QUICK REVIEWS pt XVII

Hello my lovely readers! More quick reviews?? Yup! 

Little Faith by Nickolas Butler
A Wisconsin family grapples with the power and limitations of faith when their adopted daughter falls under the influence of a radical church.

*This was alright. I liked that this featured an elderly narrator, but the story fell short for me. I wanted a bit more drama. 3 out of 5 stars.

Every Story is a Love Story by Imobolo Mbue
Three years ago, Wolo’s pregnant wife was killed in a tragic car accident. In an instant, the great love of his life was gone, and so was their beautiful future: the twins they were expecting, the PhD she was on the cusp of finishing, and the house they’d just bought in New Jersey. Now the woman who killed his wife comes to Wolo asking for forgiveness.

*Sigh. I enjoyed Mbue's last novel Behold the Dreamer but I felt it could've done without a certain storyline with the wife. I felt the same way with this book. A rape storyline and a romance angle? Meh. Mbue is a solid writer, but this novel disappointed me. 3 out 5 stars.

A Girl in Exile by Ismail Kidare

Hello my lovely readers! Another day, another book. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
A Girl in Exile, first published in Albanian in 2009, is set among the bureaucratic machinery of Albania's 1945-1991 dictatorship. While waiting to hear whether his newest play will be approved for production, playwright Rudian Stefa is called in for questioning by the Party Committee. A girl - Linda B. - has been found dead, with a signed copy of his latest book in her possession.

He soon learns that Linda's family, considered suspect, was exiled to a small town far from the capital, and that she committed suicide. Under the influence of a paranoid regime, Rudian finds himself swept along on a surreal quest to discover what really happened to Linda B. Through layers of intrigue, her story gradually unfolds: how she loved Rudian from a distance, and the risks she was prepared to take so that she could get close to him. He becomes captivated by her story, and disturbed at how he might be culpable for her fate.

Infants of the Spring by Wallace Thurman

 

Hello my lovely readers! Welp, I do declare that October will go down as the month of great reads for Naomi! I've been on absolute TEAR this month and I make no apologies for it. 

SYNOPSIS
It's 1920s Harlem, and man, the joint is jumpin'. Folks are coming and going and everything's copacetic as long as the gin keeps flowing. This is the scene Stephen Jorgenson dives into when he arrives from Canada for the first time. He is taken to "The Niggerati Manor," an apartment building in Harlem inhabited by aspiring artists whose true talents lie in living, and where everything's black and white--with a lot of grayness in between. Counterbalancing Stephen's embrace of these folks is Raymond Taylor, a writer who is the only truly talented artist in the manor. Raymond's cynical take on the "new Negro artist" is the tightrope he walks between the love and hatred of himself and his people. Characters representing Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alain Locke all appear, and part of the fun of this book is figuring out who's who.

QUICK REVIEWS pt. XVI

Hello my lovely readers! Let's get into some more quick reviews!

You Deserve Good Gelato by Kacie Rose
In her inimitably funny and feel-good way, social media star Kacie Rose offers a refreshingly honest take on navigating a new life abroad in You Deserve Good Gelato, covering everything from travel fails and homesickness to the joy of culture shocks and the power of doing the shit that scares you. Because life is too short not to.

*I finished this in a day. Cute little memoir for the unseasoned traveler, but for someone like myself who has been to more than 30 countries, nothing in this book truly "wowed" me. A bit too much social media speak that doesn't translate well when published in a book. If you're a seasoned traveler, skip this book and go for something with more depth. 3 out of 5 stars

Lakewood by Megan Giddings
When Lena Johnson's beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world--but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating

*The premise sounded interesting and promising, but ultimately, this novel was a complete let down. 2 out of 5 stars.

Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson

 

Hello my lovely readers! I'm finally catching up on the books I chose for the 10 Books 10 Decades Challenge. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
This seminal autobiographical novel, originally published in 1859, is believed to have been the first by an African-American woman. Harriet Wilson's compelling story describes the life of a mulatto girl who, after the death of her mother, is exploited first by a terrifying Northern family for whom she worked and then by an opportunistic husband.

A classic of African-American literature, Our Nig has made an enduring contribution to understanding the lives of free blacks in the nineteenth century. A fascinating combination of slave narrative and sentimental novel, the story traces the hardships and suffering of Frado, who grows up as an indentured servant to a white family in Massachusetts and spends much of her destitute life wandering through New England.

A clear and accurate account of race relations and perceptions of race in the antebellum North, Our Nig is essential reading for students of African-American history and culture.

QUICK REVIEWS pt. XV

Hello my lovely readers! It's time for some quick reviews!

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee
A group of Harvard alums have played a secret game for decades but as the stakes rise, deadly consequences emerge from old lies.

*This book was incredibly boring and didn't really pick up until the last two chapters. Nothing really happened throughout the book so it didn't feel like an academic thriller at all. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon
What if you gave birth to someone else's child? An emotional family drama about two couples, one baby, and an unimaginable choice.

*I found this novel extremely interesting and thought provoking however the ending felt a bit rushed. 3 out of 5 stars.

QUICK REVIEWS pt. XIV

 Hello my lovely readers!

After a slowwwww August, I've been reading, reading, reading! Here's some quick reviews (already!) Let's get into it.

Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers and their Children since WWII by Daniel Rivers
Beginning in the postwar era, a period marked by both intense repression and dynamic change for lesbians and gay men, Rivers argues that by forging new kinds of family and childrearing relations, gay and lesbian parents have successfully challenged legal and cultural definitions of family as heterosexual.

*This was super informative and opened by eyes to a part of U.S. history that I knew nothing about. I do wish that it followed a few families all the way through from the initial coming out to where they and their children are now. 3 out of 5 stars.

Just to Be With You by Sheryl Lister
Terrence "Monte" Campbell has been hurt by women seeking his wealth and celebrity instead of the man he truly is. So music is his only passion, until he meets Janae. He struggles to maintain emotional distance, but her tender sensuality and caring ways tempt Terrence as no other before. And one sizzling night, they both give in to their desires and explore all of the erotic promises between them. Is Janae really the one for Terrence, or just another disappointment waiting to happen?

*This book was a complete waste of my time. Thank goodness I finished it quickly! It was repetitive, had no buildup, the pace was incredibly rushed and the characters all sounded the same. 2 out of 5 stars.

Savvy Summers DOUBLE FEATURE The Sweet Potato Crimes and the Po'Boy Perils by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Hello my lovely readers! I think I might be turning into a cozy mystery girlie! Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
The Sweet Potato Crimes: When Savvy Summers first opened Essie's soul food café, she never expected her customer-favorite sweet potato pie to become the center of a murder investigation. But when Grandy Jaspers, the 75-year-old neighborhood womanizer, drops dead at table two, she suddenly has more to worry about than just maintaining Essie's reputation for the finest soul food in the Chicagoland area.

The Po'Boy Perils: Savvy has her work cut out when an old friend hires her to cater a company luncheon at a nearby office building on Chicago's South Side. Stepping out of her traditional soul food comfort zone, Savvy whips together a menu of Creole classics, with her own spin, of course—mini po’boys with assorted fillings, sunburst salad, and bread pudding using Great Aunt Essie’s famous buttermilk biscuits. But when someone is found dead in the company’s conference room, Savvy’s culinary creations are suddenly in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. While the focus should be on their delicious flavors and inventive techniques, Savvy’s beloved café instead becomes the center of a murder investigation once again.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Hello my lovely readers! I finished this book just in time for the end of Read Africa Month. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS
Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future.

However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades.

When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Hello my lovely readers!

This was my first read for #ReadAfricaMonth and it's sat on my shelf for DECADES. I actually read through 70 percent of it and then forgot to pick it up again when I was 16. Longest soft DNF ever! Let's get into it. 

SYNOPSIS
Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice. Remarkable for its lyricism, unforgettable for character and incident, Cry, the Beloved Country is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

QUICK REVIEWS pt. X

 A Most Tolerant Little Town by Rachel Louise Martin
The desegregation of Clinton High School in Clinton, Tennessee in 1956 by 12 Black students starts off mildly at first. Then the arrival of out of town pro-segregationists leads to violence, riots and eventually the bombing of the school.

*Good story about a little known Civil Rights history. I felt so bad for the students affected by the shenanigans that ensued. I'm glad that the author didn't censor word nigger throughout her book, but the audiobook version bleeped it out...even when it was read by a Black woman. Strange. 4 out of 5 stars.

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
Two people living centuries apart in the same home, discover a door between their worlds. One of these people is a ghost and one of their stories about murder is a lie. 

*This was OK. I was kind of lost with the Japanese mythology, but it was still a fine novel. It also was a bit convoluted at times. 3 out of 5 stars.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

Hello my lovely readers! Another day, another re-read. Let's get into it. 

SYNOPSIS
What if you could live forever? In this timeless story young Winnie Foster learns of a hidden spring in a nearby wood and meets the Tuck family, whose members reveal their astonishing discovery of the spring’s life-changing power. Now Winnie must decide what to do with her newfound knowledge—and the Tucks must decide what to do with her. But it’s not just the curious girl who is interested in their remarkable tale. A suspicious stranger is also searching for the Tucks, and he will stop at nothing until he finds them and uncovers their secret.

Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

Hello my lovely readers!

This book missed the mark for me. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS

One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served his time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family.

Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it.

Heading south toward what is now called the Kingdom of Alabama, everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves, and the world, will be turned upside down.

QUICK REVIEWS PT. IX

 Hello my lovely readers! It's time for some more quick reviews! Lets get into it.

The Finalist by Joan Long
Five authors each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist’s unfinished manuscript on a remote island as part of a one million dollar contest. But then someone dies and accusations fly.

*Meh. It was entertaining enough. A simple vacation or beach read, but it felt pretty thin. 3 out of 5 stars

Strange People on the Hill by Michael Edison Hayden
A gripping story that reveals what happened to a small American town when an influential white nationalist group relocated its headquarters there, illustrating how radical changes in American politics impact our psyches and divide our communities.

*Too much of a memoir with random bits on Berkeley Springs sprinkled throughout it. Also, way too heavy on the social media aspect of everything. I feel as though there's a way to talk about how residents thought/felt without reducing it to social media fights. 2 out of 5 stars

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World Elif Shafak

 

Hello my lovely readers! More and more books are coming off my personal shelves and I'm so happy. This is one of them. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside Istanbul, Tequila Leila enters a state of heightened awareness. Her heart has stopped beating but her brain is still active--for 10 minutes 38 seconds. While the Turkish sun rises and her friends sleep soundly nearby, she remembers her life--and the lives of others, outcasts like her.

Tequila Leila's memories bring us back to her childhood in the provinces, a highly oppressive milieu with religion and traditions, shaped by a polygamous family with two mothers and an increasingly authoritarian father. Escaping to Istanbul, Leila makes her way into the sordid industry of sex trafficking, finding a home in the city's historic Street of Brothels. This is a dark, violent world, but Leila is tough and open to beauty, light, and the essential bonds of friendship.

In Tequila Leila's death, the secrets and wonders of modern Istanbul come to life, painted vividly by the captivating tales of how Leila came to know and be loved by her friends. As her epic journey to the afterlife comes to an end, it is her chosen family who brings her story to a buoyant and breathtaking conclusion.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Hello my lovely readers! Re-reading this as an adult made me fall in love with this book. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into ten languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

Let the Dead Bury Their Dead by Randall Kenan

Hello my lovely readers! I'm happy that I stumbled upon this at a bookstore and decided to check it out from my local library. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS
This remarkable collection of twelve short stories is about the diverse folk--black and white, young and old, rich and poor, rural and sophisticated--who live in the eastern North Carolina town of Tims Creek. Among the memorable characters are Clarence Pickett, who at age three began receiving messages from beyond the grave and whose gift seems tied to a hog's ability to talk; matronly Ida Perry, haunted by a boy her judge husband may have drowned years before; Dean Williams, hired to seduce the richest black man in Times Creek, yearning after innocence while he betrays love.

QUICK REVIEWS PT. VIII

Hello my lovely readers! It's time for another round of quick reviews! Let's get into it.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit
The Sharaf family achieved the "American dream." The Afghan refugee family moved to the U.S. raised their children and became wealthy and successful. But then their teenage daughter Zorah brought shame upon their family, resulting in a tragedy. But what really happened? It depends on who you ask.

*I loved this book! It was incredibly original in how Sabit chose to tell their story solely through interviews with friends, co-workers and other members of the community. I listened to this on audio and the full cast was AMAZING. Also, I love an ambiguous ending. 5 out of 5 stars.

Inharmonious by Tammye Huf
When three young Black men enlist in the US Army hoping to serve their country with honor during World War II, their lives are forever changed. Lee, Benny, Roscoe have been friends for ever but the war forces them to do things they wouldn't dream of doing. Benny begins to pass as white. Roscoe marries Benny's sister, Cora, but is unhappy. And Lee, who always loved Cora betrays her and must forgive out how to get back in her life. Based off their decisions, they must all navigate a new sense of self.

*Meh. It was entertaining enough, but it felt uneven. It felt like a majority of this book was about the love triangle between Roscoe, Lee and Cora. I would've appreciated more insight on Benny's passing as well as Roscoe's life with Megan. Oh well. 3 out of 5 stars.

Zeal by Morgan Jerkins

Hello my lovely readers! Sigh. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
Harlem, 2019. Ardelia and Oliver are hosting their engagement party. As the guests get ready to leave, he hands her a love letter on a yellowing, crumbling piece of paper . . .

Natchez, 1865. Discharged from the Union Army as a free man after the war’s end, Harrison returns to Mississippi to reunite with the woman he loves, Tirzah. Upon his arrival at the Freedmen’s Bureau, though, he catches the eye of a woman working there, who’s determined to thwart his efforts to find his beloved. After tragedy strikes, Harrison resigns himself to a life with her.

Meanwhile in Louisiana, the newly free Tirzah is teaching at the Freedmen’s School, and discovers an advertisement in the local paper looking for her. Though she knows Harrison must have placed it, and longs to find him, the risks of fleeing are too great, and Tirzah chooses the life of seeming security right in front of her.

Spanning over a hundred and fifty years, Morgan Jerkins’s extraordinary novel intertwines the stories of these star-crossed lovers and their descendants. As Tirzah's family moves across the country during the Great Migration, they challenge authority with devastating consequences, while of the legacy of heartbreak and loss continues on in the lives of Harrison's progeny.

When Ardelia meets Oliver, she finds his family’s history is as full of secrets and omissions as her own. Could their connection be a cosmic reconciliation satisfying the unfulfilled desires of their ancestors, or will the weight of the past, present and future tear them apart?

Native Son by Richard Wright

Hello my lovely readers! I can't believe it's been 20 years since I last read this book! Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.