books about family – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] Garlic and the Vampire, by Bree Paulsen

The paperback cover of Garlic and the Vampire, depicting a sweet nervous young bulb of garlic in a walking skirt and books, a stake in one hand and a mallet in the other. A summery glass of beer is in the background.

(Buy this book here.) Sometimes, we need books that are sweeping, epic, and deep. Other times, we need books that are so cute that we want to pinch the pages and give them candy. Garlic and The Vampire is definitely the latter. This middle-grade graphic novel focuses on anxious little Garlic, one of the manyContinue reading “[REVIEW] Garlic and the Vampire, by Bree Paulsen”

[REVIEW] Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby

The Kindle cover of Razorblade Tears, depicting two men in silhouette stumbling down a lonely dirt road somewhere in the South, is on a red lacquer coffee table. Flowers and votive candles are in the background.

(Buy this book.) This is really #notmygenre – the one section of the bookstore I never visit is thrillers and mysteries, even though I know they’re wildly popular. But despite that, this book grabbed me by the ear, sat me down, and made me pay attention to car chases, fistfights, and a host of otherContinue reading “[REVIEW] Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby”

[REVIEW] Wash Day Diaries, by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith

The purple cover of Wash Day Diaries, depicting a diverse foursome of Black women smiling, posing and embracing, lays on a table surrounded by hair gel, a boar bristle brush, a big tooth comb, and other Black hair tools

(Buy this book here) Hey, fellow readers. How’ve you been? I took a little break, and for a while wasn’t sure I’d be back in a hurry. This is partly because my Day Jobbe is eating my brain, and although steps are being taken to vanquish the zombie source of income, for a while IContinue reading “[REVIEW] Wash Day Diaries, by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith”

[REVIEW] La Bastarda, By Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel

The simple, solid blue cover of La Bastarda is displayed on a tablet, held up against the twilight sky with the moon high and tiny above it.

(Buy this book here.) This is the first book by a woman from Equatorial Guinea ever translated into English. It follows Okomo, a orphaned teen living in her grandparents house in a traditional village. With her mother dead and her father absent, she only has her favorite uncle to turn to when she begins toContinue reading “[REVIEW] La Bastarda, By Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel”

[REVIEW]Linghun, by Ai Jiang

(BUY THIS BOOK) Linghun is a Mandarin word that can be translated as spirit or soul. It’s also the title of Canadian-Chinese writer Ai Jiang’s new novella. Fittingly, it’s about a place called HOME, where families impoverish themselves in order to call the spirits of their beloved dead back into their lives. Wenqi’s there becauseContinue reading “[REVIEW]Linghun, by Ai Jiang”

Last Week In Books: Oh, Bother?

Winnie the Pooh stares moodily through the blinds

Two months into the year and the drama in the book world is legion, beautiful people. I’m working on a mega-roundup of it all for next week’s LWIB, but this week, let’s focus on a few of the nicer things to read and one very weird Winnie the Pooh reboot. And that’s this week’s roundContinue reading “Last Week In Books: Oh, Bother?”

[REVIEW] How High The Moon, by Karyn Parsons

A young Ukrainian man in a Black sweater smiles down at the blue and gold cover of How High The Moon. Behind him are a world map, an orange map, and an open window looking out onto a public square.

(Buy this book.) I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but my current day job is in an ESL school. Perhaps this is a bit too on-brand, but I’m always telling my students that if they want a good English vocabulary, they need to read. Our school even has a little library that IContinue reading “[REVIEW] How High The Moon, by Karyn Parsons”

[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex

The Kindle cover of Prince Harry's Spare, depicting his face in closeup, lies on a wooden table in between a glass of white wine and a burger.

(Buy this book from my shop.) I’m not much of a royal watcher, despite having lived in Britain for some years in my late twenties and early thirties. The only members of the family I’ve ever paid any attention to are the late Princess Diana and her youngest son, and I really only started payingContinue reading “[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex”

[REVIEW] I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy

A Kindle displaying the weirdly cheerful cover of I'm Glad My Mom Died stands on front of a black, dead TV screen.

Buy this book here. (Content warning: child abuse) I feel like the best thing I can say about this book is that the title is a lie. While child star Jennette McCurdy describes the emotional, physical, sexual and financial abuse her overbearing stage mother perpetrated in painstakingly gory detail here, you never really get aContinue reading “[REVIEW] I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy”

[REVIEW] Making A Scene, by Constance Wu

The bright red book cover of Making A Scene by Constance Wu, who is depicted in black silhouette. The background is the interior of a non-descript, grimy subway car during a morning commute. A Black woman(Mel's) hand holds the book.

(Pre-order this book!) I’m not really into celebrity culture and I’m not sure I would have read this if Scribner Books hadn’t kindly sent me an ARC. But I’m SO glad they did. What I thought about Constance Wu before reading this: Um…she was good in Crazy Rich Asians I guess. She was the momContinue reading “[REVIEW] Making A Scene, by Constance Wu”