November Reading

 The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩...𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦.” This book is literally perfect for this season - it’s got witches, suffragettes, voting rights issues, and MAGIC!New Salem in the late 19th century is a hot mess with women fighting for their voting rights as well as their rights for economic and domestic justice. Harrow shows her writing chops by creating three disparate yet compelling sisters, a diverse group of fellow witches who form their own sisterhood, and a  villain who has stood the test of time, literally. While this book took its time to pull all the plot strings  together, it is well worth it. The final 150 pages are exciting and magical, making this book impossible to put down. Alix Harrow has become an auto-buy author for me after this one and 𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺 (ahem, I am still waiting for that sequel!)

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘕𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩.”Wow. No seriously, WOW. After being on my TBR list for months, I finally read it in just 24 hours. This book is earth shattering. Based on the true story of a young Black girl killed by a Korean shop owner in 1991 Los Angeles, author Steph Cha uses that incident to juxtapose it with the racially charged world of today... the world of systemic racism, of segregated neighborhoods, of families torn apart, of generational anger, of marches and protests and the lack of justice for brown and black people. This book will blow your mind. Do NOT miss it. 

Down Along with That Devil's Bones: A Reckoning with Monuments, Memory and the Legacy of White Supremacy by Connor Towne O'Neill

Do you like history and all kinds of interesting historical trivia? How about an inspiring story about fighting to rid Tennessee of all kinds of statues and monuments of Nathan Bedford Forrest? (Yes, the namesake of Forrest, Forrest Gump!) My goodness, the stuff I learned that I knew utterly nothing about was beyond fascinating: the pivotal Confederate battles and losses, the background of General Forrest (trust me, it's not pleasant), the reasons behind the monuments and their artists, and how hard so many people had to work to convince government and college officials to take them down (yes, it made me want to scream). 

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

How does society form a terrorist? Is it the neighborhood, religious beliefs, family, friends, lovers, circumstance, poverty, racism, war? Or a combination of all these things? Is a terrorist evil or sympathetic, born or made, guilty or blameless? Is Israel right or wrong? Is Palestine? Is there an answer? Or is there grey area in all these ideas? A book that makes me question and provokes conversation is always a winner for me, and this book does just that. We meet Nahr, the pivotal character, at the 'end,' as she lives in solitary confinement in an Israeli prison. As she recounts the journey of her life and what led her to this place, we experience the journey with her. Nahr is complex, rather hateful at times, selfish at others, sometimes devoted, sometimes kind. There are no black and white answers in this book, which is what I loved about it. This would be an amazing book club choice as there is so much to chew on.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

What a beautiful book showing a completely unique side of the Latinx community, and rather perfect as the Day of the Dead comes up this weekend. In this young adult novel, we meet Yadriel, a transgender boy who lives in a cemetery in East Los Angeles, who desperately wants his father to accept him as a brujo, a Latino who can help the dead find their way to the underworld. Yads is the most amazing character - funny, loving, smart, loyal - you will adore him, as you will his best friend, Maritza, who really can't stand the idea of being a bruja due to the animal blood needed and her vegan lifestyle. These two have to deal with a ghost named Julian, who needs their help and earns their friendship, all while solving a mystery of missing young men in their community. A bit long in parts for me, but ultimately a wonderful story of family, acceptance, and the spiritual world.

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

This is one of the most authentically voiced story of a young adult Black woman, searching for where she belongs in her world and the world in which she lives. Portland, Oregon is the setting, a supposed bastion of progressive thinking, but with a long history of racially segregated neighborhoods and biased laws. Attending a mostly-white school on scholarship, Jade has many people who want to 'save' her, but...does she need saving? The laser focus on the subtle racism everywhere in our world - schools, department stores, mentors, support programs - is powerful and eye opening. This would be a fantastic book to use in a classroom.

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

This was just a weird book for me. Granted, it's a very 'buzzy' book, with lots of people reading and talking about it. However, in my typical 'outlier' attitude, I just honestly did not see what the big deal was? Here's the premise: wealthy white NYC couple rents Long Island home with their two teenage kids, a blackout in the city occurs, thus the Black couple who owns the home return and hang out with the renters. Yes, there is tension. Yes, it is creepy in subtle and overt ways. Yes, it gives no answers but provokes many questions. But at the end of it all, I was left just feeling 'meh.'