Magonia: A Review

This book is like nothing I have ever read. The characters are unlike any characters I have ever encountered (and I've encountered quite a few), yet they also feel like people I know, people I can relate to, people I am invested in from page one, word one. Aza Ray Boyle (and later Aza Ray Quel) is a refreshingly unique heroine and Maria Dahvana Headley breathes so much life into her with vibrant descriptions and witty dialogue that at times she seems to fly off the page.

Without giving too much away, Magonia is the story of a girl who grows up on Earth, but was born in the sky. She spends most of her life feeling her difference (in part because being sky-born makes it incredibly difficult for her to breath on Earth) but not knowing just how different she actually is. Until, of course, she discovers Magonia -- the land in the sky.

This book was so original that it stretched the bounds of my imagination. I found myself reading and re-reading Headley's descriptions of this world in the sky because at first read I couldn't get a full grasp on the imagery because I I didn't really have anything to compare it to. But at the same time, everything was just so beautiful. So bright and lush and intricate. How amazing it would be to spend a day walking around in Maria Dahvana Headley's imagination.

This is a must read.

Octavia's Brood: A Review

It's funny to me that despite the fact that I don't usually read books of short stories, half of the books (ok, so it's only 2 books, but still) on my summer reading list this season are -- you guessed it-- compilations of short stories. In my defense there was no way I could have passed them up. The first was written by Neil Gaiman -- do I even have to say anything else, really, it's Neil Gaiman-- and the second book was the lovely book I'm reviewing today, Octavia's Brood.

This lovely ode to Octavia Butler was created and curated by Walidah Imarisha and Adrienne Maree Brown. This a book of stories from the minds of artists and activists alike had my name written all over it. First of all, anyone who even kinda knows me, knows about my deep, unwavering love and adoration of Octavia Butler and anything her creative genius touched. She is hands down my favorite writer, and I read at least 2 of her books every year (though which 2 varies). Second of all, I LOVE science fiction!

Butler's books are so much more than great stories -- though make no mistake, they are epic tales-- they are also insights into the human experience and commentaries on our potential as a race. The stories in Octavia's Brood were able to capture the spirit of Butler in each story in a way that I didn't realize was possible.

I could have read more of every single story in this collection, and, in many instances, was sorely disappointed when I unexpectedly reached the last page. I had the recurring desire to reach out to each of the writers on social media and beg them to fill me in on where the characters had come from and where they headed once the story on the page was done.

Reading this book made me surprisingly hopeful as well. Seeing the worlds these amazing writers dreamed up -- world's where the fight for equality is tantamount to life and where solutions to centuries old problems are being hashed out -- are world I want to live in. If we can think it, we can create it, can't we?

Please read this book. Everyone should. And then if you feel so inspired as I certainly did, sit down and write your own story, and maybe one day all of our stories will come to life and form a better world.

A Year in Books

Last summer was the first time I created a reading list (and subsequent reviews)  for every season, and with the close of this spring, it has officially been one year since I began. I thought it would be a good time to look back over all the books, and choose my top ten (though narrowing this list to just these was quite the feat I'll have you know, and I cheated a bit, as #2 is actually a trilogy). Here they are!

1. White Oleander by Janet Fitch The best way to describe this book would be, beautifully tragic. It follows the all-encompassing relationship between a single mother, Ingrid, and her adolescent daughter, Astrid, as well as Astrid's own rocky relationship with herself.
2. The Irin Chronicles (The Scribe, The Singer & The Secret) by Elizabeth Hunter If you have not heard of the amazing self-published author, Elizabeth Hunter, do yourself a favor and go to her website right this minute. This is a story of fallen angels, the children of forgiven angels and the battle between the two, but most of all this is a story about love. Despite it being a trilogy, when you come to the end, you know even three books, just weren't enough.
3. Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie You could easily finish Americanah in a single weekend, or a single evening if you had the time. It's just that compelling. But, something about it forces you to exercise restraint. The words beg to be drawn out and savored rather than chugged. Adichie bounces between past and present, America and Nigeria seamlessly. By  the end of the book you have the sense that you've known Ife and Obinze, the star crossed lovers that drive Americanah, for your entire life.
4. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones Silver Sparrow broke my heart in the best way possible. I sat there with the book in my lap turned to the last page feeling like I was going to cry, but also feeling like I understood something about myself that I hadn't before. The book centers around a girl who grows up knowing she is a "secret," because her father is married with another family. This book explores love, and betrayal and the complexities of legitimacy. This is a book that lingers in the corners of your mind long after you've put it down.
5. (1)ne drop: Shifting the Lens on Race by Dr. Yaba Blay Every once in a while I'll read a piece of non-fiction that blows me away, but I am a fiction girl at heart. However, I stumbled upon the amazing Dr. Yaba Blay in an article about the Pretty Period project, a visual tribute to brown skin, and visional testimony of Black beauty, and I knew I needed to read her book. Nuances of identity and colorism are handled masterfully in this book. I devoured it like I would a fast-paced thriller, and found myself hoping there would be a second volume one day.
6. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison  Toni Morrison inspires me because she lives outside of any one particular genre in a space all her own that she has created, and she does it beautifully. One of the characters says "What you do to children matters," and it is amazing how that statement is carried throughout the entire book.
7. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow  I think I knew I would love this book from the very first page. From that very first page I didn't want to put it down. The story of how this little girl fell from the sky, the lives her falling touched, and her own life post fall are incredibly intricate and interwoven.
8. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Wench explores the relationships between four slave women and each other , as well as their masters. The atrocities suffered by all of the women: Mawu, Reenie, Sweet and Lizzie seem too awful to bear, and caused me to wonder more than once at the resilience of not only their spirits, but the spirit of my own ancestors. Perkins-Valdez writes about these women as though she walked among them, and the result is a story that is truly captivating.
9. Balm by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Perkins-Valdez imagines America in the period immediately post-slavery and does so with a meticulous attention to detail. The world created in Balm is one where hope leaves alongside loss, and love co-mingles with despair.

Wench and Balm - Reviews

I am sorry to say that a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know who Dolen Perkins-Valdez was, and it was entirely by accident that I stumbled upon her. I'd long since finished all 3 of the books on my Spring Reading List, and was trying to decide on a bonus book or two to tide me over until summer, when I came across this list 12 Books by Black Women that Will Keep You Turning Pages All Summer Long on For Harriet. Perkins-Valdez's sophomore novel, Balm, was number 12 on that list, and after reading the premise for both Balm and Wench, I knew I had to read them. I completed both books in barely over a week.

Wench explores the relationships between four slave women and each other , as well as their masters. In particular it looks at the relationship between Lizzie and her master Drayle. For the better portion of the book, Lizzie is in love with Drayle and believes Drayle reciprocates that love, and that love colors the way she looks at her circumstances and the circumstances of those around her. Lizzie's mindset allows for a whole new level of understanding of the horrifying predicament of the slave. The atrocities suffered by all of the women: Mawu, Reenie, Sweet and Lizzie seem too awful to bear, and caused me to wonder more than once at the resilience of not only their spirits, but the spirit of my own ancestors. Perkins-Valdez writes about these women as though she walked among them, and the result is a story that is truly captivating.

When I began reading Balm, part of me was yearning for a sequel to the stories of the women left behind in Wench and while I was initially sad to realize that was not the case, that disappointment lasted but a second before I was swept up by a whole new host of characters: Sadie, Madge and Hemp. I don't think I've ever read a book set immediately post slavery before. I have often wondered how America made that transition, and what that transition looked like for people, particularly former slaves in their daily lives. Perkins-Valdez imagines that time, and does so with a meticulous attention to detail. She weaves in supernatural elements so seamlessly, that you barely raise an eyebrow. Sadie communing with the dead and Madge's magical hands feel natural within the world Perkins-Valdez has created. The world created in Balm is one where hope leaves alongside loss, and love co-mingles with despair.

If you are new to Dolen Perkins-Valdez as I was, remedy yourself of that immediately and pick up both of her books. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky - A Review

I think I knew I would love this book from the very first page. From that very first page I didn't want to put it down. Its characters and plot lines occupied my mind even when I was away from them, and I did something with my reading of this book that I haven't done in a while. I dragged it out on purpose. I could easily have finished this book in a couple of days, possible in mere hours if I had been able to dedicate the uninterrupted time, but I didn't want to. I felt that if I were to take longer reading the book, the story would feel longer, and give me more time with it.

There were moments when I wanted to abandon my resolve to read the book this way, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The chunks I read each day became like a meditation. I had time to think on them, and pull back their layers.

The question "What are you?" that Rachel (the girl who fell from the sky) hears over and over is one that resonated with me, as it was a question I heard often while growing up as well. Rachel has a Danish mother and a Black father, so something about her appearance shouts "other" to people around her. But that question is also one that Rachel must sort through on her own post-fall, both inclusive of and separate from the way she looks. Who she is before the fall and after the fall are related, but distinctly different, and part of this amazing book explores that.

The story of how this little girl fell from the sky, the lives her falling touched, and her own life post fall are incredibly intricate and interwoven. Even with my deliberately drawn out reading of the story, I know that this book is one I will read again and again, finding new complexities each time.