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In Reading Color

New Books for Black History Month and a New EGOT Winner

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

It’s Black History Month! *signal the DJ horns* Already, Beyoncé is the most Grammy-decorated artist (honestly, I’d be surprised if she wasn’t), and Viola Davis is officially an EGOT winner. So we’re off to a good start!

I’ll keep the mood going by recommending some bookmarks, sharing some new releases, and getting into a few books by Black authors that you should put on your radar for 2023!

Bookish Goods

Black Writers Bookmarks

Black Writers Bookmarks by KLigg

These gorgeous bookmarks feature some of the most iconic Black American writers and one of their most thought-provoking quotes. $10 for the trio.

New Releases

Victory City cover

Victory City by Salman Rushdie

Award-winning author Salman Rushdie returns with a novel that mixes aspects of a real city with the ancient tradition of epic myth writing. Pampa Kampana is a 9-year-old girl who is grieving the loss of her mother when she becomes the vessel of goddess Parvati. Through Pampa, Parvati speaks, bringing the city of Bisnaga into a fantastical existence. The new city is meant to be a bastion of progress and equality for women, but as with all great cities, there is a fight for power that threatens to ruin everything.

A Spell of Good Things cover

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

Eniola and Wuraola are from two different walks of life in modern Nigeria. Eniola has to hustle for money since his father lost his job, and is at risk of being kicked out of his school for a failure to pay tuition. Meanwhile, Wuraola is a physician, born into a more affluent social class. Despite existing in totally different worlds, their lives will violently meet against a backdrop of obsession and politics.

More New Releases:

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

What Napoleon Could Not Do by DK Nnuro

The Sergeant: The Incredible Life of Nicholas Said: Son of an African General, Slave of the Ottomans, Free Man Under the Tsars, Hero of the Union Army by Dean Calbreath

Akim Aliu: Dreamer by Akim Aliu (Middle Grade graphic novel)

Come Home Safe by Brian G. Buckmire (Young Adult)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

In addition to new releases I’ve already recently discussed, like Maame by Jessica George, make sure to check out these new releases by Black authors:

cover of chain gang all stars

Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (April 4)

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.

cover of The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest (February 28)

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…

Dyscalculia cover

Dyscalculia by Camonghne Felix (February 14)

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.

The Black Guy Dies First: cover

The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar by Robin R. Means Coleman and Mark H. Harris

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.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

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In Reading Color

Caste and Violence in America

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

I, like many of you I’m sure, read about Tyre Nichols’ death this past weekend. I had been reading about it before this weekend, but the release of the videos made it one of the main things people were discussing online. I didn’t watch the video, but I read about it, and that was enough.

I knew it had started with an overzealous traffic stop, as a result of over-policing. What I didn’t know was that the officers involved were members of a task unit called SCORPION, which existed to combat crime in more violent neighborhoods. Maybe because I know who tends to get over-policed in this country, or for some other reason, but reading about this task unit, and others like it, reminded me of Jim Crow, and I wanted to explore that a bit.

The books I have to recommend today after the new releases are fairly well-known or by well-known authors, but I wanted to revisit them because I think they touch on that feeling that this whole situation evokes in me. They also offer some hope that things will get better.

If you’d like to donate to the Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund, you can do so here.

Bookish Goods

Vintage Black Readers Sweatshirt

Vintage Black Readers Sweatshirt by thetrinigee

This sweatshirt shows a vintage picture of Black readers partaking in a mobile library. It’s also available in different colors. $40

New Releases

Tomb of Sand cover

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree

An 80-year-old woman experiences a depression after the death of her husband that ends up giving her a new, positive outlook on life. Suddenly, she’s eager to buck social traditions and gender norms, flipping the relationship she has with her free-thinking daughter on its head. She befriends a trans woman, travels back to Pakistan to confront her trauma surrounding Partition, and grapples with what it means to have the different identities that women hold. I know this sounds like a very serious take on what it means to live, etc. and it is — but it’s also done with a joyful and light tone, and has fun wordplay and puns that make it a unique read.

cover of Maame by Jessica George; pink and red flowers next to the colors of Ghana's flag

Maame by Jessica George

Maddie is 25, the primary caregiver of a father who suffers from late-stage Parkinson’s, and still somehow at the beck and call of a mother who lives all the way in Ghana. Apart from that, living and working in London comes with casual racism that is wearing away at her. Once her mother returns, though, Maddie pounces on a new found freedom that she plans to spend on a few “firsts” — like living with roommates, going out after work for drinks, and dating. But it isn’t long before something terrible happens and Maddie must pivot again. This is another book that balances the heaviness of issues like family, race, and gender with humor and charm.

More New Releases:

Central Places by Delia Cai

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks (Young Adult)

Reggie’s and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant (Young Adult)

Vampire Weekend by Mick Chen

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Are Prisons Obsolete? cover

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

As soon as it may feel like reforming the inherently crooked system we have in the U.S. is impossible, just remember how ingrained the institution of slavery was at one point in this country, and how it was still abolished. Davis lays out the history of prisons in the U.S. — and how they became a replacement for slavery — and what the world would look like without them.

The New Jim Crow cover

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Like Davis before her, Alexander explains how the caste system didn’t disappear with the abolition of slavery. Rather, it mutated into what we have now — a mix of systems that maintains a certain social order. Prisons have a disproportionate number of Black and Latine men, and are being fed by biased policing, like the traffic stop that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death.

Also read more about caste and how humans fit others into it in Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.

between the world and me

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Coates is super popular, of course, so you’ve probably heard of this book, so consider this encouragement to read it if you haven’t already. In it, Coates writes a letter to his son — in the same vein as James Baldwin’s letter to his nephew in The Fire Next Time — that explains the concept of race in America and what it means for those of us who possess Black bodies. For such a short read — 152 pages — this packs a lot of visceral writing.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

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In Reading Color

New Releases and a New Year! Also, How Grimy is TikTok’s Algorithm?

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Happy Lunar New Year, friends! If you celebrate it, I hope it was fun and restful this weekend. I’ve got a couple books to commemorate it, but first, have y’all heard about TikTok?

The company has basically said the quiet part out loud and admitted that their employees can determine what goes viral. We’ve basically known this for awhile, but having it be made known officially makes looking back at which influencers have become popular on TikTok interesting. This is especially so when you consider which BookTok creators have become popular and what kinds of books they promote. We’ve written about BookTok, of course (here, and here, for instance). What do you think?

As you think on that, and before we get into new books and Lunar New Year books, let’s talk Valentine’s. If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s gift for your bookish boo? Gift Tailored Book Recommendations. Your boo will tell our professional booknerds about what they love and what they don’t, what they’re reading goals are, and what they need more of in their bookish life. Then, they sit back while our Bibliologists go to work selecting books just for them. TBR has plans for every budget. Surprise your bookish boo with Tailored Book Recommendations this Valentine’s and visit TBR.

Bookish Goods

 Reading Rainbow Inspired Enamel Pin

Reading Rainbow Inspired Enamel Pin by PinBotShop

Take a look! It’s in a book! *sings off key* Talk about sweet, sweet nostalgia. I loved the Reading Rainbow as a child (LaVar Burton is a national treasure), and was beside myself when I saw this pin. $10

New Releases

Kathryn Ma cover

The Chinese Groove by Kathryn Ma

This is a mostly light-hearted picaresque novel that follows 18-year-old Shelly who is born in Yunnan Province to a part of the Zheng family that is seen as…less than desirable, let’s say. Because of the great stories of the United States he’s heard, he travels to the country to make something of himself, but finds that the stories may have been exaggerations. Despite some set backs, his optimistic spirit continues on, and his American dream and hopeful plans for his family reuniting may be possible after all.

book cover for the mins one club

The Minus-One Club by Kekla Magoon (Young Adult)

After 15-year-old Kermit loses his sister in a car accident, he gets a mysterious invitation in his locker. It’s signed anonymously and says “-1.” Soon he learns it belongs to the Minus One Club, a club that rises above the usual rules of high school cliques in order to support its members — all of whom have lost someone close to them. Kermit starts growing closer to another member, Matt — the only boy who’s out gay at the school — and the two develop feelings. But things are complicated.

More New Releases:

The Faraway World by Patricia Engel

The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan (Young Adult)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Here are Vietnamese and Chinese book recommendations that have both cultures’ respective zodiacs woven into the story.

Daughters of the New Year cover

Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran

Former beauty queen Xuan Trung loves to ponder her daughters’ futures according to their zodiacs, but the girls prove to be unpredictable. Trac is successful but hides her sexuality, while Nhi searches for love on a mainly white reality show, and Trieu seeks out their family history. As the story travels backwards in time, from their current lives in New Orleans to the lives of their ancestors in Saigon, we see a family with a history that is both epic and haunting.

Side note: if you’re not familiar, the Chinese and Vietnamese zodiacs are similar, except for two details: the Vietnamese zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit, and a buffalo instead of an ox. So this is the year of the cat in Vietnam, while it is the year of the rabbit in China.

cover of Lunar Love

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

Olivia is poised to take over her grandmother’s matchmaking service based in traditional Chinese astrology, but then it gets slandered by eligible bachelor Bennett O’Brien. Liv tries to give men a wide berth, romantically, but then Bennett and she make a deal: whoever matches the other up with someone they fall in love with loses and has to let the other’s dating service flourish. Definitely won’t get messy.

A Little Sumn Extra

Tressie McMillan Cottom wins 2023 Gittler Prize (I keep reading this as the “Glitter Prize,” which also tracks)

2023 Pen America Literary Award Longlist

Lunar New Year Children’s Books

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

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In Reading Color

New Release, Plus Activism & Radical Self-Care

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Each recent year, I’ve taken note to how MLK Day is spoken about. I feel like the conversation surrounding Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has changed a lot, but I’m not sure how much of that is actual, inevitable change, or just my own changed views.

What I’ve noticed is that the once overly simplistic views of King — that he was a pacifist while Malcolm X believed in violence, for example — are being done away with. And that the overall feelings around activists and activism has shifted — I think many Americans are at least a little more knowledgeable about activism on average, as well as the toll activism takes, something King knew all too well. Today, I’ve got a couple recommendations that speak on activism and all the healing it requires.

Bookish Goods

Retro Japanese Custom Bookmarks

Retro Japanese Custom Bookmarks Pack of 30 by KawaiBookmarks

I love the retro anime style of these bookmarks and how they cushion against my bookmark-losing nature. $10

New Releases

Decent People  cover

Decent People  by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

Winslow returns to West Mills, North Carolina, a town in 1975 that is resistant to racial progress and still segregated. There, three siblings are found murdered in their own home. The white and Black sides of the town are hungry to know the truth of what happened, filling in gaps in knowledge with gossip, but the white police don’t seem much interested. A half sibling of the slain people, Olympus “Lymp” Seymore, stands accused of their murder, an accusation that seems steeped in police laziness and stereotyping. Because of this, Ms. Jo Wright, Lymp’s childhood sweetheart and fiancé, sets out to clear her future husband’s name — even if she has a little doubt herself. As her amateur investigation continues, Jo collects all the tea of the town, finding out some deep, dark secrets along the way. I think fans of Attica Locke’s books (especially Bluebird, Bluebird) would like this.

cover of Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

In a rural village in India in 1947, three daughters of a doctor live tucked away safely from the danger of a changing country. The sisters live harmoniously, despite their vastly different personalities — Priya wishes to follow in their father’s footsteps and be a doctor even though she is a girl, Deepa wants to use her beauty to marry into a well-to-do family, and Jamini is the deceptively simple but talented quilt maker. Once their father is killed during a riot and Deepa falls for a Muslim, the violence of the partition of India is felt firsthand by the family.

More New Releases:

Wade in the Water by Nyani Nkrumah

As You Walk On By by  Julian Winters (Young Adult)

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of The Selected Works of Audre Lorde

The Selected Works of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde

Iconic Black, queer writer Audre Lorde coined the term “self-care” that the girlies like to use so much these days. But when she spoke of it, she spoke of how radical it was. She reasoned that, being Black, queer, and a woman, systems around the country were built to keep her in a certain state of decrepitude. And to actively push against that and care for herself was an act of rebellion. This collection was published more recently, but the original collection where she spoke about self-care is A Burst of Light.

cover of by Sarah Eagle Heart (Author), Emma Eagle Heart-White

Warrior Princesses Strike Back: How Lakota Twins Fight Oppression and Heal through Connectedness by Sarah Eagle Heart & Emma Eagle Heart-White

This is also one of today’s new releases. It has a great mix of the personal story of the twins mixed with activism. They recount growing up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of the poorest communities in the U.S., and the odds they had to overcome as a result. They share tools for self-help that are geared toward women of color that are based in their personal experience as well as psychological research on trauma. Activism is seen as a way to right a wrong, but also as a way to gain healing.

A Little Sumn Extra

American Born Chinese adaptation first looks

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Series Is in the Works (!!)

New Blacula Graphic Novel

NAACP Image Awards Nominees

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

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In Reading Color

What is Witcherature, New Releases, and the First Read Harder Challenge!

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Have any of y’all heard of “witcherature,” or witch lit? It’s basically what it sounds like: literature about witches. (Side note, but I should have learned the word “witcherature” way before now.)

I’ve seen reports on how people’s spiritual beliefs in the U.S. have shifted away from being primarily monotheistic (specifically Christian), and with that move has come more people becoming witches, agnostics, atheists, etc.

It’s interesting to consider the shift. I think it indicates a fatigue with the status quo and its existing systems, definitely, but the shift to witchery might also hint to human beings’ tendency towards spirituality. I wonder what the next 5-10 years will look like, spirituality-wise for the U.S. Hopefully it means lots more witcherature!

After you read about witch lit via The Guardian, I’ve got a couple recommendations to help you complete our 2023 Read Harder Challenge. I made sure to include books that weren’t listed in the newsletter already, which, if you’re not subscribed to, you can subscribe to here. By signing up, you’ll get recommendations and other info on the 24 prompts that are part of the challenge.

Bookish Goods

Black woman reading print

Black woman reading print by BronzedBlessedPrints

If you’re like me and trying to redecorate right now, this will be a nice addition. $15+

New Releases

In the Upper Country Book Cover

In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas 

In the late 1800s, around the time of the end of the Undergound Railroad, Lesinda is working for a Black journalist in a Canadian town founded by people who escaped slavery. When a newly arrived elderly woman shoots a slave hunter — and refuses to flee before she’s arrested — Lesinda is tasked with gathering her testimony. Only she doesn’t want to give it for free. But she will trade a story for a story, which opens Lesinda up to a world of Black and Indigenous history across North America, including a secret that may change Lesinda’s world forever.

Ghost Music cover

Ghost Music by An Yu

Mushrooms + surreal/trippy plots seem to have us in a headlock. in Ghost Music, An Yu writes of them as a way for two women to bond before some seriously weird stuff happens. It starts as Song Yan begs her husband for a child, which he refuses. When his mother visits, she, too, urges him to give her grandkids. But then a package of mushrooms native to the mother’s province arrives at the Beijing apartment. Packages with the same contents arrive weekly, and the two women cook the mushrooms in various dishes. Once Song Yan receives a letter from the sender of the packages, her world slides into the nonsensical — she winds up in a strange house, finds a long-disappeared famous musician, and experiences all other manner of surrealism.

More Releases:

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns 

The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

Friday I’m in Love by Camryn Garrett

Ghost Season by Fatin Abbas

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Read Harder Challenge #1: Read a Novel About a Trans Character Written by a Trans Author

the subtweet cover

The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya

Rukmini, an internet-famous artist, covers Neela’s song and the two meet, forming a friendship. But one’s career flourishes while the other’s diminishes and jealousy forms. Everything comes to a head with one tweet — their friendship is in shambles and one is left without a career. The two are Elmo in the Elmo fire meme, basically.

Yemaya's Daughters cover

Yemaya’s Daughters by Dane Figueroa Edidi

This novel jumps through time as two women — trans priestess Inanna Au-Set Oya and Maryam, mother of Jesus — set out to heal the world of pain, the effects of colonialism, and misconception. But they’ll have to do so while staying true to themselves.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Most Anticipated 2023 Releases!

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Have you settled on your bookish resolutions yet? Some of mine include becoming more involved with nonprofit organizations and volunteering. I’m already a mentor through Girls Write Now, which I’ve really enjoyed so far, and am thinking of becoming pen pals with an incarcerated person through an organization I first learned about through Book Riot (Abolition Apostles).

Another resolution I have is reading more diversely. While the authors I read are pretty diverse, because*waves hands around vaguely* obviously, I tend to stick to the same genres. I know this year will be the year I balance my fiction with nonfiction!

To help me out, I’m going to be choosing a few challenges from our Read Harder challenge, which is in its the ninth year. If you’d like to participate, click here to sign up to receive a newsletter that has sends tailored to each of the 24 prompts.

Today I’ve got some new releases, and a few books coming out this year that I’m excited about!

Bookish Goods

Book Journal

Patterned Book Journal  by lucysaysido

Get a new journal for a new year of tracking books! This one comes in a variety of patterns. $32

New Releases

highly suspicious and unfairly cute book cover

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

I’m a super big fan of Hibbert and this YA debut of hers sounds…well, unfairly cute (lol). In it, Celine, the resident conspiracy theorist and local weird girl at her high school, and Bradley, star football player who struggles with OCD, are ex best friends. Actually Bradley abandoned Celine because she didn’t fit in with his new, cool friends (*tsks loudly*). Now they’re just rivals who engage in petty rivalries and now also have to work together in a survival course in the woods. To win, the outdoors aren’t the only messy thing they’ll have to wade through.

The Bandit Queens cover

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Everyone thinks Geeta killed her trifling husband who disappeared years ago. She didn’t, but she doesn’t bother correcting her because of killed my husband perks — people are nice to her, no one has tried to remarry her (i.e control her), and people buy her jewelry. Thing is, Greta’s life is looking pretty sweet to other women in the village, and now some of them want to know how to kill their husbands and get the same freedom.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

cover of the buried and the bound

The Buried and the Bound by  Rochelle Hassan (January 24)

Aziza El-Amin is the only hedge witch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts, and sees to it that the magical beasties in the area are managed. But things change, of course, and a darkness breaks down the boundary between humdrum human world and the magical fairyland, making previously benign fae shenanigans turn dangerous. She strikes a deal with Leo, another teen in town whose dormant curse kicked in a year ago and has been wrecking his life her since. She gets help patrolling the magic in town and he gets help breaking his curse…except we already know it won’t be that simple.

cover of MAAME by  JESSICA GEORGE

Maame by Jessica George (January 31st)

Between caring for a father with Parkinson’s, an overbearing mother overseas, and her job, Maddie is through. She’s spent, done, and just over it. That’s why when her mother comes back to London from Ghana, she jumps at the chance to get out of the house and make up for being a late bloomer. She’ll finally move, go out for drinks, and be more assertive to get what she wants.

cover of Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H

Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H (February 7)

I have not read many queer Muslim books at all, so I’m extra excited for this one. It’s a coming-of-age memoir written by a Muslim girl whose family moves from South Asia to the Middle East. There, she masks her attraction to girls — starting with one of her female teachers — by cracking jokes and trying to have the best grades in class. When she comes across a passage about Maryam in the Quran, who was pregnant but claimed that no man had been with her, she wonders if maybe Maryam liked girls like she did. She starts to question other things about her religion, too, like if Allah is nonbinary since they’re considered to be neither male nor female. This questioning spirit continues once she gets to the U.S. for college, which she notices has some of the same racial issues as her homeland (i.e. colorism). I’m super here for this story of self-discovery!

Yellowface cover

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (May 16)

Kuang only writes bangers, and in this one, June witnesses the death of Athena Liu — who just finished a novel that promises to be a masterpiece about Chinese laborers’ contributions to the Allied forces during WWI. She decides to take her manuscript and claims the story as her own. To take full advantage (because, you know, stealing someone’s book wasn’t enough), she also lets her publisher rebrand her with an Asian-sounding name and an author photo of someone who is racially ambiguous. The book is successful, but June can’t shake the feeling that it could all come tumbling down, and that the truth of Athena is about to be exposed.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

New Releases and a Few More Faves!

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

Phew! I haven’t left my house for the past couple days, as I find the cold air hitting my throat to be very rude. I hope y’all are staying warm with this ridiculously low temperatures North America is experiencing!

I’ve got a few more favorites from 2022 to share with you, but first it’s time for Read Harder 2023! This is the ninth year Book Riot has done this challenge and if you’d like to participate, click here to sign up to receive a newsletter that has sends tailored to each of the 24 prompts.

Bookish Goods

Read More Books Velveteen Plush Blanket

Read More Books Velveteen Plush Blanket by BookishHeaux

‘Tis the season to snuggle up and “read more books!” This velveteen throw sounds super soft and comes in at $36

New Releases

Someone Had to Do It by Amber and Danielle Brown cover

Someone Had to Do It by Amber and Danielle Brown

Brandi’s dream internship at well-to-do New York fashion house Simon Van Doren consists of micro aggressions and cleaning vomit from couture dresses (side note, but this is why we can’t have nice things!). Despite it all, she still has stars in her eyes for the life of Van Doren’s daughter and it-girl Taylor. Shockingly (not shockingly), this adoration is crushed once Brandi learns something at a party. Now the two women’s fates are tied together in this fast-paced thriller.

The Book of Everlasting Things cover

The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra

In 1938, Samir Vij and Firdaus Khan first see each other and are instantly smitten — one a perfumer’s apprentice, the other a cartographer’s apprentice. As the two of them become enraptured by the ancient crafts they’re learning, so to do they fall in love with each other. But Samir is Hindu and Firdaus Muslim, and Partition sees to it that they are now Indian and Pakistani, respectively. Their love is now forbidden, but will that end it or make it grow stronger?

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

the weight of blood book cover

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

This is a retelling of Carrie by Stephen King, but I couldn’t tell you how closely it adheres to the original as I haven’t read it. I’d wager it’s a bit different, though, as its main character is a biracial girl living in the south where there is still a high school that has a segregated prom (yes, for real, and this was inspired by real schools who had segregated proms as late as like 2014).

The story opens up letting us know that a tragedy happened at prom that left many students dead…and that people say Maddy did it. Although they don’t really know how she did it, and she’s since disappeared. The devastating night is first set in motion weeks before, when it’s discovered that Maddy has Black heritage once her hair gets wet and reverts back to its natural curl pattern. Up until that point, she’d painstakingly made sure her hair was straight so she could pass as white. Once her classmates discover this, they start bullying her, the worst of which comes on that fateful night. I listened to this on audio, and I loved how they structured the podcast segments (different chapters of the book are structured as podcast hosts going over the events of the prom night) and how each character had their own narrator. It was so, so good.

Golden Ax cover

Golden Ax by Rio Cortez

This poetry collection is all about frontiers, and how Black people have met and contended with them. Cortez’s family were actually pioneers in the Western U.S., and their legacy is here, as are observations of timeless topics like Black womanhood and identity. Let me gag you real quick with an excerpt from her “Covered Wagon as Spaceship:”

“…how do you come

to be where there are no others, except

science fiction? 

I am a child feeling

extraterrestrial; whose history, untold,

is not enough. 

Anyway, it begins with abduction.”

Cover of A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee

A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee

Here’s another YA fantasy. This one takes place in the Japan-inspired Awara, where magical beings and humans exist together. One day, as Miuko, a innkeeper’s daughter, is carrying out her duties, she gets cursed by a demon. As the curse slowly spreads to the rest of her body, she sets out on a journey to reverse the process that has started turning her into a demon. To succeed, she’ll have to contend with trickster spirits, feral gods, and a demon who disguises himself as a prince. Once she sees how much freedom women are granted within the magical world, she’ll have to decided if the freedom and power that come with being a demon are worth returning to the human world, with its sexist traditions. This is definitely for the girlies who love Miyazaki.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

New Releases and a Few of My Favorite Books This Year

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

By now you’ve been bombarded with all the best-of book lists (some have been out since October *gasp*). I’m throwing my humble hat into the ring with a mini list of some of my favorite books I read this year, but that didn’t necessarily come out this year. I thought including ones I like that were released whenever made it a little less redundant compared to other lists.

But before we get into that, it’s time for Read Harder 2023! This is the ninth year Book Riot has done this challenge and if you’d like to participate, click here to sign up to receive a newsletter that has sends tailored to each of the 24 prompts.

Bookish Goods

Totoro Japanese Knot Bag

Totoro Japanese Knot Bag by CreativeLifeNY

I’ve been sick for the past few days and been seeking out comforting things, which naturally led me to watching some Studio Ghibli. Somehow, I hadn’t yet seen My Neighbor Totoro, but I’m glad I corrected that oversight because it’s one of the cutest movies ever. I can’t wait to order my own Totoro bag. $21+

New Releases

In It to Win It cover

In It to Win It by Sharon C. Cooper

Morgan has never had to worry about money, and may be just the teensy bit spoiled, but she’s also determined to make her own way in life and have a career where she can help people. By helping kids who are aging out of the foster care system, she hopes to do just that, but the property she has her sights on is also being sought after by an old flame. Now she’ll have to compete against Drake, who she ghosted years ago. House hunting is about to get a little petty…and a lot steamy.

cover of How to Turn Into a Bird by Maria Jose Ferrada; illustrations of blue and red birds

How to Turn Into a Bird by María José Ferrada, translated by Elizabeth Bryer

Miguel is beyond intrigued by his uncle Ramón’s unconventional lifestyle: after years of being a factory worker, the man takes a job looking after a Coca-Cola billboard…and decides to start living on the perch behind the billboard. Gossip swirls about the sanity of the man, and when a boy disappears, society’s general intolerance for those who are different erupts into violence. Through it all, Miguel will have to figure out for himself whether other people have a point or if his uncle just has a better view of things from that high up.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

daughter of the moon goddess book cover

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

This was such a lovely fantasy ride! It tells the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the moon, through her daughter Xingyin. After Xingyin’s presence is hinted at by her magic, she must flee the comforts of her mother, who has been exiled to the moon for offending the Celestial Kingdom. But Xingyin leaves her home with the goal of winning her mother’s freedom. To do so, she’ll disguise her identity, learn alongside the emperor’s son, and fight legendary beasts. The sequel to this is out and I’m sure it’s equally stunning.

Cover of A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a minute, you may have noticed my science fiction and fantasy bias. I try to correct for it by including a range of genres, but it’s no surprise that my favorites will be full of the fantastical. And Clark’s world in Master of Djinn is fantastical.

It’s full of djinn, who have returned to an early 1900s Egypt, bringing their magic and engineering with them. Their return is so significant that it elevates Egypt into world power status, to the chagrin of certain European countries. When the members of a secret brotherhood dedicated to the almost mythical man who brought back the djinn, al-Jahiz, are all brutally murdered, the youngest female detective in the Ministry of Alchemy is assigned the case. The streets are saying al-Jahiz, the Master of Djinn, has returned, but Agent Fatma can’t bring herself to believe it. The problem is that a mysterious man saying he’s al-Jahiz can actually control legendary djinn, and it’ll be up to Fatma, the rest of the agency, and all the magical beings she befriends to help her bring peace back to Cairo. Make sure to read the 43-page prequel A Dead Djinn in Cairo before getting into this one (and listen on audio if you can! The performance is *chef’s kiss*).

The Hacienda Book Cover

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

When Beatriz’s father is executed as part of the Mexican War of Independence in the 1800s, her and her mother are thrown out of the relative life of privilege they’d grown accustomed to. Desperate to change their situation, Beatriz agrees to marry Don Rodolfo Solórzano — nevermind the rumors about what happened to his first wife, the sigils the cook draws above the kitchen threshold, or the handsome priest who may know a thing or two about brujeria.

This retelling of Rebecca had me gagging! I couldn’t listen to it at night outside of my house. I’ve never been frightened by a book to that extent — which I realize may not be saying too much since I’m not a big horror reader.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

New Releases on New Releases!

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

I’m back from my trip to Boston, where I did nearly zero reading (lol). I did have a lot of fun, though, and found a new animal to stan: stingrays. As random as that sounds, it’s because of a trip we took to the aquarium where we got to pet them.Turns out they’re like smooth, wet doggos.

In any case, I’m back and still recovering. I’ve also got some new releases for you!

Before we get into that, it’s time for Read Harder 2023! This is the ninth year Book Riot has done this challenge and if you’d like to participate, click here to sign up to receive a newsletter that has sends tailored to each of the 24 prompts.

Bookish Goods

Concrete Terrazzon Bookend

Concrete Terrazzon Bookend by SpecklGoods

If you, like me, have been looking for new book shelf accessories, you could do worse than these funky-cute bookends. $32.

New Releases

cover of A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar

A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar

After you stop gawking at how pretty the cover is, you’ll dive into what the author calls “a sapphic heist novel set on the Titanic.” The diverse cast of main characters includes an actress, an artist, a thief, and an acrobat. The POV switches between each girl, building tension until the finale, as each of them contends with everything it takes to steal the Rubaiyat, a bejeweled book worth a lot of money. Question is, will the girls survive and pull off their heist?

cover of My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby

My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby

From the work he does for his cousin’s funeral parlor to the fights he gets into at his favorite bar, Nathan Waymaker is used to handling bodies. When a local minister turns up dead, his congregation hires Nathan to give more attention to the case. The crime lords, crooked cops, and a mysterious preacher certainly won’t make that easy for him, though.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

There were a few more new books out this month that I wanted to highlight, so the new releases section will get a bit of an expansion.

The Tatami Galaxy cover

The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi, translated by Emily Balistrieri 

For the past two years, our unnamed protagonist, a junior in college, has made mistake after mistake. As he and his creepy friend Ozu concoct a revenge plan involving fireworks, he happens to run into someone claiming to be a god. Suddenly, the protagonist is set on a new path, one where he gets to travel through time seeing what would have happened had he made different decisions.

cover of To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness by Robin Coste Lewis

To the Realization of Perfect Helplessness by Robin Coste Lewis

Twenty-five years ago, National Book Award-winning poet Lewis found a huge collection of old photographs under her recently departed grandmother’s bed. Here, she writes poems to accompany these images of Black people living in the 20th century.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In Reading Color

Cozy Offerings and New Releases

Welcome to In Reading Color, a space where we focus on literature by and about people of color.

By the time this comes out, I will have left for Boston with a friend. We’re going on a “just ’cause” trip that actually started out as me wanting to take a quiet, relatively quick trip somewhere as a reset. My friend is the down-for-whatever type, so she wanted to tag along.

She’s also kind of extra, like me, so we decided to take an Amtrak train to make it a cute little winter trip. We’re still hoping it snows only while we’re on the train (the visuals!) and not once we get to Boston, but we’ll see what actually happens.

Bookish Goods

Book Nerd Hoodie

Book Nerd Hoodie by OrangeDesignTX

Rep the book nerd life and stay warm with this hoodie. It comes in a variety of colors and sizes. $28+

New Releases

A Dash of Salt and Pepper cover

A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson

Life is just not doing it for Xavier lately. He just got dumped, passed over for a fellowship, and has to go back home to Maine. But Maine is also where he goes to work as a prep chef for the desperate (but also very single) Logan O’Hare. Let’s just say things get spicy in the kitchen.

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion cover

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

This new novel is queer, joyous, and musical. It takes place in Queens in the ’80s, where Razia grows up as part of a tightknit Muslim community. With each of her female friendships, she finds out more of who she is until, finally, she’s in a relationship with another girl. When the relationship comes to the light, she’ll have to decide if her community is worth sacrificing herself.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Y’all, I am so ready to be on this train snuggled up! I’ve got a couple possible books I may bring along, but as I write this, I still haven’t decided. Such is this reading life.

cover image for Death by Bubble Tea

Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow

Yale and Celine are cousins who haven’t seen each other in 20 years when Celine visits from Hong Kong. That doesn’t stop Yale’s dad from insisting the two of them bond over running a food stall in a night market (lol at dad getting some free labor). When a customer turns up dead after drinking their bubble tea — which was so adorably garnished with some suspicious gold flakes Celine added — the two girls become suspects. They have to work together to clear their names before they end up spending even more time together in the clink.

Body and Soul Food cover image

Body and Soul Food by Abby Collette

Twins Koby Hill and Keaton Rutledge were orphaned at two and later separated. When they find each other again as adults, not only is their bond still there, they have shared interests. Those interests lead to them opening a bookstore/soul food cafe, but then Koby’s foster brother is found murdered a week before grand opening. The two work together to help police solve what seems to be an impossible crime.

Murder in G Major cover image

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

I’ve recommended this before in this newsletter, but it’s been awhile. And I really love this series, so here we go again! Gethsemane Brown is Black American, a classically trained musician, and currently stranded in a lovely small town in the Irish countryside. She takes a job teaching at an all boys school, and the setting would be picturesque if it wasn’t for the ghost of the former owner of the cottage she’s staying in demanding she solve the case of his wife’s murder and prove his innocence.

Thanks for reading; it’s been cute! If you want to reach out and connect, email me at erica@riotnewmedia.com or tweet at me @erica_eze_. You can find me on the Hey YA podcast with the fab Tirzah Price, as well as in the In The Club newsletter.

Until next time,

Erica