“Go follow the trail lined with cherry blossoms,’ he told me. ‘It is not a trail of tears, son. It is a trail leading westward, without sadness or sickness or death. It is a trail to your home.” THE REMOVED by Brandon Hobson is a lyrical story about a Cherokee family coping with loss, grief,…
Category: magical realism
Land of Big Numbers
LAND OF BIG NUMBERS is the debut collection of short stories by Te-Ping Chen that compassionately portrays the uniqueness and complexity of life in modern China. With a blend of realism and surrealism, the ten stories provide sharp social commentary on China while giving a strong voice to the diverse Chinese people. I loved that…
Conjure Women
CONJURE WOMEN is Afia Atakora’s intriguing debut novel that is steeped in history and heart. Atakora drew largely from actual historic records, basing elements of the plot and characters on the stories of formerly enslaved people collected by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. The characters and their relationships are the soul of this…
Nothing to See Here
Occasionally you come across a perfectly quirky little book that reminds you that sometimes reading is just meant to be FUN! For me, that was Kevin Wilson’s NOTHING TO SEE HERE. From the second I picked up the book I had a smile on my face (I mean, come on, check out the cover!) and…
The Revisioners
THE REVISIONERS by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton is a very special book and all I can say is get out there and read it!! Set in 1855, 1924, and 2017, the multigenerational story features Ava, a single mother who moves in as a caretaker for her elderly white grandmother whose lingering racism intensifies as her dementia worsens. Also…
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl
June is LGBTQ Pride Month, the most wonderful time of the year! IMHO, the perfect way to celebrate Pride is to support queer artists and queer art. To do that, I chose to read the delectable Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor. Paul Takes the Form is wacky, strange, sexy,…
Sing, Unburied, Sing
All hail the Queen Jesmyn Ward! Bow down book lovers! Sing, Unburied, Sing is a masterpiece, a tour-de-force of storytelling and powerful writing!! I know, I know, I’m late to the party. Everyone has already been celebrating this book for years but I’m here now and I can finally join the chorus of voices cheering…
Booky Nooky 