★★★

Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King

August 13, 2018 Leave a Comment

Release Date: 09/26/17 | 25 hours 22 minutes | Simon & Schuster Audio

When a mysterious virus causes sleeping to grow impenetrable cocoons, the entire world goes up in chaos and the final battlefield for humanity will involve a whole cast of characters in the small Appalachia town of Dooling, Maine...oh wait, West Virginia. This one takes place in West Virginia.

I’d been eyeing this book for a while because the premise sounded intriguing and let me tell you, the King men know how to weave together a tale with a vast cast of characters. One of my complaints with the few King books I’ve read is how poorly many of the female characters were written and I was curious about how female characters would fare in a book about women. I mean look, do I think a story about toxic masculinity told through the lens of horror tropes should be written by a middle-aged white dude and his Dad? Maybe not, but they do an okay job. I would in no way call this a feminist book because despite all the feminist epigraphs this book opens with, most of the book comes down to a schlubby middle-aged white dude savin’ the day. I mean, you could actually take most of the women’s POV out of this and still leave the story intact.

Also, yes this book is problematic for the way it leans hard into the gender binary.

Now let me talk about the audiobook narrator, Marin Ireland. She absolutely brings this 25-hour audiobook to life. Yes, I said 25 hours and I’m glad I’ve started moving into 1.5 speed on audiobooks or I ever would have never finished this behemoth. This is one of those thick King (…and King) novels that has a cast list at the beginning and she managed to create a unique voice for each one of the Dooling townsfolk. I feel like this book could have easily gone array because of the West Virginia accents but she does it well. Although I kind of side-eye how only the lower class characters get the accents.

Also bonus, the audiobook has an interview with the King men at the end that was fun to listen to!

-mild spoilers-

This book is dedicated to Sandra Bland which feels a little tone deaf after reading this book because it has a scene at the very end where an innocent black female character is killed by a cop by mistake and we’re supposed to sympathize with the cop.

Mini Reviews: YA Summer Reading

August 10, 2018 Leave a Comment

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Just like it’s namesake,When Dimple Met Rishi has all the hallmarks of a 90’s rom-com and so much more. Taking place entirely during a web developer summer program, the plot felt a little claustrophobic at times, but the relationship was developed wonderfully. Both narrators on the audiobook give great performance, though Vikas Adams’ voice for Dimple had a tendency to sound shrill. This book is everything you’ve heard and I want this movie. I want it now. – ★★★★

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

After experiencing a violent encounter with the police, high school senior Justyce McAllister begins writing letters to Martin Luther King, Jr. to unpack his newly developed complex feelings about race and policing. Dear Martin is definitely an important book because so few YA novels are explicitly written and marketed for black teen boys the way this book has been but the story left me wanting more. I was annoyed that the white love interest got to explain the complexities of race in America, the MLK portrayal felt sanitized and Justyce reads as younger and more naive than a 17-year-old from the hood at an elite boarding school about to study policy at Yale. Author Zetta Elliot has made some criticisms of this books portrayal of black women and I agree with a lot of what she says. I think Dear Martin would have made a great middle-grade book, but as a YA it felt like a missed opportunity for a more nuanced discussion. – ★★★ + .5

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Around The Way Girl by Taraji P. Henson

July 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

7 hours and 27 minutes | Simon & Schuster Audio | Memoir | 10/11/2016

I’ve been a fan of Taraji P. Henson since she played Raina Washington on Lifetime’s The Division when I was younger, it was one of the first “adult” shows I watched. The show was ahead of its time and I sometimes think about how Henson was playing a Black female police officer with lesbian moms in the early 2000’s. I can only imagine if they put that on TV nowadays it might be called “too diverse.”

Anyway, this memoir begins with Henson’s childhood in Southeast DC during the crack epidemic and the years of hustle and hard work that lead to her Hollywood success in her mid-thirties. Henson is a trained actress who worked with some of the best at Howard University and there is a lot of craft talk in this book. Henson really digs into the minds of the character she plays. The title of the book comes from her concern of always being typecast as the around the way girl from the hood and her hesitation to take the role of Cookie Lyon–the role that has brought her the most notoriety.

This book shares a lot of DNA with the two other memoirs of black women in Hollywood I’ve read, Last Black Unicorn and We’re Going to Need More Wine. They all touch on the importance of having a support system and other black women helping them navigate the Hollywood scene.

I especially liked what Hensen had to say about the stigma of a single black motherhood and how these mothers aren’t afforded the same considerations and respect as married mothers.

Around The Way Girl is an inspiring and insightful look into the making of an actress and some of Henson’s most memorable moments.

Non-Fiction Review: Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

June 9, 2018 Leave a Comment

Rating: ★★★ +.5 | Non-fiction | 6 hours 29 minutes | Gallery Books | 12/05/17

Tiffany Haddish was the breakout star of 2017 following the success of the film Girl’s Trip. The Lasst Black Unicorn delves into how she went from a broke stand-up comedienne living in her car to having a first look deal with HBO.

This memoir is an absolute must listen on audiobook. Haddish writes like she talks and it flows so much better when listening to it. Also, all of the dialogue is written in script format and sounds much better when Haddish is “acting it out.” She’ll say things that aren’t in the book like “and then I was like” or “he was like” before launching into the words that are on the page. Also, there are some updates and asides that aren’t in the printed book so trust me, you want this on audio.

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Joint Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

May 31, 2018 Leave a Comment

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Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

May 20, 2018 Leave a Comment

298 pages | Dutton Books For Young Readers | Historical Poetry? | 3/6/2018

Trigger warning: Rape / Sexual Assault

In her debut novel, Joy McCullough gets inside the head of 17-year-old Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, a real historical figure, as she struggles against the overbearing patriarchal society she was born into. Written mostly in verse from Artemisia’s perspective it blends in prose stories of the biblical figures Susanna and Judith–two figures featured prominently in Artemisia’s work.

I think it is really helpful for readers to have some context about Artemesia before going into this book because I’m not sure how much teens know about art history and the art world during the Baroque period. But also, it’s helpful if you are like me and have taken art history classes but just never heard of Artemisia *side eyes college syllabi*or her infamous rape trial. I felt like I was only getting half of what was going on and it wasn’t until I used some Google-fu that is all clicked.

This book is actually an adaptation of a play also written by McCullough, this book is so cerebral and really focuses on Artemisia’s internal emotions and senses like a play script. If anyone doesn’t understand why women need feminism just go ahead and throw this book at them because holy crap, it was difficult to be a woman back in the day. Needless to say, this is not a happy time book.

In this timely debut, McCollough develops a sharp feminist perspective to the life of Artemesia, a talented young woman who shows the patriarchy exactly what a woman can do.

Between this book, Jason Reynold’s Long Way Down sweeping award shows and Kwame Alexander’s new verse only imprintI wonder if verse novels are about to become the next trend in YA ? If anything, I like that they can be read in one sitting.