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Introduction:
Ordinary Hazards is a memoir novel by Nikki Grimes. It was published in 2020. It tells us the story of the author, Nikki Grimes, life from her childhood to her teenage years. Ever since she found that writing gives her power, she used the power of words to help her process the pain of being separated from her beloved sister while dealing with a schizophrenic mother, sexual abuse, and gang-filled neighborhoods. Words were her haven through the hazards of her life.

Plot:
Young Nikki Grimes had a difficult life from the start. She started journaling at the age of 6 to deal with the trauma of her parent’s divorce and her feelings of abandonment. She was separated from her mother and her beloved sister whom she trusted whole-heartedly because her mother was going through paranoid schizophrenia. She then goes in and out of foster care. She finally gets united with her mother but meets her stepfather who sexually abused Nikki. Finally, she and her mother set off on their own, even though her mom continues to struggle with the disease Furthermore, they lived in poor neighborhoods filled with gangs that want Nikki to join or suffer if she doesn’t. And, of course, changing schools so often that she can hardly remember each one makes it difficult to make friends and continue her education. However, bright points in her life help distinguish some of the hazards and hardships she has to deal with. There’s love and encouragement from her older sister, Carol. They’re separated for a while, but Carol consistently supports Nikki and helps her whenever she can. Nikki’s father then becomes more stable when he leaves gambling behind. He becomes a strong supporter of Nikki and her interest in writing. Nikki also finds solace in the Church, which she finds through a kind foster family before she united with her mom. She continues her faith journey in God through the many moves and heartaches. Nikki goes to high school. A demanding but encouraging teacher and a few friends help Nikki become a successful adult.

Analysis:
In the book, the author wrote different situations where Nikki is going through some of the frequently discussed topics today. One example is racism. Nikki is a dark-skinned African American girl. She faces challenges in daily life because of the issue of racism. Another example is sexual abuse. Nikki’s stepfather abused her sexually when Nikki’s mom was drunk and asleep so that Nikki’s desperate cries wouldn’t be heard by her mother. The third example is alcohol addiction. Nikki’s mother struggles with schizophrenia, which was made much worse by her alcoholism. She often drinks until she passes out. Nikki tries to get her mom to stop drinking, such as pouring out all the alcohol, but eventually, her mother goes back to drinking even after visiting hospitals. The last example is violence & bullying. The neighborhoods they live in are dangerous and usually have gangs fighting over territory. Nikki never joins a gang but is bullied by several. For instance, being in a knife fight or held down while someone burns her with a cigarette. Nikki learns to avoid most of the gang members, spending lots of time in the library; yet, when a bully pushes her too far, it ends in a fistfight where Nikki does a lot of damage to another girl. Nikki realizes she has a lot of anger inside and works to keep it from being a driving force in her life. In this story, we can observe that Nikki’s mom is the most controversial and troublesome character. Through her actions and her condition, Nikki faces different situations but wins it all. Even if her mom’s physically there, her presence is like blind eyes. Even if Nikki faces difficulty, she is on her own because her mom’s not aware of the incidents. She also abandons Nikki and her sister or chooses to be only physically present to Nikki.

Conclusion:
Ordinary Hazards is a memoir book by Nikki Grimes. It was published in 2020. It tells us the story of the author’s childhood. She goes through a lot of hazards that is happening today, too. Some of the hardships the author went through are racism, sexual abuse, alcohol addiction, and violence & bullying. It reflects a lot on social issues while also writing details about her incidents when she was young. Through these experiences, it tells us how the author learned her life lessons through calamities in her childhood and teenage years.