It tells the story of thirteen-year-old Genesis Anderson, whose family has been evicted several times from their home due to the father's gambling addiction.

Genesis Begins Again, Williams' debut novel, received general praise and won a Newbery Honor and "Steptoe Award for New Talent".

Genesis is constantly bullied by her schoolmates due the color of her skin, and she also blames herself for the troubles at home, to the point she keeps a list of all the things she thinks is wrong about her.

While at home her grandmother repeats colorist ideologies, such as the use of the "paper bag test" to know if someone has a light enough skin to pass as not black, at school Genesis is no longer bullied, she meets Troy, the love interest, and joins the chorus after finding out she has a talent for singing.

Surrounded by a family struggling with housing and substance abuse, the main character ends up believing the only way to make things better is by straightening her hair and lightening her skin,[4] which she does through excoriation.

[2] Writing for the Horn Book Magazine, Monique Harris commented on how the author manages to tell a story about living with colorism and the consequences of addiction.

Marsh also admired how the story "explores racism within the black community", and called Genesis' self-discovery and development "reminiscent of Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye'," but for a younger public.

[4] Deborah Stevenson praised the book for its "hard-hitting frankness" about the effects colorism has on the main character, and called Genesis' finally "finding her own voice" the most compelling part of the novel.

[12] Williams also received the Author's John Steptoe Award for New Talent, which serves to highlight new African-American writers and illustrators of children's books.