3.5 rounded up Untethered is a thought-provoking exploration of faith, duty, and self-discovery set against the backdrop of a racially tense 1967 Alabama. Katia Daniels, the protagonist, has dedicated her life to caring for others—first her family, and now the boys at the Pike County Group Home. Her struggles with love, loss, and a deeply rooted sense of obligation unfold in a story filled with emotional depth and historical context. While I appreciated the book’s focus on faith and its examination of trauma, I had trouble fully connecting with the characters and the narrative. The writing sometimes felt awkward, and the story lacked cohesion, which made it hard to stay […]
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Giving Jim His Voice: A Riveting Reimagining of Twain’s Classic
In James, Percival Everett brilliantly reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective, offering a fresh and thought-provoking take on Twain’s classic. Instead of the childlike portrayal of the original, Jim emerges as a deeply intelligent, strategic man. When Jim overhears he’s about to be sold, he hides on Jackson Island. There, he encounters Huck, also on the run, and the two launch into a familiar yet newly meaningful journey down the Mississippi. Through Jim’s eyes, each run-in with danger, every brush with conmen, and the odd moments of luck take on rich layers, highlighting the horror of slavery and the absurdity of the racial norms in the antebellum […]
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The Soaring Journey of Bessie Coleman
Carole Hopson’s debut novel takes readers on a breathtaking journey through the life of Bessie Coleman, a pioneering aviatrix who pursued freedom in the skies when such aspirations were daunting for a Black woman. Set in early 20th-century America, this riveting tale spans from Texas cotton fields to the heights of European skies, exploring themes of perseverance and identity. Hopson’s vivid storytelling brings to life young Bessie’s first glimpse of an airplane, sparking her relentless drive to fly. Despite societal norms and racial barriers, Bessie’s determination leads her from Chicago’s segregated streets to France’s flight schools. The depth of Hopson’s research enriches the story, particularly through Bessie’s relationships with supporters […]
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A Meandering Tale of Community That Misses the Mark
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store has all the ingredients for a great historical novel: a tight-knit community in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, a mysterious skeleton found in a well, and 1930s setting rich with cultural and racial tensions. The story promises to explore themes of racism, love, sacrifice, and the power of community as we go back in time to Chicken Hill, a neighborhood where Jewish immigrants and African Americans live side by side. At the heart of the novel is the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, run by Moshe Ludlow and his wife, Chona. Her determination to protect Dodo, a deaf Black boy, from a cruel institution sets off a […]
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Take My Hand
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a powerful and eye-opening novel that addresses a disturbing piece of history. Set in 1973, it follows Civil Townsend, a newly graduated nurse who returns home to work at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic. Her supervisor assigns her to give the Depo-Provera birth control shot to India and Erica Williams, who are only 11 and 13 years old. The girls have not yet reached puberty and are not sexually active, which leads Civil to question the motives behind her assignment. When Civil later learns the girls have been sterilized without their consent, she embarks on a legal battle against the clinic. The courtroom […]
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What the Fireflies Knew
“The house is silent and smells like a mix between the old people that kiss my cheeks at church, and the tiny storage unit where all our stuff lives now.”—Kai Harris, What the Fireflies Knew. After her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit, almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB) and her teenage sister, Nia, are dropped off by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing. The kids don’t know where she’s gone or if she’ll ever come get them. Over that sweltering summer, KB’s entire world is upended. Even her sister, always her […]
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
First published in 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God was out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to the initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist. It was reissued in 1978 and has since become one of the most widely read and critically acclaimed works of African American literature. Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of Janie Starks, fair-skinned, long-legged, independent, and articulate, who sets out to be her own person—no easy feat for a black woman in the ‘30s. After three marriages, she journeys back to her roots, where her small southern black community buzzes with gossip about the outcome of her affair […]
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Amy’s April 2022 Book Reviews
Sheesh, will I ever catch up on my book reviews? I read some amazing books in April, and I’m thrilled to share my reviews. Here goes! The Progeny By Tosca Lee Emily Porter is on a quest that will take her to the secret underground of Europe and the inner circles of three ancient orders—one determined to kill her, one devoted to keeping her alive, and one she must ultimately save. The Progeny is the present-day saga of a 400-year-old war between the descendants of “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Báthory, the most prolific female serial killer of all time, and a secret society dedicated to erasing every one of her descendants. The […]
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