Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Did my brain continually hear the song from 21 Chump Street...yeah.
When you know who the person is just based on the shock value.
It's October 3rd
Daunis is wonderful and I love her.
I learn all of the things.
It slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaps
496 Pages

Book Club Reads

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler

A story of class and race in suburb America. Valerie clashes with the entitled local celebrity Brad over losing her beloved oak tree. Meanwhile, their children are beginning a forbidden relationship. I loved this one, it kept me interested all the way through. I was rooting for Juniper and Xavier the whole time, and cried a bit by the end of it.

311 pages




Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

Rue is a midwife, healer, and conjurer trying to hold her community together in the aftermath of the Civil War. Meanwhile, she has to deal with a charismatic traveling preacher and keep the secrets of her former plantation owner's daughter. I really liked this one for the rich depiction of root work and spirituality during the period of slavery. Although it was a bit difficult to follow the shifts between pre- and post-Civil War, the story was totally worth it!

400 pages



All Adults Here by Emma Straub

Astrid basically has a three-quarter life crisis when she witnesses an old friend being struck and killed by a school bus. Now she regrets how she raised her children, and decides to open up about her relationship with her hairdresser. This was a good family drama, and I really liked the story of Cecelia and Robin's friendship. If you are looking for a lighthearted, fun read, that isn't completely devoid of wisdom and insight into modern families, this is your book.

356 pages



The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The identical Vignes twins dramatically diverge as adults, with one woman eventually returning to her local black community, and the other secretly passing as white in California, her husband and friends knowing nothing of her past. Yet their story intertwines, across the generations and the decades. This book was really great! I enjoyed the contrast between Stella's life and Jude's in late 1970's LA.

343 pages

Non-Fiction Reads

Beyond Death by Bernardo T. Arriaza

So, I recently heard about the Chinchorro mummies from reading an article about how they are rapidly decaying due to global warming. I thought I'd learn more about them and I found this book. This is one of the oldest recorded mummy cultures in the world (even older than Egyptian mummies!) and their methods are bizarre-they'd actually take the body apart, wrap the bones in clay, prop them up with sticks, paste the skin back on and add a face mask. This is all done so that they can continue to interact with their relatives, even after death. Gruesome, yet fascinating.

176 pages

Radium Girls by Kate Moore

 

What happened to these girls is shocking. Imagine getting a great job with tons of perks painting watch dials, only to find out months or even years later that the paint is radioactive and is slowly killing you. The way they fought for their rights and protections, even on their deathbeds, is awe-inspiring. 

479 pages

#NotYourPrincess by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Lisa Charleyboy (ed.)

This is a really cool collection of poems, stories and art from Indigenous women in the US and Canada. It's done by the same style as Dreaming in Indian (which I also recommend!) It's a unique look into the lives and experiences of Native Women. 

Read Harder Challenge #1

109 pages

The Beadworkers by Beth Piatote

This debut collection is a mix of short stories, poems, and a play. I liked the blend of historical and present day stories. I loved the Native American retelling of Antigone! Overall, this was a great book and I will keep an eye out for this author in the future.

Read Harder Challenge #6

208 pages

Green Lantern: Legacy by Minh Le

Thirteen year old Tai Pham inherits his grandmother's jade ring and learns he is inducted into the Green Lantern Corps! What a great twist to the Green Lantern series, where we see a young Vietnamese Boy learning to use his willpower to fight fear of the other in his own community. This is a great story, for kids and adults, and I hope to see more of Tai and maybe his grandmother in the main Green Lantern series.

A superhero comic for the middle grades, with positive themes of willpower and compassion.

151 pages

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

In this sequel to Children of Blood and Bone, magic is back in Orisha and the maji are in all out war with the monarchy, who just wants to wipe them out. I was so excited to read this one and I wasn't disappointed. We see a lot of great character development from Amari, who struggles with her own new magic and the ghost of her father's voice while trying to gain acceptance and become a leader among the maji. We get more of the amazing vivid imagery that Adeyemi is brilliant at-a luminescent underwater scene as well as shocking images of battle. And the final cliffhanger just makes me want to hurry up and get the next book! Adeyemi is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. And the cover is gorgeous! (I have a mini poster of the art on my wall at home)

Go read this series. It is amazing, and a lot of the topics are relevant to current events, which in my opinion, makes for great fantasy fiction.

404 pages

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, Christina MacSweeney (transl.)

Man, this book is weird. An auctioneer named Highway works at a juice factory and is obsessed with teeth. He collects teeth, he auctions off teeth, and he even has Marilyn Monroe's teeth implanted into his own mouth. (gross!) In addition, there are creepy clowns, a terrible son named Siddhartha, and extravagant stories about the teeth and the people who (supposedly) owned them. Interesting for the Mexican cultural references, but all around an odd little book.

Surreal. Bizarre. You're probably either going to love it or hate it.

195 pages