Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
If you read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, YES, you are definitely going to want to pick this book up. A prequel, not a sequel (which I love!), this story showcases Starr's father, Maverick. A teenage Black boy, struggling with school, the allure of gangs, the money to be made from selling drugs, being a teenage father, many of the issues of an inner-city kid from twenty years ago are here. Yet more importantly, we also see the love Maverick always had for his children, the deep and abiding loyal friendships he shares with his cousin and fellow gang members, and the strong Black women in his life, who slap him upside the head as needed, and pull him in for a hug when necessary. And if you listen to audio books, this is the way to go - the narrator is fan-freaking-tastic!!!
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
"Nothing is going to save us. If we don't save ourselves, we're dead." This is the ultimate modern day classic of a dystopic novel, written by the quintessential Black female writer who broke every barrier for sci-fi writers. I adored her antebellum/sci-fi book, Kindred, and felt the need to see what else she had going on. Set in California in the mid-2020's, climate change has destroyed the old American society and morphed into anarchy, violence, and fear. Police must be paid for help, literacy is scarce, and people live in walled-off communities. Lauren, a fifteen year old with hyper-empathy (she feels others' pain) sees the future; she understands they cannot go back, but must go forward with a new religion, new mindset, and ultimately, into the stars. This book is the journey of that new community, Earthseed. It is a sad, eerie, and ultimately rather scary look into our future if we do not embrace the difficult changes we must in order to save our planet.
A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet
Weird. Eerie. Creepy. Scary. Think Lord of the Flies, but In today's world of climate change, white privilege, parenting gone awry. This book has it all. Told through the eyes of teenage girl Evie (ahem, think Garden of Eden but gone waaaaaay wrong), this is a tale of a group of children vacationing with their parents, but not really 'with' them 'cause they kinda despise their parents. Yeah, they play a game where they wont even acknowledge which 'rents are their's. And when a hurricane comes and plunges East Coast and America into anarchy, quite frankly, it hits a little to close to home. Nominated for tons of awards in 2020, I get why; it is brilliant in places, yet also left some achingly big plot holes for me at times. But I'm pretty sure that was the point...to make us reflect, to question our current lives and actions and beliefs, to look in a mirror even when what's looking back is pretty damn ugly. This book won't make you think of sunshine and unicorns, but it will make you think. Great for a book club who likes provocative topics.
City of Thieves by David Benioff
The siege of Leningrad, two young men, and a deal to be made - find a dozen eggs for the wedding of the colonel's daughter and you can live. How does such a crazy unique plot line, birthed into just 258 pages, turn into one of the best books I have read this year?! I mean, the history is real and fascinating and raw and scary, yet I laughed out loud more times than I could count. The tension is high, making me feel like I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire few days of these boys' adventures. And the final fifty pages were simply mind-blowing. So yeah, David Benioff got busy executive producing Game of Thrones post this book being written - I would like him to come back to novel writing. Please. I will buy anything he writes.
The Night Always Come by Willy Vlautin
This short lil book, at merely 208 pages, packs a punch. A huuuuuuge punch. A punch to the gut, the heart, the brain. It covers just one night in Portland, Oregon, as Lynette tries to solve the problem of how to buy her own home, and change her life around. Throw in some incredible peripheral characters (her mentally disabled brother, her distant mother, pummeled by life and her past decisions, a prostitute, a drug dealer, a creeper, a bartender), mix in memories of the past dealing with mental illness, and then sprinkle on top the societal issues of today including the illusiveness of home ownership, the lack of support for the working class, the gentrification found in mid-size cities, and you've got one humdinger of a novel. I could not put this book down. Is it depressing as hell? You bet. Is it real, authentic, brutally honesty? Absolutely. The only way to raise our empathy is to try and crawl into someone else's life and roll around in it, even for just one night. Vlautin allows us to do just that. This is a book that will haunt me for some time.
Metropolitan Stories by Christine Coulson
If you're an art history buff or love the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, this book is definitely for you. Written by a woman who spent years working at the Met, this collection of stories is highly creative, gorgeously written, and so very unique. Coulson looks at every aspect of the Met world, from the donors, the curators, the janitor, even the art itself. Some stories invoke magical realism, others show the dark or funny side of the art world. This is a short, impactful book for any art lover.
Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker
When I fall heavily in love with a book (ie. We Begin at the End), I do love to go back and see where the author began. This first book of Whitaker's gave me some answers, as well as some entertainment. It is the story of a small town in Northern California, peopled with so many unique characters that at times they were hard to keep straight in my mind. But be patient - it is worth it in the end. The axis of this story is the disappearance of a three year old boy; months later, the mother, the sheriff, the entire town are still haunted by it. This book shows the beginning of Whitaker's ability to create characters we love (ie. teenage boy Manny), others we question (mom, dad, sheriff), and some we want to just hug. Definitely a worthy backlist book.
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
At just 191 pages, this small book makes an impact and reminded me how so much has changed in just a few decades. Set in the 1980's, this translation sets the scene in Poland, a country struggling with its own identity as part of the communist bloc, the burgeoning Solidarity movement, seeing the populace question the long lines, the inequity of the haves and the have nots, the graft of political leaders, the lack of medical care, and the lure of something so simple as Western music. Reflected in this search for identity is the main character, Ludwik, as he slowly accepts his life as a gay man, falling in love with Janusz who stays connected to old Poland and old thinking. This is a beautifully written book that touched me deeply; it is not to be missed.
