In Cinderella is Dead, debut author Kalynn Bayron, reimagines the world of this classic with a striking sapphic story about a determined young woman willing to risk it all to expose the secrets and lies at the very heart of Cinderella’s mythic ‘happily ever-after’ in order to free a kingdom. __________ Content Warning: Cinderella is Read more
Ring Shout was written with anger, not hate. The propulsive plot, fiery action, and themes that are layered at such light-speed that its quick but potent inclusions is almost invisible, could only be done with writing fueled by anger. That’s because hate is too slow—it festers like mold until its subject is a monster without Read more
Set in a world (Portland) with its mythos and magic firmly rooted in elements of the ‘here and now,’ Bethany C. Morrow’s debut young adult novel, A Song Below Water, is a coming-of-age story certain to change the game. It’s hard to know what to expect from a book touted as a story of “Black Read more
You can tell when someone has written the story of their heart because the work just sings. And you’ll find that here in RAYBEARER. And I think because I felt the love pouring off the page, it was impossible for me to put this book down. There are some stories you walk away from knowing Read more
[SPOILERS BELOW: Why? Because some books you need to just talk about in their fullness, and this is one of them] This novel makes me think of being an English major in college again, but in the best possible way. Literary criticism and how to understand and employee it was one of the pillars of Read more
Nasomi’s Quest isn’t the most streamlined story—it’s a patchwork of threads coming together to create something that’s a telltale sign of a raw but rough novel. But the fabric and construction isn’t difficult to look at. By celebrating family values and enduring love, while humanizing the layered envy and bitterness that is inside us all Read more
Anthologies have been a saving grace for quick introductions to new authors and easy access to multiple narratives surrounding various themes. With the rise of collections by and for people of colour, reading A Phoenix First Must Burn was a no-brainer. Each of the writers brings their own style and perspective to this book which Read more
[Spoilers lie ahead] N.K. Jemisin is a genius and at I think at this point it’s indisputable. Just as The Broken Earth trilogy was a treatise on the leylines of oppression, THE CITY WE BECAME is a dissertation on the power of our collective urban existence and the stories that emerge from it. It’s a Read more
“So I have many stories in my head to explain the world.” There’s a lot to be said about taking the plunge to write an autobiographical piece laced with sexual violence, abuse, drugs, and all the tragedies that plague black girls and women from a young girl’s perspective. There’s more to be said for this Read more
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi is refreshingly relevant, painfully recognizable yet unequivocally original. The swift story pacing and gritty character development wrap its stark themes up in magic, mayhem, and the collective memory. This is a supernatural dystopian hellscape deeply rooted in a contemporary America. Blackness, in its many forms and the never-ending necessity to Read more
