“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
Kacen Callender didn’t write a historical fantasy novel. They didn’t write a slavery-centered novel for the sake of it. They wrote, in my humble opinion, a compelling, unprecedented tragic hero’s journey. If you’re going into this expecting a more generic fantasy that happens to take place in a slavery-centric world, then you’ll be discrediting your Read more
Trigger warnings: Violence, Violence Against Women, Rape As a fan of war-related history content, The Shadow King was quite the ride into the Second Italo-Ethiopian War that I was barely knowledgeable about. Maaza Mengiste has taken a tumultuous period in Ethiopia’s history and has created a lucid, and vivid tapestry, her lyrical words and three-dimensional Read more
From now on when I think of young, courageous, selfless heroines in YA, I’ll think of Arrah. When I think of fantasy YA for young black teens, I’ll think of Kingdom of Souls. The first thing that crossed my mind (after “When is Rena Barron’s next book coming out?”) was that I’m glad this book Read more
