Author: Patricia Elzie

Our main human character is Janelle Baker, aka “Ellie,” who is Black, queer, and has anxiety. The story starts in New York City. An alien race, the Ilori, have taken over Earth. They tried to be peaceful, but the Earthlings fought back, and here we are at the beginning of the story, where humans are in Ilori-controlled confinement with little idea of what is going on. Ilori have learned that the arts, music, and literature inspire humans to rebel, so they destroyed every related item that they could. There were massive burnings of books, musical instruments, record albums, you name it. Many humans hid what they could, and it’s considered contraband. Our hero, Ellie, started an illegal underground library with about 60 books she was able to hide. She and her friend Alice have developed an intricate way of having people request books. Ellie then sneaks the books out from her storage in the basement into the desperate hands of the individuals. The stakes are incredibly high: if Ellie gets two infractions, she could be executed. Ellie’s parents are not doing well. Her father has been affected by the Ilori and is a mind-controlled member of the security team. Ellie’s mother has sunk deeply into paranoia and alcoholism.

In an alternating point of view, we meet Morris, an Ilori who is in charge of making a special chemical that will be given to all remaining humans. We learn that there are two tiers of Ilori: the true Ilori, who are incredibly wealthy and stay up in space, and the lab-made Ilori, like Morris, who are sent down to do all the dirty work on Earth and the other planets they colonize. Morris is different from both the true Ilori and the other lab-made Ilori in that he feels emotions. He has fallen in love with human art and music and literature. When he stumbles upon Ellie’s hidden library, he decides he must meet this beautiful human girl.

The book not only alternates between Ellie’s point of view and focusing on Morris but there is a third, seemingly unconnected focus, which is on a group called The Starry Eyed. The Starry Eyed was a popular music band on Earth. This book is a love letter to music and books, a sci-fi romance, and an exciting and anxiety-inducing race to save Earth from colonizing aliens.

This book is told from multiple viewpoints divided by chapter. We have three main characters, all young adults: Adiah, Koffi, and Ekon. It all takes place in Lkossa, a large town on the edge of The Greater Jungle. The Greater Jungle is an utterly terrifying place, and most people, if not all people, who go into the Greater Jungle do not make it out alive. There is a demon in the jungle called the Shetani that murders anyone who enters. It’s the most feared beast ever known and yet not much is known about it because no one meets the Shetani and lives.

Adiah is a daraja, which is a person who can use magic; however, in this book, it’s not called magic; it’s called the Splendor. The Splendor is something that a daraja can pull from the world around them and allow it to move through them as they use it. It is really dangerous to keep hold of the Splendor inside them, so they just act as conduits.

Koffi and her mother are indentured servants at the Night Zoo, a place that has all kinds of wild and fantastical beasts. The owner of the Night Zoo is Baaz, and he is an incredibly awful person. Koffi and her mother have been working there for years to pay off multiple kinds of debts that her father had owed.

Finally, there’s Ekon, who was raised in the temple of Lkossa with his brother. They were orphans, and their father was killed by the Shetani. All Ekon has ever wanted was to be a warrior, and when we first meet him, he is about to do his final test to become one.

There is so much I want to say about this book, but I don’t want to give it all away. It was really fun, and some parts were creepy and definitely violent. There are a few great twists, and the viewpoints and stories are woven together. This first book definitely ends on a cliffhanger, but the second book is already out, and the third comes out tomorrow, so there’s no need to wait.

While I started this book with the expectation that it would be about how to become a better friend, I quickly realized it is so much more. In the exploration of friendship, the author is not limiting the idea or relationship of friendship only to your inner circle and expands the idea of friendship as a way of relating to other people, whether they be people you know or don’t know or maybe even people you don’t like. Thinking of friendship in this way makes room for friendship as a practice to help mitigate and maybe heal some of the ongoing trauma that is life in a white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy, as well as act as a catalyst toward collective liberation.

If you are familiar with Buddhism, it can help with relating to this book, but if you are not, I still think there is value for you as well. Johnson writes that oppression is fundamentally fragmenting, and it is the essence of oppression to separate us and tear us apart. She posits that friendship is the way to heal this fracture. The bulk of the book is focused on the Mitta Sutta, a passage from a longer body of the Buddha’s teachings called the Anguttara Nikaya. The Mitta Sutta offers seven qualities of friendship. After some real talk about making friends with ourselves, Johnson then goes through each of these seven qualities, what they mean, how they show up in the world, how they show up in us and in friendships, and the ways we relate to other people, family included. The latter part of each chapter is about how we incorporate these qualities into a meditation practice as we also cultivate these qualities in ourselves.

As I mentioned earlier, there is also a lot of discussion on how white supremacy shows up in Western Buddhist practice. It is notable that a lot of the faces you see of authors writing on Buddhism and speaking at conferences and retreats are white. Because of this, some cultural touchpoints are often left out, such as the importance of connecting to our ancestors. Johnson also talks about many ways white supremacy shows up in Western Buddhist practice that I hadn’t even considered, like ideas of perfection or senses of urgency, two things I often struggle with when meditating — same with the frequent ideas that there is a right way or a perfect way to meditate or that I can bully myself into meditating correctly. This was an unexpected and excellent read.

I have long been a fan of Roxane Gay’s writing, and this compilation of some of her essays spanning a decade does not disappoint. There are dozens of essays in this book, a few book reviews, and some celebrity interviews as well. The author, like many of us, loves to give her opinion and to give advice and you can sense her revelry in the act of doing so, even during some of the more heavy pieces.

This book is divided into seven sections, including “Identity/Politics,” “The Matter of Black Lives,” and “For the Culture.” She includes so many of what I consider to be her greatest hits, like “Cops Don’t Belong at Pride,” “How to Build a Monument,” “Who Gets to Be Angry?,” and “Dave Chappelle’s Brittle Ego.” I was overwhelmed by the amount of things that have happened in the past ten years and I nearly got whiplash as I bounced from essays on the Trump presidency to Chadwick Boseman to a beautiful memorial essay of Toni Morrison. I was also rocketed back in time to essays about the mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, the murder of Sandra Bland, and the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Not all the pieces require readers to reflect on the horrors of the past ten years, and the composition of this book is skillfully balanced with intelligent book reviews, entertaining and thoughtful critiques of films and shows, and even some hilarious observations like the ones included in “Why the Beach is a Bummer” and “Why Are Most Father’s Day Gifts So Terrible?”

The author’s celebrity profiles are brilliantly written in such a way that a few were of people about whom I initially was indifferent, but after reading Roxane Gay’s profiles, I found myself endlessly fascinated. There are nine profiles included, ranging from musicians like Nicki Minaj, Janelle Monáe, and Madonna to actors like Sarah Paulson and Tessa Thompson.

Finally, there are a few choice pieces from her “Ask Roxane” column, which I deeply appreciate as a person who loves to give advice myself. From cover to cover, this book is an excellent and wide-ranging read.

I have a huge regret about reading this book, which is this: I will never again be able to read it for the first time.

This book is set in a steampunk Cairo in 1912, where djinn and other magical creatures live side-by-side with humans and have for the past 40 years. The world-building of this book is so incredibly intricate and luscious. A man named al-Jahiz changed the world when he ripped open the veil between the magical and the human world. When that happened, he vanished. Now, in 1912, there is a secret brotherhood of wealthy British men in Cairo dedicated to worshiping al-Jahiz, thinking they have the right to the power he had. In the very first chapter, a man in a mask shows up at a meeting of the secret brotherhood. He claims to be al-Jahiz and then slaughters them all.

Fatma el-Sha’arawi is an agent working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, and she is one of only two women who work there. She also wears fantastically tailored suits. Feminism has not come very far in Cairo in 1912, and she has had to work incredibly hard to get the respect she deserves, but she is damn good at her job. She is now tasked with finding and apprehending this al-Jahiz impersonator, but every time she thinks she learns something new, a dozen new questions pop up. Nothing is what it seems to be, and she has to deal with some amazing characters, both human and djinn alike.

This book has everything: magic, murder, mayhem, sapphic romance, badass women, clever twists and turns, and some absolutely hilarious comedy. I was shocked at how funny this book was because I wasn’t expecting it. I laughed out loud multiple times, and it just endeared me more to P. Djèlí Clark’s writing.

This book takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it starts with our hero, Ben Stephens, who is running late to work. Ben works for an ad agency, and they have a major project pitch to give to a tech company. He did a lot of work on the project and knows it backwards and forwards; however, this doesn’t really matter because Ben knows his bosses and the rest of the team will do the presentation and take the glory while Ben, the only Black person, will be present to show how “diverse” their team is. At least, that’s how it normally goes, and that is what Ben is expecting. The universe has other ideas, and he gets a call from the rest of his team, who are stuck in L.A., which is an hour flight but a good six-hour drive from where they need to be, so Ben is going to have to give the presentation alone.

He arrives at the company, about to start his presentation when the most beautiful woman he has ever seen walks in the door to the conference room. This woman is Oscar-nominated actress Anna Gardiner, and she is the talent for this ad campaign. No one expected her to show up to the pitch meetings, and she was counting on that. Of course, she was charmed by Ben, and he got the contract. At Anna’s request, he also oversaw the entire project, and they spent a lot of time together on set.

During one of the shoots, Anna gets a call. Her parents are down near Palm Springs on a trip, and her father has to get rushed to the hospital. Unbeknownst to everyone, Anna deals with severe anxiety. She knew it would be ridiculous to rush down to Southern California to check on her dad when it was likely just dehydration, but she really started to freak out a bit. She called her assistant to get her a flight, but there were none that could work with the schedule. Ben notices Anna’s barely controlled freakout; one thing leads to another, and there is suddenly an impromptu road trip to Palm Springs.

The attraction between the two of them is palpable, and they don’t even try to hide their flirting and chemistry. They get to Palm Springs, but the hotel they get to only has a single room. They keep their physical fun a secret, but Simon, Anna’s manager, catches on. Simon’s not mad; he actually thinks it’s good for Anna’s image, and Ben agrees to no strings and only fun, just how they both want it (this is totally not sustainable).

This book was so incredibly steamy while also being incredibly hilarious.

The overarching metaphor in this book is of capitalism as a toxic romantic partner who constantly puts you down, gaslights you, and is just using you. The author is unmasking this toxic person and making it clear that they’re just not that into you. The author also teaches us there is a healthier and supportive option available. While this metaphor isn’t necessarily everyone’s vibe, it does serve to make the content so much more accessible and relatable. This book is written in a way that clarifies how capitalism is at play right now in our own lives and not just some nebulous thing that we have nothing to do with.

This book introduces readers to so many people fighting against capitalism. There are dozens of quotes from anti-capitalists, past and present, like W. E. B. DuBois, Ella Baker, Evo Morales, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Kathleen Cleaver. The book repeatedly makes it clear that class struggle cannot be separated from racial equity. It’s been so helpful to learn about it in more detail to better my understanding of all the interconnections.

The author teaches readers about how capitalism tells us that if we just work harder, hustle more, and sacrifice more, we will get ahead. That is actually rarely the case because the system is designed to keep people in the middle class and the lower class in those classes. Capitalism depends on folks’ inability to move upward. There might be anecdotes of this happening, some people here and there, but it doesn’t help the nation as a whole.

This book gives really clear definitions of capitalism and socialism and spends most of the pages giving examples of these frameworks in action. After reading this book, I can confidently say, “Yes, I know what these things are and some of the ways they affect me and my communities.” I also want to mention that this book is packed with illustrations and infographics and graphs and charts and quotes that help make this information very present and relatable to readers.

This anthology has won a Locus Award, a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, an Ignyte Award, and the Brave New Words Award. After reading it, I could see how it deserved each and every one. The introduction is by Levar Burton, and any book that has Levar Burton’s stamp of approval is an immediate addition to my TBR. There is an absolutely phenomenal line-up of talent in these pages. This book includes stories by Minsoo Kang, Jaymee Goh, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Rebecca Roanhorse, Darcie Little Badger, and so many more brilliant authors. I love the variety of stories in this anthology. Yes, it’s speculative fiction, but it covers a wide range, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror — often at the intersections of these subgenres and sometimes nestled comfortably in the spaces in between.

The first story in the book had me absolutely hooked. It’s “The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex” by Tobias S. Buckell. Imagine Earth in the future with hovercars and the like, but it’s a complete dump that is actually an intergalactic tourist trap. Alien tourists come from all over the universe to Manhattan because the laws and safety regulations are incredibly lax. Maybe too lax. Another interesting story is about how the fate of an empire is in the hands of two translators, which makes readers think about how we never truly know how close we may be to utter destruction. The story “Come Home to Atropos” was incredibly dark, incredibly disturbing, and also made me giggle. I didn’t know I could both cringe and laugh at the same time, yet here we are. I’m a sucker for a story that involves a human making a deal with a non-human, whether it be a god or a demon or the fae or otherwise. “The Fine Print” by Chinelo Onwualu hit so many right notes. It’s the one story that I went back and read again after finishing the book.

This book has so many things: ghosts, witches, monsters that eat little children, terrifying yet lovely mermaid-type creatures, aliens, human colonies on distant planets, technology to take away all bad feelings and replace them only with pleasant ones, Smart Houses of the Future, and so much more. The title of this book stems from an Octavia E. Butler quote, “There’s nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” This anthology lives up to its name, for sure.

Schuyler Bailar is a speaker, educator, and author who was also the first transgender athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s team. His public transition to the Harvard Men’s Swim Team made headlines, and he is an important voice in trans advocacy. He/She/They is primarily for readers who consider themselves or would like to be allies to transgender folks. It’s also a really great read for folks who have someone transgender in their lives but don’t know the first thing about being trans. The tone of Bailar’s writing mirrors his online content, which is accessible, compassionate, and remarkably patient. He weaves in personal stories about his own experience of his gender and transition, as well as some of the tough conversations he has had, sometimes with family. He strives to teach readers how to approach these conversations ourselves.

He goes over the basics of definitions of terms like “sex,” “gender,” and “the gender binary,” which are all complicated, and he does an excellent job of conveying the complications without getting too far into the weeds for the sake of the book. He goes over what gender-affirming care is, detailing that it can be very different for a child than for an adult and that many people have wild ideas about what gender-affirming care for a child is when it’s really usually maybe some different clothes, a haircut, and maybe using a different name and pronouns.

He answers so many questions that people use to try to debate transgender folks’ right to care and have a peaceful existence. Throughout the book, the information he teaches readers is based on science, research, history, and basic human decency. He teaches readers about the importance of pronouns (in the English language) and the myth of being transgender as a mental illness. His chapter on transgender athletes was particularly poignant, given that he was himself a nationally ranked trans athlete.

While I mentioned the primary audience for this book seems to be folks who are not in the trans community themselves, he does speak to folks who are at some points through this book. He answers questions like, “Does it get better?” and offers his own stories about coming out and telling his family and teammates. He also takes some time to talk about the intersections of his gender and race.

This was such a wonderful and informative read. Content warnings for transphobia and discussions of gender dysphoria and eating disorders.

Georgina Lawton grew up in the suburban outskirts of London. Her father was British, her mother Irish, and both parents were white, which is an interesting fact when you learn that Georgina is Black. When Georgina was born to her white mother, she was clearly a Black baby. Georgina’s father, however, said nothing and so the mother said nothing. The nurse or midwife threw them a lifeline and said something to the effect of, “It must be those recessive genes of yours from Western Ireland,” and Georgina’s mom and dad took that story and ran with it for over two decades. Yes, for two decades, they insisted that they were both Georgina’s biological parents and everyone around them, including family and friends, were too polite to say anything so they just went along with the lie. This includes things like filling out that she was white on official school paperwork.

I want to reiterate here that Georgina obviously looked different from her parents and yes, I realize there are some complications with judging the race of people solely on looks, especially when some people are multiracial, such as myself. That being said, Georgina really did not look like the biological child of two white parents.

Of course, Georgina went along with it for a long time because why would her parents lie to her about something like this? Why would everyone else lie to her about it? If it weren’t true, surely someone would have said something, wouldn’t they? As Georgina got older, she tried asking both her parents. She brought it up multiple times, and they both just doubled down on the lie. As Georgina worked on discovering who she is and contemplating the meaning of family, she explored many locales. She goes to places like New York and Nicaragua to immerse herself in Blackness. She does some investigative reporting on where hair extensions come from, and yes, there is a lot of hair talk in this book, and for good reason.

It would be so easy to hear of her situation and think that it’s unbelievable but also to judge her parents harshly. Lawton does an amazing job of telling her story and her family’s story with tender care and showing that there was a lot of love in her home growing up, and she truly loves her parents. This was a deeply engaging book. Content warning for the death of a parent from cancer.