In the novel Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim, Jade is sold to a courtesan school by her desperate mother. At around the same time, Jade also meets JungHo, an orphan with whom she forms a deep friendship. The story transports the reader to Korea during the Independence Movement. The novel reads tenderly, […]
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[cw: drugs, child prostitution, murder] Louise Hare wrote the compelling novel Miss Aldridge Regrets. This work of historical fiction kicks off in 1936, a time in which protagonist Lena Aldridge is a nightclub singer in London. She is offered a life-changing opportunity but is suspicious of why she is receiving it. Yet life has always
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Love the image above? We’re bringing back our Read. Resist. Vote. shirts. Get yours now! Hey, everyone! It’s week three in this year’s Read. Resist. Vote. series (you can find week one right here and here’s week two). This week, we again have two more candidates to rally around. We’d like to extend a very
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Jesmeen Kaur Deo sets an incredible tone in her debut novel, TJ Powar Has Something to Prove. TJ is a competitive debater in her senior year of high school. Classmates post an unflattering meme of her cousin, Simran, comparing her with TJ as a standard of beauty. TJ decides to stop getting waxed and ditches
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[cw: death] The author Kristina Forest is an absolute force as a young adult novelist. She centers young Black love with discovery and assurance. Her recent book, Zyla & Kai, is about the titular characters’ dreams and ambitions, and their growing understanding of their desires. At the beginning of the book, Kai is dating and
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In Cherish Farrah, Bethany C. Morrow has written a novel that embodies social horror, showing societal oppression from a horror lens. Described as Get Out meets My Sister, The Serial Killer, Cherish Farrah delves into the uniquely sinister situation experienced by the only two Black girls in a white country club community as one of
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In Kimberla Lawson Roby’s novel, Sister Friends Forever, Lynette, Michelle, Serena, and Kenya are “sister friends” living life on their terms. The story is a powerful testament to loving yourself and rebuking societal and personal expectations. My conversation with Kimberla Lawson Roby circled around writing characters and faith, who inspired her to write this story,
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In Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch, set in 1976, protagonist David is fishing off the island of Black Conch when he finds a mermaid named Aycayia. She was a beautiful woman cursed by jealous wives. David rescues her, discovering she can transform back into a woman when she is out of water. David
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@MinaReadss on Twitter shared a tweet that resonated with many. White women are using “Hot Girl Summer,” as part of a title for reading lists, without mentioning nary a Black author on the list. “Hot Girl Summer” was created by Megan Thee Stallion. YOU CANNOT ERASE BLACK WOMEN FROM WHAT THEY CREATE. Along with featuring
An Actual Hot Girl Summer Reading List Read More »
Synopsis Content Warning: Murder, Kidnapping, Abuse Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia is part of her Harlem Renaissance Mystery series. In Harlem 1927, Twenty-seven-year-old Louis Lloyd, a Black woman, became manager of the Dove, a club, owned by her close friend, Rafael Moreno. After a night of drinking and talking with Rafael, Rosa Maria, and Louise,
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Everyone in your life is temporary. Ghosting is defined as “the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication.” Everyone you come across in life is not going to have the communication capability to articulate how they feel. I see people upset that the person they
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CW: sexual assault, childhood marriage Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson reminded me of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty yet is incredibly unique, emotional, and gripping. In Black Cake, siblings Byron and Benny meet to receive an inheritance after their mother, Eleanor, died. Benny has been estranged from the family for years. Byron and Benny
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