New Books for Black History Month and a New EGOT Winner

The world of Chain-Gang All Stars is one in which private prisons have absolute control over their populations and have developed an entertainment program that pits prisoners against each other in lethal matches that determine whether they go free or not. Two of the stars of this gladiator-like competition, Loretta Thurwar and Hamara “Hurricane Staxxx,” are also lovers, and one of them is intent on getting her freedom and caring for her fellow inmates. But the powers that be would rather see everyone at each others’ throats. Literally.

This is a 180 in terms of mood from the previous book. It follows Lily, a shy bookworm who hopes to be a children’s book editor, but who has been in the nonfiction department forever now. Then there’s her family, whose goals are vastly different from her own. To escape a reality that isn’t quite going her way, she starts emailing her favorite fantasy author, and the two of them actually foster a friendship that may turn into something more. But then he disappears. Later, Lily needs a date for her sister’s wedding and looks to Nick Brown, her new neighbor who, unbeknownst to her, is the fantasy author she was emailing all those months ago…

Poet Felix weaves in her childhood dyscalculia, a disorder that influences how numbers are understood and interpreted, into her miscalculations in her adult life. This is a clever and raw memoir that will have you in your feelings, even as it makes you laugh.

Even within my life, I remember when horror movies were known for killing the Black person first — who was usually a man — showing how disposable they thought the character, and even Black people as a whole, were. In this new book, the authors explore this very recent history and how far we’ve diverged from it. It’s interesting to see how much sociology lies within the horror genre, and how the fight to be treated equally — or should I say, the reaction to that fight — can be seen in horror’s treatment of The Other through the years. This is such an interesting book.