Black American Writers – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans

(Click here to buy this book.) I am once again asking publishers, editors, and readers to let Black women write beyond sadness in America. Please? sigh This collection of poetry from a queer Black woman starts strong. It’s put together very well in a technical sense but it all feels kind of by the numbersContinue reading “[REVIEW] Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans”

[REVIEW] Rootwork, by Tracy Cross

The ebook cover of Rootwork held above a tender new spring garden. The cover depicts a young black girl with soft lush hair, smiling enigmatically at the reader.

(Get more information about this book here.) (Full disclosure: Tracy and I were in the same master class at Under The Volcano this January, and she graciously sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.) Something about Rootwork feels like it’s from another era. While I was reading, tendrils of theContinue reading “[REVIEW] Rootwork, by Tracy Cross”

[REVIEW] The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw

(Buy it from Bookshop) sigh I don’t think this collection of short stories was meant for me, y’all. I wanted it to be. Nine stories about Black women and their connections to themselves and the church seemed right up my alley, and I was genuinely excited to get into this and see myself and myContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw”

[REVIEW] Survivor, by Octavia Butler

A tablet displaying the cover of Survivor(a woman trapped in a green tree with a furry blue man growing from the top of it, on a red background) held in front of metal stakes chained together standing in the grass

(UPDATE, May 11 2021: I just found out that the Afro-Speculative bookshop Sistah SciFi has this title available as an ebook! Find it HERE and enjoy!) (This novel is out of print. Find other works by Octavia E Butler HERE.) This novel was originally published in 1978. It’s been out of print since 1979–unlike allContinue reading “[REVIEW] Survivor, by Octavia Butler”

[Review] M.C. Higgins, The Great, by Virginia Hamilton

(Buy it HERE.) I read this book because I felt like I was missing out on something. I’d heard nothing but glowing reviews of this from folks who read it in school and loved it. That, plus its inclusion on a lot of #blackboyjoylit lists made me expect this to be a very different middle grade coming-of-ageContinue reading “[Review] M.C. Higgins, The Great, by Virginia Hamilton”

[REVIEW] Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Blue paperback book lying on shiny polished wood dining table in front of a white coffee cup and saucer. The cup is full of latte with a fleur-de-lis pattern in the foam.

(Find it HERE.) Some books show you the lives of other people. Some books show you yourself. Some books do both. Song of Solomon has always been the last for me, although it’s always been hard to put my finger on exactly why. ⠀ This is a deceptively dense novel, packed with story and detail,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison”

[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”