The Beekeeper of Aleppo

I have realized over the last few years that the fairly new Aspen Words Prize, focused exclusively on fiction with a social impact, is one of my favorite literary prizes. I am by no means an expert in literary prizes, but what I can say is that their long and short lists are wonderfully diverse…

Brown Girl Dreaming

I know I don’t usually read children’s/middle grade books, and Woodson has written “adult” books, so I’m not really sure what made me feel like this needed to be the first one by her that I read. But there was definitely a reason, because I bought this a year or so ago and have had…

What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky

This collection has been on my radar for a while. With a title like that, it’s one that sticks out and sticks with you. But I am not often in the mood for story collections, so it stayed on the periphery for quite some time. However, I have to say, I think I am coming…

The Boyfriend Project

First, thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC of this contemporary romance. (If you are into audiobooks, definitely check out their librarian/influencer program!) I was really in the need for something light and sexy (contemporary romances have become some of my favorite escapist literature over the past few years) and this was sounded like it would…

How We Get Free

This book was chosen by a friend as the first book of an Anti-Racist Book Club that she started. I know that the reactions to white people, white women, starting book clubs like this to address racism is very understandably skeptical as an empty gesture that will soon be moved on from… All I can…

The Girl with the Louding Voice

It’s really hard not to notice this novel, with a cover like that. Honestly. It’s bright and gorgeous and one of those covers that absolutely makes you want to judge the book inside and read it even if you really don’t even have an idea what it’s about. So that’s about where I was with…

Dominicana

I have wanted to read this for so long! There’re so many books I say that about, but this is one I knew right away I wanted to read. I think the only Dominican author I’ve read is Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies) and while I thought it was amazing, it was…

The Nickel Boys

Knowing what this book was about, I was super nervous about reading it. I was afraid of the intensity of the content. But I still had it tentatively on my TBR, because I had read and really appreciated Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad when I read it a few years ago. (In fact, I event went…

My Plain Jane

I read the first of the novels by “The Lady Janies,” My Lady Jane, a few years ago on a snow day. It was a “retelling” of Lady Jane Grey, the queen for nine days of famous British historic lore, full of magic and shape-shifting and humor gave this tragic story a fun twist and…

Know My Name

This has been on my TBR since the moment I heard about it. And that was only reinforced by all the reviews I saw of it. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy though, for so many reasons, personal and otherwise. But important and necessary. Originally, I was nervous when my hold came up…