By now we’ve all heard the incredible news that the Grande Dame Nouvelle of Black speculative fiction, and spec-fic in general, N.K. Jemisin herself, is one of the 2020 recipients of the MacArthur Genius Grant. (If you hadn’t heard–well, now you have!) I’m a huge Jemisin fan, considering her the heir apparent to the throneContinue reading “[REVIEW] Emergency Skin, N.K. Jemisin”
Author Archives: Mel The Bookworm
[REVIEW] Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo
(Buy it HERE.) 🛫⠀Yano Rios is on a flight from NYC to Santo Domingo when a mechanical error causes the plane to crash. There are no survivors, and his teenaged daughter Camino is devastated when the anticipation of her father’s yearly visit turns into unspeakable grief and sudden financial insecurity for her and her aunt.Continue reading “[REVIEW] Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo”
[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older
(Buy it HERE.) First things first–I read this on the MyMustReads app for Android and absolutely hated it. It’s poorly designed and made my reading experience far less enjoyable. 0/10, will not use again unless they overhaul it entirely. Delete, block, ban. UGH.🧟♂️⠀Fortunately the book in question was more enjoyable than the app I usedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Half-Resurrection Blues, Daniel José Older”
[REVIEW] Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Tomi Adeyemi
(Buy it HERE.) Let me begin this review by putting on my flame retardant suit and face mask. sighOkay, I get that people love this book, and the series it forms the center of. I even get why they love it. I want to love it, too. It’s fantasy, it’s epic, it’s romantic (sorta), it’sContinue reading “[REVIEW] Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Tomi Adeyemi”
[REVIEW] The Dirty Girls Social Club, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
(Buy it HERE.) You know what the weirdest thing about being an adult is? It’s that nobody ever really tells the whole truth. We’re told not to lie for our entire childhoods, then we grow up and realize almost no-one is ever entirely honest about what’s really going on with them.👡⠀Take, for example, the protagonistsContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Dirty Girls Social Club, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez”
[REVIEW] The Black Traveler’s Guide To Incheon, by The Blerd Explorer
(Buy it on Amazon or Apple) The city of Incheon sits right in the shadow of Western Seoul, South Korea. It holds two international airports, several beaches, and one of the world’s more interesting Chinatowns, but most people skim past it and head straight to Seoul’s more popular attractions.🌏⠀That’s where this handy travel guide byContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Black Traveler’s Guide To Incheon, by The Blerd Explorer”
[REVIEW] See No Stranger, Valarie Kaur
(Buy it HERE.) Breathe and push.⠀⠀This book is so many things, and I loved them all. ⠀⠀It’s a manifesto–a revolutionary encouragement to love not only with community and caring, but with law, protests, and the pent up rage that comes from receiving injustice. It’s warm, empowering, & sharply attuned to our current times and theirContinue reading “[REVIEW] See No Stranger, Valarie Kaur”
[REVIEW] Pride, Ibi Zoboi
(Buy it HERE.) Can I be honest with y’all? It took me a long time to understand what the big deal about Pride and Prejudice was. High school classes, grudging re-reads, and wet Colin Firth on PBS were not enough to make me care about 5 sisters in 1813 England. It wasn’t until I wasContinue reading “[REVIEW] Pride, Ibi Zoboi”
Last Week In Books, September 7th – 14th:
Welcome to this week’s diverse book news recap! Let’s just get started, shall we? It’s Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month in the USA starting tomorrow. While the month has its share of controversies(both internal and external), I personally am looking forward to my all Latinx, all the time reading list for the rest of the month. [PenguinContinue reading “Last Week In Books, September 7th – 14th:”
[REVIEW] Represent! #1: It’s A Bird! written by Christian Cooper
🐦⠀Chris Cooper should be famous for being Marvel Comics’ first openly gay writer and editor, for introducing some of the first canon gay characters in major comic books, and for his editing work on Blade, The Punisher, and Star Trek comics.⠀🐥⠀Instead, on May 25th, 2020, the same day that George Floyd was killed, Cooper becameContinue reading “[REVIEW] Represent! #1: It’s A Bird! written by Christian Cooper”
Equal Opportunity Reader 