. Rich and poor; black and white: two lives, two families, all in one city.
Granofsy attributes her “split” life to giving her the necessary skills to be successful in her acting career, which began when she was around 13 years old. She also grew to appreciate how both sides of her family had very similar, poor beginnings in North America, yet their economic successes turned out to be exceedingly different. Her family is the definition of diverse in its members’ ethnicities, cultures and histories, but she loves them all and is grateful to have had the chance to experience the love and knowledge she received from all of them.
Granofsy attributes her “split” life to giving her the necessary skills to be successful in her acting career, which began when she was around 13 years old. She also grew to appreciate how both sides of her family had very similar, poor beginnings in North America, yet their economic successes turned out to be exceedingly different. Her family is the definition of diverse in its members’ ethnicities, cultures and histories, but she loves them all and is grateful to have had the chance to experience the love and knowledge she received from all of them.
May 23, 2022
Loved Anais as Lucy Fernandez in the Degrassi series. I read this book in one sitting (during the power outage in May 2022) and didn't want it to end. Most of the book had to do with her upbringing and she doesn't get to her acting career until near the end, which I was OK with, because her upbringing was fascinating! I was able to relate to some aspects of her book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope she writes another one.
April 16, 2022
I'll admit. At first, when I saw The Girl in the Middle by Anais Granofsky, I recognized the writer as a favorite character, Lucy, on the cultural phenomena of 1980s teen shows, Degrassi Junior High. I loved that show, and its many iterations like Degrassi the Next Generation. I thought it would be mostly about her time on the show.
Instead, I found a thoughtful, intriguing memoir about finding out who you are when many factors pull you in different directions. The author is the offspring of a black mother and white father who met at a progressive liberal arts school in the early 1970s when the world was in flux. Her mother grew up with multiple brothers and sisters on a farm in rural Ohio with her poor yet proud family. Her father grew up in an affluent Jewish family in suburban Toronto, Canada with his immigrant parents who started a successful paper company.
This beautifully written novel shows the author struggling with her identity, which incorporated so many disparate elements from her race to her socioeconomic background to her philosophical and religious beliefs. She engages in code-shifting when she's with her mother who works at a women's shelter and her father who takes up with a guru and lives the hippie lifestyle. Although they marry, they divorce quickly due to their differences, which originally drew them together.
She also spends weekends with her wealthy grandparents who show her a completely different lifestyle of privilege. Even though they had doubts about the marriage from the start, and you see that the author's father rebelled from his upbringing, the author and her grandmother build a bond that only rivals the ones she undertook with her parents.
I really loved hearing how she figured out how to balance the very different sides of her own personality and emerges with this incredibly diverse background. You also see how it helped her develop into the person that she is and the skilled actor that took her from the very early years of Degrassi to her own career in the arts.
My only caveat is that she didn't spend more time talking about Degrassi or her future career. I would have also liked to hear how she met her husband. Other than that, I didn't realize that this author has a flair for writing, too. The book was so eloquently written and kept me completely riveted. So, not only is she a great actress, but a wonderful writer, too.
Thank you, Harper One, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
Instead, I found a thoughtful, intriguing memoir about finding out who you are when many factors pull you in different directions. The author is the offspring of a black mother and white father who met at a progressive liberal arts school in the early 1970s when the world was in flux. Her mother grew up with multiple brothers and sisters on a farm in rural Ohio with her poor yet proud family. Her father grew up in an affluent Jewish family in suburban Toronto, Canada with his immigrant parents who started a successful paper company.
This beautifully written novel shows the author struggling with her identity, which incorporated so many disparate elements from her race to her socioeconomic background to her philosophical and religious beliefs. She engages in code-shifting when she's with her mother who works at a women's shelter and her father who takes up with a guru and lives the hippie lifestyle. Although they marry, they divorce quickly due to their differences, which originally drew them together.
She also spends weekends with her wealthy grandparents who show her a completely different lifestyle of privilege. Even though they had doubts about the marriage from the start, and you see that the author's father rebelled from his upbringing, the author and her grandmother build a bond that only rivals the ones she undertook with her parents.
I really loved hearing how she figured out how to balance the very different sides of her own personality and emerges with this incredibly diverse background. You also see how it helped her develop into the person that she is and the skilled actor that took her from the very early years of Degrassi to her own career in the arts.
My only caveat is that she didn't spend more time talking about Degrassi or her future career. I would have also liked to hear how she met her husband. Other than that, I didn't realize that this author has a flair for writing, too. The book was so eloquently written and kept me completely riveted. So, not only is she a great actress, but a wonderful writer, too.
Thank you, Harper One, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
Want to read
April 18, 2022I'm guessing that many readers may be attracted to this book be cause of the television series called DeGrassi Junior High School that the author was part of. However, I've never seen the series and I was attracted by the description of Granofsky's upbringing.
This has to be one of the most unique and dramatic upbringings a child could have. To go between two, and sometimes three different households at such a young age is almost unthinkable. Yet, not only did she survive, but she thrived. It is a fascinating account of a childhood that seems almost fictional. The writing is solid and we get a detailed look into the different households of her mother, father, and other family members. It's intriguing and fascinating and not a story that you can forget. Kudos to the author for sharing her story. I hope it is well read.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's one that will continue to stand out in my mind. Highly recommended!
This has to be one of the most unique and dramatic upbringings a child could have. To go between two, and sometimes three different households at such a young age is almost unthinkable. Yet, not only did she survive, but she thrived. It is a fascinating account of a childhood that seems almost fictional. The writing is solid and we get a detailed look into the different households of her mother, father, and other family members. It's intriguing and fascinating and not a story that you can forget. Kudos to the author for sharing her story. I hope it is well read.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's one that will continue to stand out in my mind. Highly recommended!
May 9, 2022
Perfect for fans of Degrassi High, this memoir is equal parts family history and coming of age memoir by one of the classic Canadian television show's stars. Anais Granofsky grew up in Toronto the daughter of a wealthy Jewish man and a poor African American woman. Granofsky does a great job showing how different the two sides of her family were and the struggles her parents had being from such different backgrounds. She also goes into detail about how torn she felt having to navigate both worlds and always feeling like she didn't quite fit in either one. Great on audio read by the author.
July 20, 2022
This was a fast read for me. I thought Anais did a great job of showing what it was like to grow up in the middle of so many identities.
December 31, 2023
3.75 stars. Definitely an interesting read about comfort code switching and liminality. Revisiting Toronto in the 80s was the highlight for me.
January 4, 2026
This was such an unexpected delight. I think it found its way onto my TBR when I was doing a rewatch of Degrassi last year and I had looked at some reviews that expressed disappointment that it didn’t focus more about her time on the show. So I waded into it wondering what I was going to get but really found it unputdownable. As a Torontonian I loved having a view of the City from someone 10 years my senior, and I learned a lot of new history about The Ward and how the city felt in the 70s and 80s. It was exciting hearing her experience with so many familiar places- we went to the same elementary school! My kids go to the daycare she went to! The famous Adventure Playground!!! Anais also did an excellent job of compassionately sharing the complex journeys of the adults in her life, the ways they tried to navigate the world differently than their own parents, and the freedom and isolation that created in equal measure. But she didn’t shy away either from sharing how it all impacted her, I thought that must have been a really hard needle to thread and she did it beautifully. Also loved seeing the progression of experiences like code switching and intersectionality from a kid who’s just doing it to survive, to a teen who is aware of and resentful of it, to an adult with the language and historical context to make sense of it all from a structural level. Really enjoyed this book and happy to have it as my first read of the year!
June 26, 2023
Very good and quick read. Tells the history of both sides of her life before her and when she was young.
June 11, 2022
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.
Anais is one of the best-known Canadian actresses in the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series. She is mixed-race and has lived her whole life with a black mom and a white Jewish dad. Her story is a depiction of her life in two different worlds. It also tells the story of her parents growing up.
Anais is one of the best-known Canadian actresses in the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series. She is mixed-race and has lived her whole life with a black mom and a white Jewish dad. Her story is a depiction of her life in two different worlds. It also tells the story of her parents growing up.
April 13, 2023
Recommend for MS and HS for it’s accessibility and topics. Found it lovely to have a version of growing up that didn’t include self destructive behaviors.
July 5, 2024
I liked it, but I wish there were more details about Degrassi.
May 26, 2022
The book was way too short.
April 5, 2022
The Girl in the Middle
Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor
by Anais Granofsky
Pub Date 12 Apr 2022
HarperOne
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of The Girl in the Middle through HarperOne and Netgalley:
The Girl in the Middle is a poignant and timely memoir—written with the searing power of Beautiful Struggle and Born a Crime—Degrassi Junior High star Anais Granofsky contemplates the lingering impact of a childhood spent in two opposite and warring worlds.
Anais Granofsky is recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi. But her childhood is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais’s parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn’t anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India.
When Anais was young she and her Mother tethered on the abyss of poverty. She and her Mother shared a single room, and a single mattress in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From a very young age Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week.
Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High.
The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais’s story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them.
I give The Girl in the Middle five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor
by Anais Granofsky
Pub Date 12 Apr 2022
HarperOne
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)
I am reviewing a copy of The Girl in the Middle through HarperOne and Netgalley:
The Girl in the Middle is a poignant and timely memoir—written with the searing power of Beautiful Struggle and Born a Crime—Degrassi Junior High star Anais Granofsky contemplates the lingering impact of a childhood spent in two opposite and warring worlds.
Anais Granofsky is recognized around the world for her role as Lucy Hernandez on the hit show Degrassi. But her childhood is largely unknown. Growing up, Anais was caught between two vastly different worlds: her father, Stanley, came from a wealthy, prominent, white Jewish family in Toronto. Her mother, Jean, was one of 15 children from a poor Black Methodist family in Ohio directly descended from freed Randolph slaves. When Anais’s parents met at Antioch College in the early 1970s and soon had their first child, they didn’t anticipate being cut off by the wealthy Granofskys, or that Stanley would find his calling in the spiritual teaching of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, change his name to Fakeer, and leave his family for an ashram in India.
When Anais was young she and her Mother tethered on the abyss of poverty. She and her Mother shared a single room, and a single mattress in social housing in Toronto, while her grandparents lived in a mansion that was 20 minutes away. As Anais grew up, she spent weekends with her wealthy Granofsky grandparents. On Saturdays and Sundays she would wear expensive clothes and eat lunch by the pool. In the weeks between, she and her mother lived day by day penniless, rarely knowing where their next meal would come from. From a very young age Anais realized that if she wanted to be loved, she had to keep her two lives separate, learning to code switch between her Jewish identity on the weekend and her Black one during the week.
Her life was compartmentalized, until at age 12, Anais was cast in the internationally successful television show Degrassi Junior High.
The Girl in the Middle is a tale of two vastly different families and the granddaughter they shared and clashed over. Compassionate and vivid, Anais’s story is a powerful lens revealing two divided families and the systematic, generational oppression that separated them.
I give The Girl in the Middle five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
July 24, 2022
I was practically raised on Degrassi Junior High, and Lucy was always one of my favourite characters. A few years ago I read an article Anais Granofsky wrote for Toronto Life magazine about the double life she lived before and during her stint on the show, and it was fascinating—and now she's expanded that story into a full-length memoir. As a child she'd bounce between white grandparents who lived on the spectacular and opulent Bridle Path in Toronto, and her Black single mom who lived in an apartment in the city. She loved her grandparents dearly, and was so strongly attached to her mother (her father was a hippie who would come and go from her life often, and she adored every moment she could spend with him while acknowledging he was never around for her the way he could have been), but was torn between feeling guilty at her grandparents' house—grandparents who had never quite accepted her mother, and who would, either on purpose or by mistake, make her mother feel less than when she was around them—and being at her mom's house and longing for the fun weekends where her grandparents doted on her constantly. Her grandmother would always have her remove her dingier clothes when she'd arrive and put on fancy dresses and shoes, and would send her home with these clothes (which she'd promptly try to hide from her mom). This is a beautifully written memoir—Granofsky is a wonderful, warm writer. The only drawback, for me, is that she rushes the time when she eventually gets onto Degrassi (it gets about two to three pages) and then doesn't tell us what she did after, which I would have loved. Considering we've learned so much about this loving yet complicated childhood she had, it would have been really interesting to have learned the impact that had on her as an adult and how she was able to negotiate those difficult feelings when she was older. But otherwise this is a great book.
May 7, 2022
This memoir is written and examines what it is like to grow up in between two families and two worlds. I was expecting it to talk about Degrassi, and what Anais has done in the 20* years since, but it basically stops at age 16. I guess I’m nosy!
April 10, 2022
I remember watching a few episodes of Degrassi High back in the 1980s, but didn’t realize the author was on it, we are the same age so I read her memoir with great interest. She came from two world: culturally and financially. She discusses moving between the two worlds and the challenges she faced. She was very close to her mother and paternal grandmother. I enjoyed her family history stories the most.
Ultimately, she concludes she had to make her own way in the world and I think that message resonates with all of us.
Thanks to Harper One and NetGalley for the advance read.
Ultimately, she concludes she had to make her own way in the world and I think that message resonates with all of us.
Thanks to Harper One and NetGalley for the advance read.
May 27, 2022
Granofsky wrote a compelling short essay for Toronto Life a while back. Based on that, I picked up this book. It is such an engaging story, but quite badly written, and in need of a solid editor. It relied heavily on the thesaurus, is riddled sentence fragments, and at times, felt like a high school family history report. A good editor would trim out the repetitive aspects of the novel, clean up the adjective use, and teach Granofsjy how to construct a sentence. The publishing felt rushed.
Granofsky has a unique and interesting story, but I couldn't enjoy this book because of the writing style. Her a- game is the short essay and story development.
Granofsky has a unique and interesting story, but I couldn't enjoy this book because of the writing style. Her a- game is the short essay and story development.
April 12, 2022
I grew up watching Degrassi so it was interesting to learn more about one of its stars' lives. Granofsky makes a solid contribution to the voices driving change in this generation. Check it out!
April 18, 2022
Loved this book. Having little choice about the world she was born into, this woman made amazing decisions from the time she was very young and accomplished much. Well written!
Read
April 25, 2022Very good, very well written
January 28, 2024
She took me on a different journey than the one I expected, and it was such a beautifully told story. Anais is familiar to me as a star of Degrassi Junior High, but the book isn’t just about her. Equal time is devoted to telling her parents’ stories.
Her father is descended from wealthy Jewish white Canadians. They’re magnates of industry, high standing members of society, living lives of luxury. Her mother comes from a Black American family of fifteen kids, living on a small farm, descended from enslaved peoples. Her parents could not come from more different worlds, but they found each other; this is largely the story of how that happened.
The story is seen mostly through the eyes of Anais as a child. She has to figure out her place in the world where she comes from such diametrically opposing realities, and figure out who she is. Through her youth, she learns to code switch. She learns to be the grateful and polite granddaughter to white grandparents who didn’t want her at first. She has to learn to comfort her mother who struggles against social, racial and financially adversity where she must also find herself. She has to learn to make peace with her father leaving constantly to participate in a well-known cult.
She tells her story with maturity and honest self-reflection and respect for the two worlds her parents come from.
I know her from Degrassi, but you don’t have to in order to enjoy this book. It’s a very pleasant read, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities for self-reflection along the way.
Her father is descended from wealthy Jewish white Canadians. They’re magnates of industry, high standing members of society, living lives of luxury. Her mother comes from a Black American family of fifteen kids, living on a small farm, descended from enslaved peoples. Her parents could not come from more different worlds, but they found each other; this is largely the story of how that happened.
The story is seen mostly through the eyes of Anais as a child. She has to figure out her place in the world where she comes from such diametrically opposing realities, and figure out who she is. Through her youth, she learns to code switch. She learns to be the grateful and polite granddaughter to white grandparents who didn’t want her at first. She has to learn to comfort her mother who struggles against social, racial and financially adversity where she must also find herself. She has to learn to make peace with her father leaving constantly to participate in a well-known cult.
She tells her story with maturity and honest self-reflection and respect for the two worlds her parents come from.
I know her from Degrassi, but you don’t have to in order to enjoy this book. It’s a very pleasant read, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities for self-reflection along the way.
April 1, 2023
I enjoy reading memoirs and Girl in the Middle sounded like an interesting one. Degrassi star Anais Granofsky grew up, as the title indicates, black and white, rich and poor. Growing up in the 70s, Granofsky's father came from a rich Jewish family and her mother from a large, poor Black family in Ohio. While she lived with her father in her later teenage years, Granofsky lived in poverty with her mother, a stark contrast to her visits with her paternal grandparents, while her hippy father lived in communes in India and the US.
The book was a quick, easy read, and it didn't just focus on Granofsky's life, but also gave some background on her families' lives and origins, including her paternal family fleeing from the anti-Semitic violence in Europe, eventually establishing themselves in Toronto's Kensington Market and building their business, and her maternal family's freedom from slavery.
If you enjoy reading memoirs and want something quick and light to read, Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor fits the bill.
The book was a quick, easy read, and it didn't just focus on Granofsky's life, but also gave some background on her families' lives and origins, including her paternal family fleeing from the anti-Semitic violence in Europe, eventually establishing themselves in Toronto's Kensington Market and building their business, and her maternal family's freedom from slavery.
If you enjoy reading memoirs and want something quick and light to read, Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor fits the bill.
March 29, 2024
Do you remember Lucy in Degrassi? Turns out she’s Anais Grafnoski a Canadian actor of mixed raced from 2 different worlds. Her story is pretty interesting as she comes from a rich Jewish family from her dad side of the family. Rich enough to have helped bring the NBA Raptors team to Toronto. Her mom side from the family is poor Black farmers from OHIO. Anais parents met by chance at the university both trying to escape the destiny set by their families. Her mother trying to escape poverty by getting an education and her father by trying to escape the obligations that comes from a family of wealth. The birth of Anais altered both their destinies indefinitely. Anais described well in this book the contrast of having to navigate both these world as a matter of class and culture. I find it fascinating that while both families were immigrants ( one Eastern European Jews and the other descendants of slaves) in America/Canada and had discrimination both had different fate because one is able to be white passing in society. Her book is really great as she describes very well both communities and how she’s made peace with the contradictions of class and culture.
May 11, 2024
If a memoir is released as an audio book, it should be the author reading it. If the author doesn’t want to read it, don’t offer the audio book. It ruins the experience, especially when the accent does not in any way reflect the accent of the writer.
If writing a memoir, make sure you have enough material about your life to interest the reader. The first half the book is about her ancestors, all of which should have been summed up in two paragraphs. Then, her first 12 years take too many chapters and drag. Everything is described in excruciating detail. There is interesting stuff there but it gets bogged down in the details. From the Owl audition on, the book was pretty good. I get that the book is about her two worlds and fitting in both of them… but, that’s not really what fans are interested in. Give the readers what they want.
If writing a memoir, make sure you have enough material about your life to interest the reader. The first half the book is about her ancestors, all of which should have been summed up in two paragraphs. Then, her first 12 years take too many chapters and drag. Everything is described in excruciating detail. There is interesting stuff there but it gets bogged down in the details. From the Owl audition on, the book was pretty good. I get that the book is about her two worlds and fitting in both of them… but, that’s not really what fans are interested in. Give the readers what they want.
February 22, 2023
Girl in the Middle: Growing Up Between Black and White, Rich and Poor by Anais Granofsky is her memoir about navigating a complicated life involving her mother, an American Black woman who worked in a women’s shelter, a white hippie father who followed an eastern guru, and her paternal grandparents, a wealthy Jewish couple prominent in the Toronto’s business and social communities. She describes how she managed to extract the best from all worlds and find a sense of belonging by becomeing a successful child television actor on Mighty Mites, Kids of Degrassi Street and more. She's now an actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
June 26, 2022
I read this in one sitting. It’s easy to read and a fascinating story of a Canadian girl with a rich diverse family. If you ever watched Degrassi and want a dive into a life that is truly a mix of black and white, rich and poor and a little bit different than most - pick this up and read. A little bit of overuse of the word pungent in the early chapters but that’s it. It’s not a story about being on Degrassi. That actually is the end of the book.
A perfect Saturday afternoon in the garden with a lemonade type of book.
A perfect Saturday afternoon in the garden with a lemonade type of book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2022
Biographies, life stories are not my usual go to though the ones I have read, I have really enjoyed. I really enjoyed this book, Anais is a wonderful writer, and yes we all have a story but some way more interesting than others. Anais' families could not be more different and it must have been very difficult to reconcile the differences. Her great grandparents stories are so interesting on both sides When I picked it up yesterday I did not know it was on the CBC 50 great spring reads, I recommend it. Anais thank you for sharing your most interesting story.
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