Category: In Reading Color

Jade is a seventeen year old half Indian outcast in the quickly gentrifying town of Proofrock. Her mother abandoned her and her father is abusive, but what she lacks in social ties and family bonds, she makes up in knowledge of slasher films. Horror movies have become a crutch for her to escape into when she doesn’t want to face the reality of her trauma. Fiction bleeds into reality, though, as she realizes that she can apply her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films to the deaths happening in her town.

First of all, shoutout to Pinterest and others for restricting the promotion of plantation weddings on their sites. The fact that they had to shows how perverse the memory of slavery is in this country for many. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to romanticize a place that meant death and subjugation for so many Black people.

In When the Reckoning Comes, Mira returns to a town she had fled ten years ago to go to a white friend’s plantation wedding. Tuh. We would cease to be friends with that invite, but maybe that’s just me. Upon her return, Mira finds the past she tried to flee from is resurfacing. She’s faced with the results of a childhood dare gone wrong, a haunted plantation that has been turned into a resort, and fact that the plantation’s ghosts—formerly enslaved people— are out for revenge against the descendants of their former torturers.

Another terrible wedding venue choice in a novella that Khaw describes as “a haunted house story where messy people make really bad decisions.” Someone thought it’d be a good idea to have a wedding at an abandoned Heian-era mansion that rests on the bones of a bride and her sacrifices. Couldn’t be me. Japanese folklore and aforementioned messiness converge for a truly horrifying read.

This collection of stories jumps from different points of view as it tells the story of migration in the American Southwest. The concepts of borders, gods, ghosts, colonization, revenge, and more are explored through deftly interwoven stories.

The Birth of a Nation is a hateful spell released upon the world by the sorcerer D.W. Griffith. To fight the Klan’s hellish plan for earth, Maryse Boudreaux and her magic sword join forces with two other Black women— a sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter— to fight the demons the Klan conjures. This novella mixes African folklore with American history and, naturally, commentary on racial animus. This is definitely for fans of the show Lovecraft Country.

This adorable picture book extols fry bread, a traditional bread made by Indigenous people that originated as a result of forced relocation. In 1864, Native Nations were forced on the “Long Walk,” in which they had to travel 300 miles to unfamiliar lands. After many starved, the U.S. government stepped in to give rations of flour, baking powder, and salt — ingredients for the beloved fry bread. The dish is not without its critics, though.

Academy Award winning actor and Black Panther’s boo, Lupita N’yongo’s book about a girl trying to find her way is beautifully illustrated. We follow Sulwe, whose beautiful dark skin leaves her feeling less than confident. She pines to have lighter complexion like her mother and sister. Once she goes on her magical journey, though, her thoughts around beauty change and her confidence is reinvigorated.

I wanted to make sure to include a couple children’s books to show how even those aren’t safe from banning. Look at these precious covers! How do you look at that and think negatively?

Arturo and Alma Rivera leave Mexico with their daughter Maribel. They hope that living in the U.S. will help Maribel to heal from a serious injury. They soon realize just how many obstacles there are in the way of them achieving their American dream, however.

Meanwhile, Maribel is having realizations of her own. The neighbor’s kid, Mayor, and her have a burgeoning romance that inspires gossip. But the two teenagers see in each other what others fail to notice in this novel showing how incorrectly immigrants are labeled.

What if what you thought you knew about yourself was wrong? That’s the case for Kristen Lattimer, whose life seems to be going pretty well when we first meet her. She’s got scholarships lined up for college, friends, and a great boyfriend. One day, when she and her boyfriend decide to take the next step and attempt to have sex, Kristen realizes something is wrong. She goes to the doctor and finds out she’s intersex and has male chromosomes. In addition to this revelation, she has to contend with the rest of her high school finding out. This book explores how deeply entrenched gender is with our identity, and what it means to identify as male, female, or intersex.

“Failing schools. Underprivileged schools. Just plain bad schools.”

Ewing opens Ghosts in the Schoolyard with this straight-to-the-point description of Chicago’s public schools before the Mayor announced an unprecedented amount of school closings in 2013. The idea, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, was to make way for better schools by combatting lower enrollments rates, budget woes, and purging the bad schools. This sounds well and good until you consider how the decision was met with widespread protest, which begs the question: if the schools were so bad, why did parents, teachers, and students still want them open? Ewing answers this question by examining the elements of race and class that have influenced Chicago’s public education system. This may focus on Chicago, but I reckon many of the things explained here are mirrored in many cities across the United States.

Hopefully you’ve heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t. I had literally never heard about it until I was an adult. I think the fact that the public schools I attended didn’t shy away from showing America’s cruelty for Black people, but yet still never mentioned Tulsa is a testament to just how hard the United States have tried to forget the massacre. Award-winning author Brandy Colbert answers the questions of “how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today?” in this Young Adult historical nonfiction. Out October 5th.

Bonus: If you want a visual that explores what happened in Tulsa and other issues like homophobia while gracing you with Regina King as a bomb ass superhero, get into HBO’s Watchmen. It had to be one of the best things I watched in 2019.

In a bid to avoid eternal damnation, Shizuka has made a deal with the devil to deliver seven violin prodigies’ souls. She’s just heard her final candidate, runaway trans girl Katrina, when she crosses paths with retired starship captain and refugee, Lan, in a donut shop. The three women’s lives become intertwined in this novel that has been likened to Good Omens (another great watch!), The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. It also has Faust teas, naturally. Out September 28th.

In 2002, amidst country-wide turmoil, Wasseff, her friend, and her sister opened Diwan, an independent bookstore at a time when books were considered a luxury. This was also despite the fact that none of the three Egyptian women had any relevant experience. Wassef recounts “starting a bookstore at this moment of cultural atrophy seemed impossible—and utterly necessary.” Decades later, Diwan is a success with ten locations and a loyal fanbase. It has even gained the reputation of being a safe space for women. Wassef’s voice is straightforward and at-times humorous as she details all it took to realize her dream.

This is a collection of accessible biographies of 50 Indigenous people from the Americas and Polynesia assembled own voices author Keene. There are past as well as contemporary figures– including activists, artists, athletes, and scientists– that are highlighted in this gorgeously illustrated book.

Soyinka was the first Black person to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Now, while I don’t mean to detract from giving Soyinka his flowers, I always have to side eye an organization that has been giving awards for literature since 1901 and only just started awarding Black people in 1973. But, that’s another topic for another newsletter, no doubt. In his first novel in nearly 50 years, Soyinka delivers satire in an imaginary Nigeria where a surgeon tells his engineer friend of stolen body parts from his hospital being repurposed for rituals. How greed can utterly corrupt a country is explored here with biting precision.

Paloma has had a nice life since being adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage at 12 by philanthropists. Now 30, she’s cut off her parents and drinks too much. She also believes the same ghost that haunted her orphanage may be haunting her, still. Add to that how she found her roommate dead. She flees, but upon her return, she finds that he’s gone, along with every trace of his existence. Yikes. To say her life is less than desirable would be an understatement. Jayatissa shows how the past can come back to bite in this thrilling debut. Out now.

Machado speaks of the female perpetrator and queer abusers as ghosts that have “always been here, haunting the ruler’s house” in this unique memoir that details the author’s experiences being in an abusive, queer relationship. The narrative takes different forms– among them an erotica, an academic analysis of female queerness, a haunted house– in detailing the many aspects of what it’s like to be abused by an intimate partner, showing just how complex and layered the experience is. With the use of second person, Machado snatches all hopes you might have had in staying distant from the abuse. You’re inserted front-and-center and made to live out her experiences.

This anthology features some of the most poppin’ Latinx writers. The poems and personal essays featured here cover everything from immigration, sexuality, music, and more, showing glimpses of the rich tapestry that is the Latinx community. Editor Fennell centered the collection on “letting our truths run wild, and pushing against whatever it is you think is the ideal Latinx individual.” Let ’em know!

Lina Santos is a wedding planner that was left at the altar. I’ve got one word for sis: Tragic. Since then, she’s continued to run her wedding planning business with a fair amount of success in D.C. until one day she’s offered a big opportunity by someone important. The catch is that it’ll mean working with the man who convinced her former fiancé to leave her high and dry– his brother, Max. This is a fun romp through the hate-to-love romance trope, and has been described as giving serious 90s teas.

Mateo is a 16-year-old queer kid with dreams of becoming an actor when the one thing he’s always feared happens: His parents are detained by I.C.E. His father goes to jail, and his mother a detention center. Suddenly, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders in the form of his 7-year-old sister and the family bodega. While he tries to maintain his dream of going to Tisch School of the Arts, he keeps his struggles from his two friends (one of whom is a possible love interest) in this heartbreaking novel about the effects of separating families.

“Ever feel like the land is swallowing you whole, Sierra?”

The eleven stories here speak of heritage and land and how the two things relate to Indigenous Latinx women based in Colorado and Denver. The stories span from following a child abandoned by a woman who was made a mother too young, a sex worker and her daughter who make a big move into hostile territory, how a family struggles with a breast cancer diagnosis, and more.

Dominican born Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel in 1929 New Orleans with her son Maxwell at her side. Before she can finish its sequel, she falls ill and she and her son burn the manuscript.

Eighty years later, Saul Drower sets out for New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina prepares to hit the city in order to fulfill his dead grandfather’s request of returning a mysterious manuscript to a man named Maxwell Moreau, a physicist who speaks of parallel universes. Zapata pays homage to the power of storytelling in this imaginative historical fantasy.

This Pride and Prejudice retelling features all characters of color. Zuri Benitez is a proud Afro-Latinx Brooklynite who is witnessing her neighborhood becoming more and more gentrified, but can do little to stop it. When the wealthy Darcy family moves in, she’s definitely not feeling their two teenaged sons– especially judgmental Darius– no matter how charming they may be. Well…. not at first, anyway. Zuri balances the pull of four rambunctious sisters, college applications, cute boys, and the realization that Darius might not be so bad after all.

In this more overtly queer retelling of The Great Gatsby, a Vietnamese Jordan Baker tells the story of Daisy Buchanan’s and Jay Gatsby’s doomed relationship. Jordan’s adoption into the Baker family has brought her into a new world of old money and new magic where she tries to ignore the exoticism she’s labeled with. This is a perfect story to retell with a character of color as I feel like The Great Gatsby is about The American Dream (TM) and all the trappings of class and race that come with it. Plus, Vo just has beautiful prose. I mean, I can’t help but to stan.

Rom-com expert and Queen of shooting her shot (I see you, sis) Bolu Babalola has assembled 13 short stories about love. All of these stories are retellings from mythology, and include everything from West African lore to Greek myths and Middle Eastern legends. She revisits tropes and fairy tales with an eye towards decolonization.

When local oddball Hadi goes to the site of a car bombing to collect his assistant’s body for burial, he finds not one body, but a collection of pieces from different bodies. In an effort to have those that died treated with respect, Hadi assembles the body parts into one to be buried. The only issue is that the newly assembled body goes missing and a string of strange murders start turning up all over the city. Saadwi was the first Iraqi to win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for this brilliant retelling of the horror classic.

This book out today rethinks a story that has become an American standard and tells it in 1863 when the Civil War is in full swing. The March family has established itself in the developing Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island where recently emancipated people have set roots. We follow the four March daughters– Meg the teacher, Jo the writer, Beth the seamstress, and Amy the dancer– as they come into their own. I feel like I don’t come across enough stories of Black people during this time that don’t have us in chains, so seeing a different side of Black family life during this time is refreshing.

As we become more acquainted, I’m sure you’ll notice my absolute adoration for Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Here, street kid Domingo meets Atl, a beautiful and mesmerizing descendent of Aztec blood drinkers. They try to make it out of Mexico City alive with the threat of rival vampires, cops, and criminals closing in on them from all sides. This re-release is also out today.