Categories
In Reading Color

A Big Announcement: We’re Expanding!

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Firstly, we’re off next week for the Fourth of July, so there won’t be a newsletter send that day. Secondly, I’m very excited to share that we will be moving to Substack starting with the newsletter after this one.

As readers, you won’t need to do anything. We’ll move everyone over to Substack. As far as what you can expect, it will be much of the same — the best and most buzzy new books coming out by authors of color will be highlighted, and other lists of books recommended. There will be an option to pay, but it won’t be necessary in order to keep getting the In Reading Color newsletter that you’ve been getting.

What makes this move so exciting is the opportunity to reach more people and expand the ways we engage with and discuss BIPOC books. This move means a bigger audience, more community features (like book clubs, discussions, etc.), podcasts, and more. It’s all very exciting, really.

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Bookish Goods

You are Made of Stars Tote Bag

You are Made of Stars Tote Bag by QuirkyCupCo

I will forever shoutout a cute tote, and this one speaks to me. $25

New Releases

cover of History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat

History of a Difficult Child by Mihret Sibhat

Selam Asmelash is the youngest child in a large family in Ethiopia in the ’80s. She’s also the most lively and inquisitive. As Ethiopia finds itself under a new regime, the social prestige of Selam’s once landowning-family decreases, and they find themselves at odds with their own country.

cover of Goodbye Earl

Leesa Cross-Smith

Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith

Y’all remember this early aught song? Absolute bop! And I’m still here for Earl getting what’s coming to him. Here, we follow four friends through two life-changing summers. In 2004, Kasey, Caroline, Rosemarie, and Ada are high school seniors looking forward to starting their lives. But something happens to Kasey that makes her leave abruptly. Now, 15 years later, she’s reunited with the girls for a wedding, but starts to feel concerned for one of her friends’ safety and she’s reminded of what happened he summer of 2004. But she’s also determined to fight back to protect the people she loves.

More New Releases

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (Science Fiction and Fantasy)

Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class by Blair L.M. Kelley (Nonfiction, History)

cover image for Invisible Son

Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns (Cozy Foodie Mystery)

Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by Johnny Lorenz (Historical Fiction, Magic Realism)

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson (YA, Mystery) *I discuss this one on an episode of All the Books!

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade (YA, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller)

Theo Tan and the Iron Fan by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Middle Grade, Fantasy)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

It’s my birthday this weekend, so I’m taking a whole week off. I’m going to be beach adjacent and only just realized I’ve never indulged in beach reading, and I want to see what the girls are talking about. I don’t do much “here’s what I’m reading” in this newsletter, so I thought to share a couple books I’m hoping to get through during this trip. (To be honest, looking at my full vacay TBR makes me go lol, but maybe I will surprise myself and actually read all of them. We’ll see.)

Cover of The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

This award-winning book follows Baxter, not George, as he attends a sleeping car as a porter. It’s 1929, and Baxter knows that if he wants to go to dentistry school, he’ll have to grin and bear the indignity of white passengers calling him George and other indignities. When a mudslide strands the train, Baxter’s sleep deprived hallucinations, the passengers’ spilled secrets, and Baxter’s repressed sexuality all mix together and descend on him.

cover of My Broken Mariko

My Broken Mariko by Waka Hirako

Shiino and Mariko have been friends since they were kids, so when Mariko suddenly dies, Shiino is devastated and becomes determined to find out why Mariko left her. What follows is a story of grief, abuse, and the legacy of an enduring friendship.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

A Look Into Othered Worlds: Modern International Queer Stories

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

It’s about to be summer for real! It also somehow feels like it’s been summer forever. What is time, really?

In any case, I’ve got some fire books for you, starting with some new releases. Today’s other recommendations were inspired by the two new releases I discuss, actually. Both of the new books in today’s newsletter just so happen to be translated works of fiction, and I thought to keep that same energy and discuss some queer fiction set in different countries. I feel like I don’t read enough fiction — queer and otherwise — by people from countries other than the U.S. and Great Britain, and thought to share my journey in rectifying that with you.

Real quick though, before we get to the books, if you’re looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, booksellers, and bookish professionals, subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers. Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com

Bookish Goods

Original Audre Lorde Art Print

Original Audre Lorde Art Print by DiasporanSavantPress

For fans of the literary icon, this is a beautiful piece of original artwork that the seller says will last forever if cared for properly. It also has lots of great reviews. $100

New Releases

cover of Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses

*All the content warnings for this one.

If you’ve read the popular and award-winning critique on capitalism that is Bazterrica’s Tender Is the Flesh, then you know how dark she can get. You also know how compelling. Here, the Argentinian writer tells 19 stories of the darkest parts of human existence with new perspectives and even a bit of humor. A girl has a rabbit growing between her legs, a woman undergoes a physical transformation through mutilation, cemeteries are visited, and some people have alien girlfriends.

cover of Watch Us Dance by Leïla Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor 

Watch Us Dance by Leïla Slimani, translated by Sam Taylor 

This is the second book in a trilogy that was inspired by the author’s own family, but you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy this one. It’s 1968 in Morocco, and two biracial siblings — half French and have Moroccan — try to carve out a place for themselves in the world. Aicha, the hardworking older sister, is so intent on studying medicine in her mother’s home country of France that she doesn’t quite notice the discontent rising in her own country. And her brother Selim, never one for school, starts down a path of counter culture and the “free love” that descends on Essaouira. Both siblings seem to mirror their country’s then-current state of contradictions.

More New Releases

Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration by Alejandra Oliva (Nonfiction, Immigration)

Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie (Contemporary Fiction)

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight cover

Can’t Let Her Go by Kianna Alexander (Sapphic Romance)

The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama (Historical Fiction)

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (YA, Queer, Horror)

This Town Is on Fire by Pamela N. Harris (YA, Contemporary Fiction)

A Vaccine Is Like a Memory by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Kathleen Marcotte (Middle Grade, Science Nonfiction)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu

God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu

Ifeakandu’s collection of nine stories takes its title from a story that made it on to the Caine Prize shortlist. Each tale adds a nuanced and compassionate perspective to queer, African narratives. In the first story, Auwal tries to get help with money troubles from his lover, Chief Emeka, even though he’s not sure he can fully trust him. In the title story, two boys in college hang on to their romance, even as the pressures of societal expectations threatens it. Throughout, characters experience joy and passion, even as they very carefully navigate danger, and Ifeakandu is good at putting readers in the minds of his queer characters in a modern-day Nigeria.

cover of Falling into Place

Falling Into Place by Sheryn Munir

In this slow burn romance, Tara and Sameen find each other in the busy city of Delhi, India. After a fling, Tar swears off relationships, especially since her coming out as lesbian wouldn’t be received too well in her community. One day during a monsoon, she meets Sameen, a bubbly ray of sunshine, and starts feeling differently about everything. But she also figures that Sameen is probably straight. Regardless of her cynicism, the universe keeps throwing the two together, which results in a well-written modern romance set in India.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

On Juneteenth

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Now that the air is clearing on the east coast and we’ve been (mostly) delivered from apocalypse lite, I’ve got my fingers crossed that we make it through the rest of 2023 without anything too wild. I’m a little doubtful, though, if I’m being honest.

Next week is Juneteenth, a holiday that just became federal in 2021. It commemorates the day the order enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people in Confederate states reached Texas. Which was, mind you, two and a half years after the Proclamation was originally issued itself. It’s long been a holiday to Black folks, and today I’ve got a few books that will help teach and celebrate the now federally recognized day.

Also, if you’re looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, booksellers, and bookish professionals, subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers. Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com

Bookish Goods

Juneteenth bookmarks

Juneteenth Shirt by BeautifulMessages4U

I love the design of this book mark, which uses pan African colors. Plus, it’s perfectly on theme for today’s newsletter. $3.40+

New Releases

cover of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns

This book takes what we’ve been told about religion and freedom in this country and shatters it. By following the story of one free Black woman, Swarns shows how entrenched in the slave trade the United States’ institutions are. Ann Joice journeyed to Maryland in the 1600s as an indentured servant, but her contract was burned and she enslaved. Jesuits enslaved her descendants, and even though one of them would go on to save people’s lives as well as the church’s money, the Catholic Church continued to traffic them, selling them in a group of some 200+ other Black people in order to save their largest mission. And what happened to that mission, you ask? It became Georgetown University, one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Someone needs to cut a check, like today.

cover of You Can't Stay Here Forever by Katherine Lin

You Can’t Stay Here Forever by Katherine Lin

One day, the husband of Ellie Huang, a young attorney, dies in a car accident. And she finds out he had been cheating on her for years. With one of her co-workers. In a fit of grief-rage, she uses the surprise life insurance policy her husband had filed before he died to go on a luxurious trip to France with her bestie Mable. It’s at the bougie Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc they stay at that she and Mable meet mysterious couple Fauna and Robbie, who the two friends get very…close to. It’s between interactions between the couple, the two friends themselves, and the decadence of the entire trip that issues of privilege, race, class, and identity emerge. I haven’t read this one yet, but I’ve been into messy characters lately, and this one is giving The White Lotus, but make it more Asian. I’m excited to get into it.

More New Releases

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper (Memoir, Nature Nonfiction)

Forgiving Imelda Marcos by Nathan Go (Fiction)

Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me by Aisha Harris (Pop Culture, Essays)

Loot by Tania James

Loot cover

Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin (Romance, Retelling)

Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions by Mattie Kahn (Historical Nonfiction)

Lucky Me by Rich Paul (Memoir)

50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States Through Pie by Stacey Mei Yan Fong (Cookbook, Essays)

What She Missed by Liara Tamani (YA, Coming-of-Age)

Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Khadijah VanBrakle (YA, Coming-of-Age, Romance)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

For Juneteenth, I’ve got an adult book, a YA, and a children’s — all of which either educate on the holiday, or show Black life since the day began to be commemorated.

Book cover of On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

This book is a natural place to start, especially since it came out about a month before Juneteenth became a federal holiday. In it, Reed details the history of Juneteenth — what led up to it and what came after. I love it when historical topics get a more personal treatment, and here, Reed includes her personal ties to the holiday as a native Texan. She reckons with the white male identity that a lot of Texas projects to the rest of the country, showing instead how diverse the state is and how much non white men have contributed to its — and the rest of America’s — history.

The Davenports Book Cover

The Davenports by Krystal Marquis

This YA novel just gives. It’s a historical romance set in the early 1900s, not too long after Juneteenth. It’s centered around the Davenports, a wealthy Black family in Chicago whose fortune was made by William Davenport, a formerly enslaved man who became an entrepreneur. Amongst the lavish parties, servants, lush surroundings, and societal expectations sit the Davenport siblings and their friends — all seeking out love, forbidden and not. Beautiful Olivia is the oldest and prepared to get married for the family, but then meets a charming civil rights leader. Then there’s Helen, who likes fixing cars and her sister’s suitor. Amy-Rose and Ruby are both friends of the Davenport girls, and both have a crush on John Davenport. This is fun, historical mess that’s based on the real Patterson family, and shows a time in Black history that I always want to see more of.

cover of Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan

Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan, illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo 

Bring in the kiddos for this one — or just yourself if you’re like me and like to read children’s nonfiction for the occasional quick summary on certain topics. Growing up, Opal Lee always looked forward to the Juneteenth picnic. As a resident of Texas, she knew the significance of the holiday and had friends and family members who had been directly impacted by it. When she was 12, an angry white mob came and burned down her house. The day it happened was June 19, 1939. Juneteenth. From that point on, she knew she wanted to bring more awareness to the holiday so that people wouldn’t forget all the struggle it had entailed. She advocated for years, organizing marches that covered 2.5 miles — which represented the time it took for news of freedom to reach Galveston, TX. And in 2021, when she was 94, she got to see Juneteenth made into a federal holiday. *happy tears*

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

🏳️‍🌈Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

It’s officially Pride Month, so naturally I have more queer authors to share! I was speaking to Tirzah Price during a podcast recording about how I love that, compared to other heritage months, Pride is inherently joyous. The other heritage months can be, too, of course, but I think Pride has done an excellent job of centering joy in its celebrations more overtly. I’ve also noticed a push to do so with other heritage months within the past few months, which I love to see.

With that said, there is still the struggle to it. Queer people have been persecuted in this country forever, and continue to face discrimination in terms of employment, housing, and other avenues of daily life. These things get worse if someone is queer and BIPOC. Recently, the attacks on things like drag story hour and the book bans targeting queer stories have pointed at a renewed targeting of queer people that can only get worse if it’s not confronted.

If you’re able, here are a couple organizations to get involved with:

I hope everyone has a safe Pride!

And, if you’re looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, booksellers, and bookish professionals, subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers. Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com

Bookish Goods

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin Book Cover Print

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin Book Cover Print by CulturePackage

I love this minimalist print of an early release of Giovanni’s Room. $11+

New Releases

cover of All the Sinners Bleed

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

Cosby hits us with another banger of a Southern noir novel with All the Sinners Bleed. Titus Crowne is busy. He’s the first Black sheriff in Charon County, VA and his work is cut out for him. As he contends with everyday Virginia sheriff tasks (like guarding Confederate pride marches?!), a tragedy happens. A popular teacher in town is killed and before Titus can talk down the suspected student and get him to surrender, he’s shot by police. Soon enough, Titus finds out that the student — and other Black kids — had been abused by the teacher. The investigation also reveals dead bodies and secrets that point to a serial killer. Roxane Gay said it’s, “An excellent, gritty novel about how eventually, all sins must be reckoned with, one way or another.”

cover of Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao 

Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao 

In 12 dark and speculative stories, queer Indonesian writer Pasaribu uses Batak and Christian trappings to answer the question of how it feels to be almost happy. The characters in Happy Stories, Mostly are just at the cusp of joy, but never able to fully grasp it. Heaven has a department dedicated to archiving the prayers that go unanswered. A mother travels to Vietnam seeking closure for her son’s suicide. Each of these stories examines the consequences of colonialism, homophobia, and the insistence on heteronormativity.

More New Releases

Innards: Stories by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene (Short Stories, Historical, Contemporary)

cover of Innards: Stories

Northranger by Rey Terciero, illustrated by Bre Indigo (YA, Queer Romance, Graphic Novel)

Pedro & Daniel by Federico Erebia, illustrated by Julie Kwon (YA, Queer)

Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo (YA, Queer, Fantasy)

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar (YA, Queer Foodie Romcom)

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown (YA Queer Romance, Disability Rep.)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

This queer romance has a dual timeline, which travels back and forth between now and high school for Quito Cruz. Before becoming the New York City composer and piano player he is now, Quito was a gifted high schooler who got bullied for being gay. Once he joined his father’s choir class, he realized his talent for music and began giving popular jock Emmett Aoki singing lessons. The boys became friends and then secretly more, but this intimacy wasn’t carried over into adulthood. In the present day, Quito’s father has announced his retirement and expects Quito to get Emmett — who is now an action movie star — to perform at a fundraising concert. We follow along as the two slowly restart their romance, and as Quito experiences some self-discovery.

cover of And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu

And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu

Roxane Gay, who is fairly active on Goodreads, is one of the few people whose book recs I will follow to the ends of the earth, and And Then He Sang a Lullaby is the first release from her imprint. Ani Kayode Somtochukwu is a Nigerian queer activist, and with this debut, explores the lives of queer men in a deeply homophobic country. When track star August leaves home to go to college, he seems to be doing pretty well initially. His grades are decent, he’s making friends, and there’s a girl that might become his girlfriend. But his thoughts constantly go to Segun, an openly gay student who works nearby. As the two become closer, Segun wants more than ever to be loved openly, while August’s true self remains guarded and hidden from the violence that surrounds them.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

The First Words in the Oxford Dictionary for Black American English and More

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

There’s a Black American English dictionary coming out and the first 10 words of it are officially in. I had no idea this was being made, and I’m excited to learn the etymology of some phrases that I’ve been saying all my life. I didn’t know, for example, that the origin of when we refer to something as “being a cakewalk,” we’re referencing the cakewalk shows Black folks would perform that were judged by plantation owners. Looking forward to learning more of this word history.

As we end May and start June, I thought to discuss a couple books by queer Asian people. But first, a cute, bookish item, new releases, and a reminder to check out our new podcast First Edition. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Bookish Goods

Book Lovers Iced Coffee Cup

Book Lovers Iced Coffee Cup by CupaliciousBoutique

Iced coffee season is quickly approaching! You can take yours on the go with this customizable cup, which you can have your name printed on. $17

New Releases

cover of Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good

Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada by Michelle Good

In these essays, Good tells the truth about the Indigenous experience in Canada. Looking at both historical and contemporary issues, she speaks on everything from unhonored treaties to cultural appropriation, to flat out racism. Canada’s current treatment of its Indigenous population, and how it values their lives, is explored, as well as how to right the wrongs of the past and the present.

cover of Bread and Circus by Airea Dee Matthews

Bread and Circus by Airea D. Matthews

This is such a unique one. Matthews explores economics — the failures of capitalism, really — through both a personal and more academic lens. She places redacted texts by Scottish economist Adam Smith and French Marxist Guy Debora alongside autobiographical poetry. The disconnected and privileged views of those who subscribe to Smith’s ideology are confronted with the very real, human cost of capitalism, especially as it is seen throughout the Black community. 

Poet Ocean Vuong has this to say about the collection: “Formally ambidextrous, teethed with wit and uncompromising dignity, Matthews engages the archive as a breathing document, refusing to let history be done with itself, and thereby accomplishes what I love most about poetry — especially hers — that it lives, is living.” 

More New Releases

dapperQ Style: Ungendering Fashion by Anita Dolce Vita (Queer, Nonfiction, Fashion)

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig (Historical Fiction)

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea Book Cover

Horse Barbie by Geena Rocero (Trans Memoir)

Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnon (Cookbook)

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko (YA, Queer Romance)

Her Good Side by Rebekah Weatherspoon (YA, Romance)

Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown (YA, Romcom, Cinderella-esque retelling)

When the Vibe Is Right by Sarah Dass (YA, Romance)

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms by Jenna Yoon (Middle Grade, Fantasy)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Carmilla The First Vampire cover

Carmilla: The First Vampire by Amy Chu, illustrated by Soo Lee and Sal Cipriano

This is a modernized, graphic novel retelling of thee original vampire story Carmilla — which preceded Bram Stoker’s by 26 years. It’s the ’90s in New York City and Athena, an idealistic social worker, starts investigating the deaths of houseless women who the police don’t seem interested in. After she’s led to a nightclub being ran by a mysterious presence, she becomes intimately involved in the case in a way that could mean her end. This is part retelling, and part historical snapshot of the ’90s, with Chinese folklore deftly woven in.

cover of The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella

The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella (July 11)

The Sea Elephants has been compared to Shuggie Bain and A Burning, and is set in India in the 1990s. After his twin sisters die, Shagun escapes a grief-stricken home and an intolerant and abusive father by attending an all-boys boarding school, but he suffers abuse there as well. Luckily, he comes across a traveling theatre troupe, and it’s among its members that he feels he finally, truly belongs. As he travels with the troupe, he finds that he’s a natural storyteller, telling the stories of the Hindu myths of his childhood with ease. It’s also with the troupe he meets the photographer Marc and falls in love. But his past starts to bubble up and threaten the life he’s built for himself.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Buzzfeed Plans for AI to Generate BIPOC-Focused Content

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

So, Lee Fang let us know on Twitter how Buzzfeed plans to have AI come up with quizzes and different things that will be marketed under their Black, Asian, and Latine identity labels. They say this will help brands sell with “authentic voice.” I’m seeing more and more big companies using AI to save money despite just about no consumers being for it, and Buzzfeed seems to be the latest, if not the worst (“authentic voices?”). Them trying to replace BIPOC creators with AI is just woefully misguided (and morally wrong, because it’s most likely these same creators who AI will take from to create content), which I hope they eventually realize.

It’s obvious, though, that companies are set to use AI, but I wonder how long till there is enough backlash to deter them from doing so. If there will be enough.

Book Riot has a new podcast for you to check out if you’re looking for more bookish content in your life. First Edition will include interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. You can subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Bookish Goods

Level Up Reading with Retro 8-Bit Asian Singaporean Laksa Holographic Magnetic Bookmark

Retro 8-Bit Asian Singaporean Laksa Magnetic Bookmark by JmezaCrafts

I’ve been loving the different retro nods to ’80s and ’90s video games I’ve been seeing recently, and this one of Singaporean laksa is super cute. $5.50

New Releases

cover of The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

This latest release from Taylor is a character study that gets into the nitty gritty of the lives of a few graduate students in Iowa. Their work and academic lives are juxtaposed with their messy personal lives as they hurtle towards (hopeful) self discovery. Poet Seamus hooks up with the son of a patient at the hospital he works at; couple Goran and Ivan argue about a lack of intimacy in their relationship (while Ivan dabbles in amateur pornography), and more. Common themes of discontent caused by class differences and sex are shared by these and the other characters throughout the novel. 

cover of Built From the Fire expands on the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which is still not as widely taught as it should be, through the story of the Goodwin family and other community members. After the massacre killed an estimated 300 people, locals rebuilt the city into a Mecca. It housed a mix of Black people of differing socio-economic class and occupations, and even attracted icons like W.E.B. Du Bois and Muhammad Ali. Ed, a son from the Goodwin family, ends up buying the newspaper the Oklahoma Eagle, where he tried to document the Greenwood neighborhood's progress despite white racism. This is a personalized account of Goodwin's family and a persevering community.

Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street by Victor Luckerson

Built From the Fire expands on the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which is still not as widely taught as it should be, through the story of the Goodwin family and other community members. After the massacre killed an estimated 300 people, locals rebuilt the city into a Mecca. It housed a mix of Black people of differing socio-economic classes and occupations, and even attracted icons like W.E.B. Du Bois and Muhammad Ali. Ed, a son from the Goodwin family, ends up buying the newspaper The Oklahoma Eagle, where he tries to document the Greenwood neighborhood’s progress despite white racism. This is a personalized account of Goodwin’s family and a persevering community.

More New Releases

Rogue Justice by Stacey Abrams (Legal Thriller, Second in Series)

The Art of Ruth E. Carter: Costuming Black History and the Afrofuture, from Do the Right Thing to Black Panther by Ruth E. Carter (Nonfiction, Fashion History)

cover of The Battle Drum

The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi (Fantasy, African and Arabic Lore, Second in Trilogy)

The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo García by Laura Tillman (Culinary Biography)

Magic Has No Borders, edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra (Short Stories, South Asian Lore, Fantasy)

Hard Dough Homicide: A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery by Olivia Matthews (Cozy Mystery)

Forever Is Now by Mariama J. Lockington (YA, Queer, Novel-In-Verse)

How to Be a Rule-Breaking Letterer: A Guide to Making Perfectly Imperfect Art by Huyen Dinh (Nonfiction, Calligraphy)

Heroes of the Water Monster by Brian Young (Middle Grade, Indigenous Lore)

Shakti by SJ Sindu, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali (Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Indian Lore/Fantasy)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

I love a good, spicy revenge story, so I’ll be discussing a couple below.

cover of The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes

It was this book, out today, by award-winning Sonora Reyes, that made me think to speak a little on revenge-centered books. In this YA novel, an autistic teen with selective mutism, Ariana Ruiz, hopes to be noticed by her classmates in a positive way for her fire fashion choices. Instead, she gets noticed by the popular Luis Ortega, who takes advantage of her at a party. As she’s still reeling from what happened, the gossipmongers among her classmates get hold of the “hookup” and the story spreads. Then a mysterious little note turns up in her locker that leads her to meeting other students who’ve had similar experiences with Luis. It’s through this group that Ari finds friendship, romance, and a chance for the takedown of raggedy ass Luis.

cover image of Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

This revenge tale is more thriller and follows freshman Chloe, whose pastimes are yogalates and plotting out the murder of Will Bachman. You see, Chloe is a psychopath and Will wronged her back in the day. She’s also part of a group of students — other psychopaths — who are in an experimental psychological study at a school in D.C. As part of the study, led by a well-known psychologist, she and the other students must wear watches that keep track of their moods. But then one of her fellow test subjects turns up dead, and Chloe has to sideline her murderous scheming to avoid being next.

A Little Sumn Extra:

The Diary of a Rikers Island Library Worker

New Jersey Proposes Anti-Book Ban Legislation

Beatrix Potter appropriated stories from enslaved Africans

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

BD Energy, Reading Slumps, and more In Reading Color

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

If you haven’t heard the latest Bookternet thing, it happened last week and involves Twitter user Bigolas Dickolas. Bigolas tweeted how everyone should buy This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and the book shot up the Amazon bestsellers list (even surpassing books that had just won the Pulitzer Prize). The book girlies sang the praises of B.D. and they even got a shoutout at the Nebula Awards (as they should!).

Bigolas Dickolas is the hero we need but don’t deserve. May the rest of 2023 be filled with their energy.

Bookish Goods

Afros and Headwraps Orange Book Cover

Afros and Headwraps Orange Book Cover by DreamingOfCelie

This book cover is adorable and comes in a few different sizes. $25+

New Releases

Yellowface cover

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Let me holla at you one more time about this one since it’s out today.

This is one of the most anticipated books of the year and one I’ve been more than looking forward to. It’s also a book that really tells the publishing industry about itself. When June Hayward, a young white writer, and Athena Liu graduated from Yale, they were meant to rise together. At least in June’s mind. Instead, Athena became the literary It Girl, and June remained on the sidelines. But then June sees Athena die right in front of her and she steals her manuscript. Once she edits the novel about the contributions of Chinese laborers during WWI, she passes it off as her own and is catapulted to book fame. She, a white woman, even gets a rebranding as Juniper Song and an ethnically ambiguous author picture. But she can’t shake the feeling that someone out there knows the truth, and she is down to do what she has to do to protect her secret. 

Interestingly enough, the premise of someone pretending to be another race for clout in academia or publishing has actually happened. A couple times, I might add. I’m pretty sure more cases will be revealed, and I feel like like there will be more of these scathing critiques of the publishing and academic fields by authors of color. I’m ready to receive each and every last one of them. 

*Also, Kuang just won and Nebula Award for Babel.* Flowers. Give her all of them.

cover of Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Samantha Irby has a blog titled “bitchesgottaeat,” so you know any and everything by her slaps. And slap this one does. Much like in previous collections, Quietly Hostile has Irby getting into the nitty gritty of her life. She’s getting calls from Hollywood, tries therapy, and maybe likes things other people judge her for. She also may have some digestive issues…Her writing is seriously funny, while also having moments of insight and tenderness.

Don’t forget to check out First Edition, the new podcast started by Book Riot co-founder Jeff O’Neal. It explores the wide bookish world, with interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

More New Releases

Dona Cleanwell Leaves Home: Stories by Ana Castillo (Fiction, Short Stories)

King: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Biography)

Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong (Memoir)

Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy  

cover of Miss Major Speaks: Conversations with a Black Trans Revolutionary by Toshio Meronek and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy  

The Enchanted Hacienda by  J.C. Cervantes (Magical Realism)

The God of Good Looks by Breanne Mc Ivor (Contemporary Fiction)

Thinning Blood: A Memoir of Family, Myth, and Identity by Leah Myers (Memoir)

Transmogrify!: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, edited by g. haron davis (YA, Fantasy, Queer Short Stories)

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by  Sher Lee  (YA Queer Romance)

Hurt You by  Marie Myung-Ok Lee (YA, Fiction)

Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo (YA, Queer Romantic Fantasy)

Venom & Vow by Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott McLemore  (YA, Fantasy)

There Flies the Witch by Mayonn Paasewe-Valchev (Middle Grade, Fantasy)

Jackie Ormes Draws the Future: The Remarkable Life of a Pioneering Cartoonist by Liz Montague (Children’s Biography, Picture Book))

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

So I’ve been in an odd kind of reading slump lately. I’ve wanted to read and been really interested in books, but kind of a little too interested. By that I mean that I’ve been coming across so many fire books lately that I keep starting them and not finishing…because I start another one and forget.

This past weekend, I got a kind of refresh, though. I need to go get my car fixed, which I hate doing for reasons *cries in adulting*, so I’ve been walking around more. And it’s been…nice, actually. I’m discovering things I hadn’t noticed before, and it’s making me more mindful of certain things. It’s also made me refresh my reading environment. Because it takes me some time to get to the library, I end up staying there for awhile to read. This weekend while there, I decided to get through some graphic novels to break out of my current non-finishing habit.

Here are a few of the ones I read:

cover of Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto

This is a one-shot manga, which means its entire story is within this one book. Two girls inspire each other, at first from a distance, to become better manga artists. As they grow up, they begin working together and are friends until a tragedy changes everything.

Cat + Gamer Vol 1 cover

Cat + Gamer by Wataru Nadatani

Y’all. This is so darn cute. I can’t. I couldn’t. But actually, I did. It’s about Riko, a 29-year old who is all work when in the office, but a hardcore gamer at home. She surprises even herself when she agrees to take home a kitten found in the office’s parking lot, and obviously adorable kitten hijinks ensues.

cover of Surviving the City

Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan and Donovan Yaciuk 

This is a real short one at only 56 pages. It’s YA comic about two teen Indigenous girls, Miikwan who is Anishinaabe, and Dez who is Inninew. As they prepare a school project that will showcase how they completed their Berry Fast together, Dez disappears. But they live in a country where Indigenous girls and women go and stay missing too often.

Wash Day Diaries cover

Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith

I started this one mad long ago, but didn’t finish it for some reason. It follows four Bronx homegirls through simple, daily life stuff (like getting your hair done) and personal struggles. It’s an intimate and familiar look at Black and Latine women’s lives and friendships, and the dialogue was way too real.

the cover of Abbott #1

Abbott by Saladin Ahmed, illustrated by Sami Kivelä and Jason Wordie 

This one I’ve started before and never finished. Until this weekend! Abbott is a Black female reporter in ’70s Detroit who starts investigating a series of grotesque killings that she just knows are connected somehow. It low-key gives Lovecraft Country vibes and the dialogue and discrimination Abbott faced felt very true to the times.

I also checked out Spellbound by Bishakh Som, a trans graphic memoir, and horror graphic novel Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshotebut, but haven’t started them yet.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Books About The Chinese Exclusion Act

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Today, I wanted to explore some books about major legislation that I only just learned about recently. It baffles my mind how I only learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 as an adult. Especially since it was the first major law restricting immigration to the U.S. The law meant that many of the (mostly male) laborers who had come from China couldn’t eventually bring over their lives and families, and were never given citizen status.

After Chinese people built the railroads in the west and started attaining more and more success, racial resentment towards them grew. Congress passed the Exclusion Act into law in 1882 in response to these anti-Chinese sentiments. Though it was initially intended to ban virtually all Chinese immigration into the country, with the exception of a few, for 10 years, it was extended first by the Geary Act, then the Scotts Act. Finally, it was extended indefinitely until it was repealed completely in 1943. And all the while, Chinese people who were already in the U.S. lived in a sort of cultural limbo. And, I should say, that during this time, there was no exclusionary laws against Europeans immigrating to the U.S.

Today, I’ve got a brand new memoir and two historical fiction books that show the longstanding consequences of the Exclusion Act and what it meant for Chinese American culture.

Bookish Goods

Preserving My Peace bookmark

Preserving My Peace Bookmark by KLigg

The way our news cycle is set up, following the message on this bookmark is vital. Preserve your peace, y’all! $4

New Releases

cover of Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated by Anne McLean

Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated by Anne McLean

Sergio Cabrera is in Spain for an exhibition looking at his great oeuvre as a director. Though he is a celebrated film maker, his personal life is in pieces — his father has just died and his marriage is on the rocks. Over a few days, Sergio looks at his extraordinary life, first recounting how his famous actor parents moved him and his sister out of the upper echelon of Colombian society to Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China. There, they learned Chinese, lived among other ex-pats, and learned to be guerrilla fighters. After a while, they joined the revolution in Colombia, where they nearly died. Sergio manages to get out of the revolutionary lifestyle and becomes a famous director. Retrospective is a historical family saga set among major historical events that shaped the world.

cover of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Nigeria is 16 and has been raised within the Movement, a Black separatist group in Philadelphia with the mission to leave oppression behind in search of a utopia. When her mother disappears, she sets out to find her, and discovers truths that shake up what she thinks she knows about the Movement and herself.

Don’t forget to check out First Edition, the new podcast started by Book Riot co-founder Jeff O’Neal. It explores the wide bookish world, with interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

More New Releases

Oh My Mother!: A Memoir in Nine Adventures by Connie Wang  (Memoir)

Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar (Memoir)

Queens of Wonderland by Gama Ray Martinez (Fantasy)

The Comeback Paperback by Lily Chu (Romance)

The Comeback cover

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair (Fantasy)

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (YA, Fantasy)

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown (YA, Contemporary Romance)

I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson (YA, Fantasy)

The Iron Vow (The Iron Fey: Evenfall, 3) by Julie Kagawa (YA, Fantasy)

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian (YA, Queer Historical Fiction)

You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie (YA, Queer Romance)

When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhhà Lai (Middle Grade, Memoir In Verse)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of Orphan Bachelors by Fae Myenne Ng

Orphan Bachelors by Fae Myenne Ng

This one is just out today.

In this memoir, Ng writes of the consequences of the Exclusion Act, under which her Chinese family was suffocated. Ng came of age as the child of a seamstress mother, a sailor father, and the Orphan Bachelors of San Francisco’s Chinatown — men who were the walking embodiments of the Exclusion act. As a result of the legislation, they were unable to wed or have children, and so Ng and her siblings, and other children, became their adopted progeny. In Orphan Bachelors, Ng returns home to write the story of her ancestors who sacrificed so much.

cover of Four Treasures of The Sky Book by Jenny Tinghui Zhang, showing an illustration of a light blue wave against a dark blue background with an orange fish at the wave's peak. The water resembles a woman's face in profile

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Daiyu’s name carries with it the tragic story of a heroine who is beautiful but cursed to be heartbroken. She starts to inhabit this narrative once her parents disappear from their small, quiet village in China, and Daiyu must flee to a calligraphy school where she is safe, for a time. She ends up becoming a victim of human trafficking and smuggled to a brothel in San Francisco, CA. She escapes and makes it to Idaho, where she begins work at a Chinese owned general store. Throughout, Daiyu always seems to narrowly escape a dark fate that seems to be chasing her, until it must be faced head on. The Exclusion Act and its anti Chinese sentiments looms over the entirety of this novel, which culminates in terrible violence.

The cover of The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

It’s 1890 in Atlanta, GA and Jo Kuan is 17 trying her best to survive. She gets paid a measly .50 cents a day as a milliner’s assistant, which isn’t enough to buy her guardian, Old Gin, needed medicine. On top of that, she and Old Gin live in the basement of a print shop, a place that used to be a spot for abolitionists to hide. Well, bad goes to worse when she’s fired by her boss for being too “saucy” according to customers — I’m paraphrasing here, but essentially customers were complaining because she’s Chinese. In desperation, she takes back her old job as a lady’s maid to the wealthy and cruel Caroline. One day she gets the idea to write a column as an “agony aunt,” and goes by the name Miss Sweetie. As Sweetie, she voices her thoughts on society’s many cruelties and injustices, which grows the newspaper’s subscriptions her column is being printed in, but also makes many question her true identity. As she continues writing her column, she learns more about her parents but also crosses paths with one of the city’s most well-known criminals.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Killer Women Gladiators, A Cursed Family Saga, and More In Reading Color

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

I just came back from a short walk that had my body feeling like it was not so short. Y’all, I think I have fully acclimated to working from home in the worst way. Truthfully, I have suspected it for awhile, but I have been trying to get outside more lately, which I will hopefully maintain. It’s said that I have to say “hopefully” because I have a bad track record with being consistent with certain things, even though they (sometimes instantly) make me feel better *insert going on a stupid walk for my stupid mental health meme*.

Welp! Time will tell. In the meantime, I’ve got some new books to start off AAPI month!

Before we get to those, though, shimmy on over to First Edition, the new podcast started by Book Riot co-founder Jeff O’Neal. It explores the wide bookish world, with interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.

Bookish Goods

Support AAPI Communities Tote

Support AAPI Communities Tote by moreliberation

You can show your support for the community, buy from an AAPI-owned Etsy shop, and have a place to store your books on the go with this tote. An all around win. $23

New Releases

cover of Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah  

This is definitely one of our most-anticipated books of the year. With a premise that involves top women gladiators fighting for their lives within a corrupt prison system, it’s easy to see why. The author of Friday Black tells the bloody story of Loretta Thurwar and “Hurricane Staxxx,” two women who are friends, lovers, and popular Chain-Gang All-Stars. As All-Stars, they’ve fought against other prisoners in lethal battles to win shortened sentences through a highly contested program that’s run through the controversial Criminal Action Penal Entertainment organization in a (not so) alternative United States. Loretta nears the day she’ll finally be free, but the burden of all she’s done — and still has to do — weighs heavily on her in this damning look at America’s prison industrial complex and culture of violence.

cover of Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

Young writer Mickey Hayward leaves a messy life in Maryland to work in New York as a media writer. As a Black woman in media, she isn’t exactly treated well, but she at least has a caring and supportive girlfriend at home. But then she gets fired, and she thinks the manifesto she writes as a result will expose the racism and sexism inherent to the industry and change it for the better. Except it doesn’t. Instead, it goes by barely noticed. It takes her moving back to Maryland in a fit of self doubt and a subsequent media scandal to give her the spotlight she wants. Question is if it’s really want she wants, after all. 

More New Releases

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy (Memoir)

Paper Names by Susie Luo (Literary Fiction)

Can’t I Go Instead by Lee Geum-yi, translated by An Seonjae (Historical fiction)

Dear Chrysanthemums by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (Contemporary, Short Stories)

La Tercera by Gina Apostol (Literary Fiction)

Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan (Contemporary Fiction)

Hula by Jasmin `Iolani Hakes (Historical Fiction)

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido (YA, Contemporary Queer Fiction )

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa (YA, Queer Romance)

We Don’t Swim Here by Vincent Tirado (YA, Horror, Mystery)

Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson (Middle Grade)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

The bestselling author of Cutting for Stone is back with a family saga spanning more than 70 years. The story of a girl who would come to be known as Big Ammachi — which essentially translates to “Big Momma” — twists and turns, intertwining as the waterways that her and her would-be family live by in Southern India. Big Ammachi’s family, part of a Christian community with a long history, will be as gifted as they are cursed, with the curious incidence of drowning being a common theme reoccurring through the generations. Starting in 1900, we experience the change and advancements time brings as Big Ammachi experiences them.

Yellowface cover

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (May 16)

Just a little while longer until this one’s out. Kuang only writes bangers, and in this one, June witnesses the death of Athena Liu — who just finished a novel that promises to be a masterpiece about Chinese laborers’ contributions to the Allied forces during WWI. She decides to take her manuscript and claims the story as her own. To take full advantage (because, you know, stealing someone’s book wasn’t enough), she also lets her publisher rebrand her with an Asian-sounding name and an author photo of someone who is racially ambiguous. The book is successful, but June can’t shake the feeling that it could all come tumbling down, and that the truth of Athena is about to be exposed.

cover of Jana Goes Wild

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

In this second chance romance, Jana is set to attend a destination wedding in Tanzania, and ready for the reset it’s sure to provide. But then she funds out her ex, and child’s father, Anil will also be there, and suddenly her plans are ruined. Even though he’s a good father, she can’t forgive him for what he did years ago. To distract herself, and show that she’s not sweating him, she comes up with list to get her juices flowing. She’ll perform karaoke, do dance routines for strangers, and generally let her guard down. But that makes her more susceptible to her still-lingering attraction to Anil.

Year of the Reaper book cover

Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier

That cover! While this one is on the newer side, it’s less new than others on this list. This is because there is a dearth of books being released by Native Pacific Islanders, which is, no doubt, a result of fewer opportunities. It’s also a great example of why we still need things like AAPI History Month and other heritage months. Make sure to also check out Navigating CHamoru Poetry by Craig Santos Perez and Ka Mano Wai: The Source of Life by Noreen Mokuau for more Native Pacific Islander writing.

As for this book, I will warn you that this standalone, YA fantasy is a plague story. It’s the Black Plague, though! Lord Cassia is a young nobleman who comes to be imprisoned by the enemy because of said plague. He eventually gets out and returns to a home that has changed in many ways. For one, his castle now houses the royal court. Secondly, it seems like they brought their raggedy enemies with them. There’s an assassin on the loose who seems to be targeting those close to Queen Jehan, so Cassia teams up with the king’s younger sister, aspiring historian Lena, to uncover their identity. And Cassia can also see ghosts, so there’s that.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Poetry that Connects Us to the Outer World

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

A while back, when I was studying for a standardized test, I read a passage that explained how devastating the European invasion was for the North American landscape. The changes in the flora and fauna brought about by the genocide of the Indigenous people is still felt today. It’s interesting, then, to think how we in the West still tend to look at humanity as being so far removed from our surrounding environment. This separation is in part, I think, a result of colonialism as well as monotheistic religion.

With Earth Day having just passed this Saturday and Poetry Month coming to an end, I thought to look at poetry collections that bridge this gap, celebrating the interconnectedness of humans and their respective natural environments, and the cultures that have upheld this connection through their traditions.

Bookish Goods

Libraries Are for Everyone  Enamel Pin

Libraries Are for Everyone Pin by GoodGoodCat

This enamel pin is cute and gets the point across! $11

New Releases

cover of Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton

Ghost Girl, Banana by Wiz Wharton

In the late ’90s, right before the UK hands over Hong Kong to China, biracial 25-year-old Lily is shaken loose from her routine with an inheritance letter from a stranger. The stranger claims to have a connection to her mother Sook-Yin Chen, who was sent from Kowloon to London in 1966 in exile. Though she went with a specific goal, Sook-Yin soon learned that she had to adapt to her new environment in ways that people back home would disapprove of. Chapters alternate as Lily finds out more about her mother, and the “accident” that took her life.

cover of We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White

We Are a Haunting by Tyriek White

Tyriek White debuts with a novel that’ll have you thinking of Jesmyn Ward. Over 30 years, White’s East New York family serves their community with a gift that allows them to connect the living and the dead. When Key, Colly’s doula mother, dies unexpectedly, it leaves his grandmother Audrey in a precarious situation. Just as she might lose her public housing as a result, Colly leaves college and starts to come into the ability that is his inheritance. Once he begrudgingly returns to his community, he’ll start to serve as his mother and mother’s mother did before him, tending to spiritual concerns as well as the more tangible, like the neglected housing units of the Brooklyn neighborhood.

Don’t forget to check out our latest newsletter, The Deep Dive. It’s full of informed takes, useful advice, and more from experts in the world of books and reading. Subscribe and choose your membership level ($5 or free!) today at bookriot.substack.com.

More New Releases

Rosewater by Liv Little (Literary Fiction)

Searching for Savanna: The Murder of One Native American Woman and the Violence Against the Many  by Mona Gable (True Crime)

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History by Ned Blackhawk (Nonfiction, History)

The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher (Literary Fiction)

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams (YA, Mythological Fantasy)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert by Ofelia Zepeda

Ocean Power: Poems from the Desert by Ofelia Zepeda

This collection of poems is a landmark literary work by a person from the O’odham Nation. Zepeda tells her story as a Tohono O’odham woman, speaking on the traditional ways as well as how these traditions have influenced modern-day experiences. Through her poems, we see how human nature both ebbs and flows, with the rhythm of the changing seasons, and how it is both nourishing and destructive, like the ocean.

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz cover

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz

Diaz won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for this collection. In it, she visits the violences committed against different bodies in the quest for colonialism — human bodies of color as well as various natural bodies, like land and rivers — and reimagines them. From their wounds, she writes in blossoming love and affection; grief and violence turn into joy and pleasure.

Golden Ax cover

Golden Ax by Rio Cortez

Nominated for the National Book Award for Poetry, Golden Ax contains both the past and the present. Cortez tells the story of how her Black ancestors settled the Western United States, showing, in turn, their relationship with the land. Following their trajectory of survival, she also imagines what the future will look like.

The Hurting Kind cover

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón

Limon is a multi award-nominated poet who is currently serving as the U.S. Poet Laureate. In her latest collection, Limón looks at the four seasons and writes joy into the interconnectedness of all beings, giving equal importance to the journey of a garden groundhog as she does human beings.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica