#DIVERSITYREADS 2017 (February Edition)

January was such a great month for new releases. While I didn't get everything that was released, I did pick up FLYING LESSONS, ALLEGEDLY, and LATIN@ RISING.


This month looks like it's shaping up to be another great release month... and another month of hard decisions on what to buy and what to wait on! Here's a small list of the books I'm looking forward to in February.

AMERICAN STREET by Ibi Zoboi


Summary:American Street is an evocative and powerful coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Everything, Everything; Bone Gap; and All American Boys. In this stunning debut novel, Pushcart-nominated author Ibi Zoboi draws on her own experience as a young Haitian immigrant, infusing this lyrical exploration of America with magical realism and vodou culture.
On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie—a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna, and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own.
Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost. Trapped at the crossroads of an impossible choice, will she pay the price for the American dream?


BUY HERE: AMAZON   BOOK DEPOSITORY

WE ARE OKAY by Nina LaCour


Summary:You go through life thinking there’s so much you need. . . . Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.
Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.

BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY

PIECING ME TOGETHER by Renee Watson


Summary: Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And she has. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful. Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Except really, it's for black girls. From "bad" neighborhoods. And just because Maxine, her college-graduate mentor, is black doesn't mean she understands Jade. And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.


BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY

THE EDUCATION OF MARGOT SANCHEZ by Lilliam Rivera


Summary: Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted—from debut author Lilliam Rivera.

Things/People Margot Hates:
Mami, for destroying her social life
Papi, for allowing Junior to become a Neanderthal
Junior, for becoming a Neanderthal
The supermarket
Everyone else

After “borrowing” her father’s credit card to finance a more stylish wardrobe, Margot Sanchez suddenly finds herself grounded. And by grounded, she means working as an indentured servant in her family’s struggling grocery store to pay off her debts.

With each order of deli meat she slices, Margot can feel her carefully cultivated prep school reputation slipping through her fingers, and she’s willing to do anything to get out of this punishment. Lie, cheat, and maybe even steal…

Margot’s invitation to the ultimate beach party is within reach and she has no intention of letting her family’s drama or Moises—the admittedly good looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood—keep her from her goal.


BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY

DREAMLAND BURNING by Jennifer Latham


Summary: When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family's property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the past... and the present.

Nearly one hundred years earlier, a misguided violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what's right the night Tulsa burns.

Through intricately interwoven alternating perspectives, Jennifer Latham's lightning-paced page-turner brings the Tulsa race riot of 1921 to blazing life and raises important question about the complex state of US race relations - both yesterday and today.


BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY

THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas


Summary: Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Angie Thomas’s searing debut about an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances addresses issues of racism and police violence with intelligence, heart, and unflinching honesty. Soon to be a major motion picture from Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions.


Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.


Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.


BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY

10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE by Carrie Mac


Summary: Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it was something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. She constantly imagines the worst, composes obituaries in her head, and is always ready for things to fall apart. To add to her troubles, her mom—the only one who really gets what Maeve goes through—is leaving for six months, so Maeve will be sent to live with her dad in Vancouver.

Vancouver brings a slew of new worries, but Maeve finds brief moments of calm (as well as even more worries) with Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Between her dad’s wavering sobriety, her very pregnant stepmom insisting on a home birth, and her bumbling courtship with Salix, this summer brings more catastrophes than even Maeve could have foreseen. Will she be able to navigate through all the chaos to be there for the people she loves?


BUY HERE: AMAZON  BOOK DEPOSITORY




What new releases are you looking forward to in February?

January 2017 Wrap-Up!

January is usually my "hit the ground running" month for trying to get a jump start on all the reading challenges I normally partake in. This year, however, I had decided not to do any challenges and just read exactly how I want to and at whatever pace I wanted. It seems to be working out really well since I ended this month with 16 read books. Honestly, if so many things hadn't occurred this month, I think I could have gotten to 20. My reading just seems to go so much smoother when I'm not worried about if I'm on track or keeping up with everyone else.

I'm going to start breaking my monthly wrap-up down by rating. If you like it, let me know!

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE by J.K. Rowling.
- I try to reread the series at least once every other year. It's just as good as I remembered.

THE ROSE AND THE DAGGER by Renee Ahdieh
- Not quite as good as The Wrath and the Dawn, but still undeniably satisfying.

THE DARK WIFE by S.E. Diemer
- Hades and Persephone reimagined as... lesbians. Yes, please.

ALICE + FREDA FORVER: A MURDER IN MEMPHIS by Alexis Coe
- Teenage lesbian murder bisexual lover in public. True story.

TWIXT by S.E. Diemer
- Lesbian demons, ugly angels, and unaware dead people. Diemer is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich
- Revenge is definitely sweet. (tw: rape)

THE BACKSTAGERS by James Tynion
- All boys academy and a stage crew. Plus, super cute crushes.

GIRL OUT OF WATER by Laura Silverman
- Coming of age story. Involves a carefree Black boy with dimples. You need this in your life.

HEARTLESS by Marissa Meyer
- Prequel to Alice in Wonderland. I'm still crying, tbh.

THE CURSE OF THE BLUE FIGURINE by John Bellairs
- Moral of the story: Don't take things that don't belong to you.

QUEERING SEXUAL VIOLENCE by Jennifer Patterson
- Essays on sexual violence between same-sex partners and how crisis centers are ciswoman centric.

THE BLAZING STAR by Imani Josey
- Time traveling back to Egypt. It should have been more exciting but I was actually really bored the entire time.

I WORK AT A PUBLIC LIBRARY by Gina Sheridan
- A lot of the stories seemed made up and not even in an imaginative way.

THE BONE WITCH by Rin Chupeco
- DNFed at 50%. A story about a witch raising her brother from the dead should have been more interesting.

THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE by Amanda Lovelace
- Not my cup of tea but also not my place to rate someone's extremely personal poetry.

IN ORDER TO LIVE by Yeonmi Park
- I liked this book a lot but after doing some research, it appears that there are some major discrepancies in Park's story. Since I'm not sure what's real and what's not, I decided not to rate.

QUEEN SUGAR by Natalie Baszile
- Three pages in, one of the character's starts making negative remarks about "Indians". Pass.



And that's it for January! I'm hoping February will be just as productive! What did y'all read in January?

Review: Girl Out of Water

Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

***I received a free e-arc from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review***

I had given this book a preemptive 5 star rating to try and combat the disgusting attack on the author after literal Nazis started trying to tank her book's ratings. Now that I've actually read it, I see that I don't have to change my rating at all.

GIRL OUT OF WATER follows Anise during her last summer before senior year. She expects it to be a summer like any other- spending time with her friends and surfing- until a family emergency sends her and her dad to Nebraska to care for her 3 younger cousins. This is sold as a romance, and while there is definitely some romance in the book, it's more of a lesser told love story of a family coming together.

There wasn't a character I despised in this entire book. All of them were well fleshed out and had depth, including the side characters which is something we usually don't get in YA novels. All of Anise's friends were distinct even though they might have only been mentioned a half dozen times. I loved how Silverman included mixed families throughout the story.

The romance between Anise and Lincoln (OH MY GOD, LINCOLN!!!!) wasn't overplayed and I like that Silverman didn't rush their feelings or include sex in this book. YA has a problem with the trope of "We just met but I love you so let's have sex" but Silverman did a wonderful job in avoiding that.

I only had two problems with this book and they tie in together. The first was that I felt the last few chapters lost the characters. It almost felt like I was reading an entirely different book and I'm not sure if that was on purpose (to show Anise slipping back into her Santa Cruz life) but it was disorienting and really almost made me drop the rating down to 4 stars. In those finally chapters, I had another problem- underage drinking. I'm totally aware that teenagers drink but it felt very out of place in this book. The "drama" it caused could have totally been rewritten. Honestly, the last few chapters just don't feel right in the book, period.

However, I did love this book. I loved Anise. I loved Lincoln. I LOVED LINCOLN.

Would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy a sweet, summery, coming-of-age story.

View all my reviews

#DIVERSEATHON Wrap-Up!

Did anyone else feel like #DiverseAThon went by way too fast?


Due to family obligations and having to catch back up with my community action program after being at the hospital with my dad for so long, I missed out on most of the really great chats that were going on but I was able to pop in and read some of the responses. I'm so glad so many of you are feeling more comfortable in actively seeking out diverse books and understanding that not all representation is good. It feels like everyone has grown so much in the last few months since the original #DiverseAThon week was started... which is a good thing now that we see how the next four years are going to go. It's imperative that we continue to push marginalized voices up higher, that we lend platforms and ears and hearts to their words so that they can't be silenced.


I don't feel that I read as much as I could have read this week, but again, I had plenty of obligations that kept me running so I'm trying not to feel too bad about it.


Here's a wrap-up of everything I read during #DiverseAThon:

ALICE + FREDA FOREVER: A MURDER IN MEMPHIS by Alexis Coe


I stumbled across this book months ago during the original #DiverseAThon and for whatever reason, I never got around to it. ALICE + FREDA is a nonfiction book that chronicles the rocky relationship between Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward which ended when Alice publicly slit Freda's throat. What was so weird to me was the fact that Alice was able to plea insanity and people believed her not because of the crime she committed but because she was in love with a woman. Definitely pick this one up for an interesting history lesson.

THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich


This is one of those books that I could read over and over and never get tired of. THE ROUND HOUSE follows the Coutts, an Ojibwe family dealing with the aftermath of their matriarch's rape and attempted murder by a supposedly unknown assailant. I don't want to give too much away because this is a book that has to be deeply experienced. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who understand that sometimes revenge is the best option.


(I also want to talk about people who are rating this book who are Non-Native and do not understand Native family and tribal dynamics who are calling this book unrealistic: It's not.)

THE BACKSTAGERS VOL 1 by James Tynion


I saw this on Net Galley and thought it would be a cute read. It follows Jory, a new student at an all-boys academy who stumbles upon the stage crew and all the mysterious things that happens backstage. It definitely reaffirms my personal belief that nothing is better than working backstage... that is where all the magic really happens.

TWIXT by S.E. Diemer


After reading THE DARK WIFE and loving it, I was excited to read TWIXT. It has lesbians, demons, dead people, and ugly angels... everything I never knew I needed in a book.


I also attempted to read QUEEN SUAGR but DNFed it after 3 pages when one of the characters talks about Natives "liking to be called Indians" and talking about the "jackals at the Indian casinos". No, thank you. THE BONE WITCH was another one I DNFed at 50% due to sheer boredom.


What books did you get to during #DiverseAThon? Any conversations really stand out to you? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: The Bone Witch

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

***DNF-ed at 50%***

This story had so much potential. So. MUCH. It literally begins with Tea (a witch who can raise the dead) resurrecting her beloved brother from the grave at his funeral. AT. HIS. FUNERAL. You can imagine how hyped I was about this book. I should have known better and say that because even though Tea has just done this amazing, wondrous, horrific thing, it is highly glossed over in the text. I wanted this description of what their parents and siblings thought, more of what the villagers thought (we only get a brief sense that they were scared and holding torches outside of the house). It's not every day that a young man gets raised from the dead so you would think Chupeco would have put more detail in it.

Despite that, I thought I would still enjoy the book. I thought it would be action packed. Instead, I read a whole lot of descriptions of buildings and clothing and it took me 5 days to slog through half of this book before I finally decided to throw in the towel. It's not a bad book. Chupeco has an obvious gift but the delivery of the story is so slow and uneventful that I fell asleep several times while reading this or found my mind wandering away. I had one glimmer of hope when Tea brought back to life a bunch of dead mice but then that too was glossed over and I knew this was an uphill battle I wasn't going to win. Or end. So I wave my white flag at this book.

***I was provided a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review from the publisher through NetGalley***

View all my reviews

Review: Queen Sugar

Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNFed 3 pages in.

"Well, the Native Americans I know like to be called Indians. Bunch of 'em live in the woods behind my house."

"They built a big casino... nothing over there but a pack of jackals if you ask me. Jackals and sinners."

Yeah, hey, fuck you.

View all my reviews

My #DIVERSEATHON TBR!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right, #DiverseAThon is making it's 2017 debut during the week of January 22-29.

In September of 2016, after a video surfaced where some woman (apparently she's an author??) was talking about how problematic diversity is, a few youtubers (@monicakwatson, @lcmarie19, @squibblesreads, and @whittynovels) started a week long book challenge that was focused solely on diverse books and discussions about diversity. That was probably one of the best weeks I've ever had on book twitter and I LOVED reading so many other people's thoughts about diversity and just generally learning from their experiences. It was really cool to see how many of us have such shared experiences even though we come from vastly different walks of life.

I'm hella excited to be joining in again this year. I know I said I wasn't doing any book challenges this year but to me this isn't really a book challenge. There aren't any set TBRs or book counts. While there is an optional group book to read (THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD by Colson Whitehead), it's not something they actually push you to read if you don't want to. I already read diversely so this is just a really great time to connect with others who also read diversely or who want to start reading more diversely.

I picked 5 books that I want to read during #DIVERSEATHON this year.

THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich.


Summary: One Sunday in the spring of 1988, a woman living on a reservation in North Dakota is attacked. The details of the crime are slow to surface as Geraldine Coutts is traumatized and reluctant to relive or reveal what happened, either to the police or to her husband, Bazil, and thirteen-year-old son, Joe. In one day, Joe's life is irrevocably transformed. He tries to heal his mother, but she will not leave her bed and slips into an abyss of solitude. Increasingly alone, Joe finds himself thrust prematurely into an adult world for which he is ill prepared.

While his father, who is a tribal judge, endeavors to wrest justice from a situation that defies his efforts, Joe becomes frustrated with the official investigation and sets out with his trusted friends, Cappy, Zack, and Angus, to get some answers of his own. Their quest takes them first to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. And this is only the beginning.

ALICE + FREDA FOREVER by Alexis Coe


Summary: In 1892, America was obsessed with a teenage murderess, but it wasn't her crime that shocked the nation—it was her motivation. Nineteen-year-old Alice Mitchell had planned to pass as a man in order to marry her seventeen-year-old fiancée Freda Ward, but when their love letters were discovered, they were forbidden from ever speaking again.

Freda adjusted to this fate with an ease that stunned a heartbroken Alice. Her desperation grew with each unanswered letter—and her father’s razor soon went missing. On January 25, Alice publicly slashed her ex-fiancée’s throat. Her same-sex love was deemed insane by her father that very night, and medical experts agreed: This was a dangerous and incurable perversion. As the courtroom was expanded to accommodate national interest, Alice spent months in jail—including the night that three of her fellow prisoners were lynched (an event which captured the attention of journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells). After a jury of "the finest men in Memphis" declared Alice insane, she was remanded to an asylum, where she died under mysterious circumstances just a few years later.

PURPLE HIBISCUS by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


Summary: Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating.

As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together.

QUEEN SUGAR by Natalie Baszile


Summary: When Charley unexpectedly inherits eight hundred acres of sugarcane land, she and her eleven-year-old daughter say goodbye to smoggy Los Angeles and head to Louisiana. She soon learns, however, that cane farming is always going to be a white man’s business. As the sweltering summer unfolds, Charley struggles to balance the overwhelming challenges of a farm in decline with the demands of family and the startling desires of her own heart

FLYING LESSONS & OTHER STORIES by Ellen Oh


Summary: Whether it is basketball dreams, family fiascos, first crushes, or new neighborhoods, this bold anthology—written by the best children’s authors—celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us.

In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers.

From these distinguished authors come ten distinct and vibrant stories




And that's my TBR! I'm hoping to get through these and at least one more during the #DIVERSEATHON week.


What is your TBR for #DIVERSEATHON?