Jess
I wasn't expecting BLACK HEROES OF THE WILD WEST to be so impactful, but it left me feeling joyful and hopeful. It explores the mostly untold history of the West, and between Kadir Nelson's introduction and James Otis Smith's wonderful visual storytelling, I learned so much. (For example, I had no idea that during Reconstruction, up to one-third of some populations were Black.) Though geared towards young readers ages 8 and up, I think this book is a fantastic introduction for adults too. I don't know about you, but I didn't learn this stuff in school!
This book covers the tremendous work of three Black pioneers during the Reconstruction Era:
• Mary Fields, a hardworking woman who shook up gendered society and persisted tirelessly as a mail carrier
• Bass Reeves, the first Black U.S. Marshall west of the Mississippi
• Bob Lemmons, a mustanger who leveraged humane ways to work with wild horses
All three were born into enslavement and either escaped or were freed following the Civil War, and the illustrations and storytelling are a perfect introduction to these badass historical figures.
What I find missing in a lot of Western U.S. history is the narrative around people of color. So much of history tries to downplay things like the white settlers' exploitation of Indigenous people and theft of their land, the infrastructural work that Chinese folks paid for with their labor and lives, the role of Black folks in literally any space. And if we're lacking it in books for grownups, I wasn't expecting to see this in a middle grade book – but was delighted to be wrong.
This book confronts these topics head-on, and readers get a more robust and whole picture of what the West was really like. The end of the book features several pages on the history of Indigenous, Mexican, mixed-race, Black, and Chinese folks in this era and their lasting impact. There are also references and suggested resources for anyone looking to learn more.
FINNA is a love letter – to Blackness, to Chicago, to the self-examined life. I was blown away by its beauty, its alternating simplicity and complexity. I love how it blends past, present, and future into a book of possibility. Thank you Tashay (@bookonthel on Instagram) for sending this to me.
My favorites from this collection:
• the valley of its making
• another Nate Marshall origin story
• Oo Wop De Bam
• welcome to how the hell i talk
• what can be said
• African american literature
• what it is & will be
• imagine
• FINNA
These are all mostly from the second half of the collection, and I'm not sure I can pinpoint why. I did press pause on this book about halfway through because I felt a peculiar existential sadness reading the section “The Other Nate Marshall.” Which is interesting, because this book wasn't “for” me as a rule, so am I ascribing a sentiment that isn't there? Something for me to ponder and internalize. I look forward to revisiting this collection again in the future.
I listened to this on audio (via Libro.fm) and read the print for an immersion experience! I'd highly recommend that.
Other bookstagrammers reviews I'd recommend are:
@booksonthel
@lettireads
@prettymuchbooks
@matthewsciarappa
This book also made me think about all the ways we can support Black possibility, from donating to Little Free Libraries in underserved neighborhoods and writing positive Yelp reviews for Black-owned businesses to purchasing from Black creators and calling out microaggressions. (If you have ever heard the word “ghetto” used derogatorily in the workplace, you have the power to use your voice in support of Black people.) It can also mean applying pressure to the system to reduce sentences for drug convictions that disproportionately impact Black and brown people and urging your workplace recruiting to build connections with HBCUs. This book doesn't feel like it's written for non-Black folks but yet we must strive to take what we have eavesdropped on and do something. I've got work to do. As the famous Octavia Butler said, “So be it! See to it!”
I'm very conflicted about this memoir-in-essays. On the one hand, I thought it beautifully portrayed the complexities of interracial relationships and of living as a person of color in predominantly white environments, but I was put off by Bernard's meanderings on adoption. No doubt, she loves her children, but it could be very triggering for adoptees. (“I have the same feelings about adoption as I do about zebras, in whose astonishing majestic presence I think, This must be God at work.”
This isn't the easiest read given the current state of affairs, but it was a great one. Did you know that in the late 1800s, San Francisco was at the cusp of the bubonic plague, with a resurgence following the 1906 earthquake? This fast-moving, well-written, and engaging narrative nonfiction book covers its discovery, treatment, and mitigation along with the sentiment and politics around it. Consider this: Anti-Asian racism. Fragile male egos. Infighting among city, state, and federal authorities on public health matters. Fake news. Looks like not much has changed in the last 150 years. Also, I would say this one is NOT for the squeamish!
Thank you Putnam Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read and review early.
Have you ever envisioned swapping lives with a friend – and then done it? But... your friend doesn't know you've swapped. You've just gone and accepted a job offer – as a sommelier – at a Scottish hotel. So, this book
Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read and review early.
This book... phew. It's an experience. If you're looking for a juicy thriller that's like Desperate Housewives gone shooting in the woods with layers of obsession, wealth, and destruction, this is one to add to your list. It's completely unbelievable but it's a page turner. Also great for fans of The Flight Attendant show on HBO!
Liese O'Halloran Schwarz's WHAT COULD BE SAVED snagged my attention during a reading dry spell. Thank you, Atria Books, for the gifted ARC! Given its length, I found it to be a surprisingly fast read with alternating timelines and perspectives to keep the momentum going. It's out on 1/12/21 in the U.S.
This book tracks an American family at two points in time: Bangkok, 1972 as ex-pats with young children and Washington, D.C., 2019 with those young children all grown up and middle-aged, with a mother developing dementia.
(To avoid spoilers, the content warnings for this book are at the end of this caption.)
At the heart of this book is a mystery: what happened to Philip Preston, who goes missing one day in 1972? And should we trust the person who reappears in 2019 claiming to be him?
What unfolds is a fast-moving novel full of family drama and secrets, mired in paternalism, desire, and regret. There are touches of white saviorism but they felt intentional, to show how things have changed from 1972 to 2019.
I'm a little on the fence. I thought the twist at the end took away one character's humanity and villainized them without developing their depth. This character was not white, and the events that occurred after directly and negatively impacted the Preston family. And at the end of the day, this book is about this white American family and what happens to them. I'd just love to see a corollary that looks at it from the Southeast Asian lens.
I think that fans of Celeste Ng, Jodi Picoult, Lisa See, and Kristen Hannah will find this one absorbing!
⚠️ Content warnings: rape and sexual assault, forced sex work, kidnapping, infidelity
Treat yourself to a murder! FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT is @ellecosimano's adult debut mystery, and I could not put it down. Thanks @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the e-ARC. Out 2/2/21 in the U.S.
Let's set the stage: Finlay Donovan, struggling author and single mother, is late on her upcoming next book. Her advance has run dry, her bills are racking up, and now she has to meet with her agent over lunch to discuss her very overdue manuscript. But her conversation is overheard and misunderstood, and suddenly Finlay receives a job offer to “dispose” of a terrible man, as a contract killer. This offer would alleviate some of her financial woes, but she won't actually go through with it... or will she? And then shit happens.
!!!
This book is Santa Clarita Diet (one of my favorite TV shows) meets murder mystery. There is less gore and no zombies, but the bodies are piling up left and right with humor galore. It feels fresher and more feminist than other mystery series that I could compare it to (such as the Stephanie Plum books).
Get your popcorn ready for this twisty, well-paced mystery. It's the kind of romp I love. The only problem now is waiting for book 2 to be announced
Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read and review early.
Okay, I have read a lot of Regency-era books and romances in the past but it's been a while. Maybe a year or so. This one sounded really fun – enemies to lovers, and based on the cover I expected it to be more of a rom-com than a romance.
Light spoilers ahead.
The premise was solid, but I found the execution a little bland. Widowed Diana seeks out a lover to indicate to other men that she's open for courting, while Jeremy pursues Diana because he had been given feedback about his bedroom skills and needs to work. A perfectly zany premise, but one that went too sappy and serious too fast. I think part of it is that they knew each other because of Jeremy's friendship with Diana's brother, but it just didn't have the pacing or emotional resonance I was looking for in a Regency read.
Thank you to William Morrow Books for the #gifted finished copy of emily m. danforth's PLAIN BAD HEROINES! This has not influenced my review, which is honest. I was not compensated to read or review.
It's rare to finish a 600+ page book and feel disappointed that there's not more left to read.
Okay. This book... it is genius. It's a plotty onion, with layers of Gothic, sapphic, meta, all laced with a great sense of humor. It's also, at various points, unpredictable and eerie in wholly satisfying ways. PBH features a darkly funny narrator commenting on both past and present, with footnotes and illustrations that amp up the experience.
The pacing in this book is perfect, and it builds slowly over time but in a captivating way. Then there's a series of events that had me flipping back and forth and rereading more closely.
I'd highly suggest this one as a print book; personally, I struggle with audio a lot, and I feel like it would be confusing to keep track of the plot and time shifts. And for the ebook, I heard that the footnotes actually become endnotes in the digital version, which is tough because I think they lend a lot of context and enjoyment.
I loved this book, especially as a buddy read.
I purchased and read this book of my own accord on release date. At a later date in early 2021, Riverhead approved an old NetGalley request I had made for a digital advanced reader copy, so I'm updating this review to reflect that.
This contemporary fiction novel is quiet and internal, but it lacks the emotional resonance of Washington's short story collection, Lot. Mostly I walked away not really caring for either Mike or Benson; I neither hated them nor loved them, and I was minimally interested in their relationship ending or continuing. Where I think Washington wanted to be spare and beautiful with his character writing, this story lacked heart.
I needed some time to marinate on THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES by Deesha Philyaw. It's incredible and I've been hanging onto this book literally and mentally.
I first heard about this book from @booksonthel, @booksbythecup, and @thatgoodgoodbook, and I love their reviews and bookish taste so that was that
Disclosure: I received a digital ARC of this book from Algonquin Young Readers via NetGalley to read and review for a bookstagram book tour.
Calling both aspiring writers and YA readers - FORESHADOW should be on your TBR. This book piqued my interest as it blends a YA short story collection with the craft of writing. FORESHADOW is out just in time for anyone looking to do #NaNoWriMo!
The short stories in this collection are in print for the first time, and FORESHADOW creators Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma have brought together 13 underrepresented voices to highlight what YA fiction can hold. Each of the stories has been selected and is introduced in the collection by beloved YA authors many of us already know and love, including Jason Reynolds, Sabaa Tahir, and Laurie Halse Anderson. In reading the accompanying commentary with each short story, I got a better sense of how writers think through world-building, plot, and character growth in short literature, and how honing the short story craft can lead to more evolved full-length works.
What I loved about this collection is that it has a little something for everyone: for the YA lover, the short story enthusiast, the would-be author. It spans nearly every subgenre of YA, and my personal favorites from this were “Flight” by Tanya Aydelott (which gave me PET by Akwaeke Emezi vibes) and “Sweetmeats” by Linda Cheng.
This book made me think of someone I used to be in more regular contact with, and I'm excited that I have a good excuse to reach out and see how she's doing (she's an aspiring YA author). Books and reading are such a personal experience, but so much of the joy of reading is in sharing it!
One tip: I'd go print for this one. I'm not sure if it was simply the e-ARC, but I think you might lose a little bit of the designed elements in the digital version.