Diverse Reads

Book Review: The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

September 6, 2020 2 Comments

Rating: Unrated | Bloomsbury YA | Contemporary YA | Release Date: 02/04/20

I feel like there is a generation of teens from upper-middle-class families growing up in trendy artsy gentrified neighborhoods who, like all teens, have issues but are privileged enough to know how to ask for help and can easily find it. I feel like this is a book for these kinds of teens– and I think without this understanding this book can come off as a bit insufferable.

Brooklyn bred Cal Lewis Jr. has found a niche for himself as a reporter on the social media app Flash Fame (Think Periscope meets TikTok). He’s covered local news, elections, and America’s newest obsession —NASA’s manned mission to Mars. The last thing Cal expects is for his dad to be chosen to join the mission. Its good-bye, Brooklyn! Howdy, Texas! As this reporter becomes a part of the story.

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Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

March 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

9 hours 58 min. | G.P. Putnam’s Son | Adult Fiction | Release Date: 12/31/19

2020 has been kind of a meh reading year for me so I decided to switch it up with some upmarket book club-y fiction. This is one of those books where it’s better to go in with as little information as possible. Such a Fun Age starts with 25-year-old Emira, a Black girl living in Philadelphia, being racially profiled while babysitting a white child. The book then follows Emira as she tries to figure out how to become a “real adult” and her boss, Alix Chamberlain, who starts noticing Emira in a new way after the incident.

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The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta

March 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

9 hours 44 min. | Viking | YA Fantasy | Release Date: 10/30/18

In this Italian inspired fantasy, we travel to the mountains of Vinalia and meet Teodora “Teo” Di Sangro, the second daughter of a high ranking family. Teo has a secret. She’s a strega who uses her magic to turn the men who have wronged her family into objects. You know…like a straight-up serial killer.

Stregas are supposed to be things of the past but when tragedy strikes her family, Teo joins up with Cielo– a mysterious orphaned strega who can change genders– to teach her how to become a boy and take over as the Di Sangro family son.

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Let Me Hear A Rhyme by Tiffany Jackson

January 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

Rating: ★★★★| Macmillan | Contemporary | Release Date: 05/21/2019

After Brooklyn teenager and aspiring rapper Steph is shot to death, his two best friends and sister hatch a plan to give Steph the legacy he always dreamed of. They use his recordings to turn him into Brooklyn’s hottest rapper and unexpectedly uncover secrets to solve Steph’s murder.

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Jackpot by Nic Stone

December 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

I forgot to write a review for this book and I read it so long ago; so please check out the audiobook review I wrote forAudioFile magazine! This was narrated by Nic Stone and I was blown away by her performance.

Listeners will find winning humor in this audiobook as narrator and author Nic Stone provides a flawless, upbeat performance. She gives voice to Rico and Zan–teenagers on a mission to find an unclaimed winning lottery ticket that could help Rico’s struggling family. Stone taps into Rico’s perseverance and strength as she tries to keep her family financially afloat. To track down the winning ticket, she reluctantly ropes in Zan, whose breezy laid-back tone reflects his privileged upbringing–opposites quickly attract! Listeners get the bonus of hearing the flirtatious back-and-forth between the teens, including Zan’s capricious way of mispronouncing Rico’s surname. Stone also brings a delightfully over-the-top performance to the inanimate objects that act as a Greek chorus.

Psst. Don’t forget to check out AudioFile Magazine’s website and podcast for more audiobook content.