February is always a great reading month for me, and this year, I decided to add an extra layer to my challenge. I read a lot of books written and about persons of color, because I am intentional about searching out books that challenge and stretch my perspective. This month, in honor of Black History Month, I aimed to have 50% of my reading be by and about people of African descent. I managed to find books that fit so many different categories, from fantasy novels with African folklore, to sweeping historical fiction that spanned generations, to contemporary novels that looked at racism in today’s world. I’m proud of myself for meeting this goal, and I’m glad I set out at the start of the month with this intentionality.
It was a good reading month overall, despite being a generally awful month otherwise, and I finished four books in the last week of the month (thanks, Mardi Gras!).
Books are listed in the order they were read. For more mini-reviews, check out my What I Read tag.
Monthly Stats
- Total Books Read in February: 10 Books
- Total Authors Read in February: 10 Authors
- Total Pages Read: 2,100 Pages
- Total Hours Listened: 30.5 Hours
- Total Books Quit: 1 Book
- Average Days Per Book: 2.9 Days per Book
- Average Pages Per Day: 72.5 Pages per Day
Long Story Short…
- If you enjoy books that span generations, read Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
- If you like unique memoirs, check out Inheritance by Dani Shapiro.
- If you’re looking for social commentary that doesn’t make you cry, try Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.
- If you like historical fiction from multiple timelines and points of view, read All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig.
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Premise: Jo and Old Gin live in a basement under the printing room of the newspaper Focus in 1890 Atlanta. Distinctly Chinese, they have a hard time finding their place in a society who sees everyone as black or white.
Rating: 3 Stars
Thoughts: I love historical fiction that shows me different times and perspectives that I haven’t read before, and this one was definitely that type of historical fiction book. Told from the point of view of a Chinese-American (well, she would have been Chinese-American if she were allowed to be a citizen), Jim Crow Atlanta really took on a different light, and I thought the point of view was so unique.
I did think the story felt a little flat in the beginning. There was so little revealed about the characters that I had a hard time connecting to them on an emotional level, so later on when shit hit the fan, it was harder for me to really connect with the story. I did think it was twisty and surprising and intriguing in some parts, and I definitely didn’t see all of the surprises coming, but overall, the story just felt a little flat to me, despite the great historical connections.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys historical fiction set in the South. Anyone looking for a good YA historical fiction novel.
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray
Premise: Althea and her husband Proctor are locked up in jail for stealing money from the community. Leaving behind two sisters and two daughters, the hole in the family is hard to overcome, and all of the characters are forced to face their past in order to have a stronger future.
Rating: 4 Stars
Thoughts: I’ll be honest about myself; I regularly pick up books just because they have a pretty cover. In fact, I knew nothing about this book, other than the pretty cover, going into read it. I saw it compared to An American Marriage, which was one of my favorite reads last year, and I was sold. The comparison, surprisingly, is a pretty accurate one — deep look at characters and their relationships to one another, and the strain that prison and wrongdoing can have on those relationships.
This book was really a deep dive into mental health and the justice system, but not in a preachy or overdone way. Characters are the central focus here, not plot, and watching them look at their ghosts in the eye and work to overcome them really pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me think. I thought it was deep without being heavy, and a good, solid read.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who liked An American Marriage. Anyone who enjoys character studies. Anyone wanting a book about family relationships.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Premise: In 1936, an unlikely group of nine were sent to the Berlin Olympics to row for the United States. Among them were Joe Rantz, a boy who grew up among strife and poverty in the worst of the Depression. This book is a telling of their journey from poor college boys to men who are rowing on the greatest stage on the brink of war.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Thoughts: First off, I would like Ed Herman to narrate my entire life, please. I loved listening to Unbroken, which was also narrated by him, and this audiobook was no exception. He brings a depth of emotion and meaning to nonfiction that may be harder to find when reading the print version of the same story. And, I’ll be honest, it took a lot for me to care about rowing.
I generally avoid sports books, but this book hooked me by the end. I enjoyed hearing about that time period (Great Depression, leading into WWII) from a perspective I haven’t yet heard, and by the end of the book, I was literally cheering in my car for the boys, even though I already knew the outcome. Their story is really inspiring and intriguing and surprising. It took me a while to get into it, but by the end, I was hooked.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes narrative nonfiction. Anyone who enjoys history. Anyone wanting to learn more about this sport.
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae
Premise: Actress, comedian, and producer Issa Rae talks about her life growing up as an awkward black girl. She discusses what it’s like to have an African father, how growing up in a black middle school made her question her identity, and the path that led her to creating Awkward Black Girl, her web series that eventually led to Insecure.
Rating: 4 Stars
Thoughts: I listened to this entire audiobook in one day. I had a long drive to and from New Orleans, and I started it when I pulled out of my driveway and finished it when I pulled back into my garage. I’m really glad I chose this audiobook to binge, though, because it never got old.
Some memoirs, especially when they are not written chronologically, can feel chaotic and repetitive. This one did not. It had a cohesion to it that I really enjoyed, and there were rarely overlapping themes and stories. At the beginning of the book, she does warn you not to try to keep up with her family’s moves throughout her childhood, and that is a good warning because she never explicitly defines when she moved to and from Senegal, how long she lived in Potomac, and when she moved to LA. However, it didn’t really detract from her narrative and I found myself just enjoying the story she was weaving without getting too caught up in the details.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes author-narrated audiobooks. Anyone who enjoyed Awkward Black Girl and Insecure.
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
Premise: Zélie and Amari have brought back magic to Orïsha, but they are immediately overcome by Amari’s mother, who is determined to kill all of the magi with the new powers that were unleashed by Zélie.
Rating: 4 Stars
Thoughts: While I listened to the audio of the first in this series, I opted to read the physical copy of the second. The whole time I was reading it, however, I was hearing the voice of the audiobook narrator in my head, pronouncing the words for me (which I was grateful for, honestly). The book read a lot quicker than I expected it to, since the audiobook of the first one took me forever, but I found myself devouring 10 or 12 chapters in one sitting.
I was able to follow this story a lot better (but it could be because of the format difference?) and I thought Zélie’s story was just as captivating, if not more enthralling since she had to deal with political pressures, the loss of loved ones, and falling in love, all while her world is crumbling around her. There have been so many moments (even this week as I was reading this book) where I’ve felt like it would be easier to just run away and escape the pressures put on me, but watching Zélie face that idea and still choose to fight… it was inspiring.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes fantasy novels. Anyone who is looking for a book on race relations. Anyone who wants a good character arc.
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro
Premise: Author and memoirist Dani Shapiro took a DNA test on a whim, certain that she was from a long line of Jewish ancestors. When her results came back mostly European, and they didn’t have anything in common with her half-sister, she dove into the world of artificial insemination and had to come to terms with the fact that she was not who she thought she was.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Thoughts: Ok, I really, really liked this audiobook. It was pretty short (as far as audiobooks go), but it packed a punch. Dani Shapiro was 54 years old when she realized her father was not her actual father, and after having a tumultuous relationship with her mother, she had to deal with the storm of emotions and trauma that comes along with having your world turned upside down. This memoir took me for a ride through her head as she unravelled her past and reshaped it to include a man she didn’t know.
There were moments when I teared up through this book, although it wasn’t sad, really. It just forced me to think about my heritage and what it means to be me. Am I me because of my heritage? Or because of the people that raised me? Or because I made conscious decisions throughout me life to become who I am? The author wrestled with all of these thoughts and had to face a lifetime of secrets and neglect, and I thought it was so well-written (and well-performed on audio).
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys memoirs. Anyone interested in ancestry and linage.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Premise: This sweeping novel follows the descendants of Maame, who had two children that never knew each other. Each chapter introduces a new character in the lineage, and you go back and forth between ancestry lines. In the end, the novel spans 7 generations and hundreds of years.
Rating: 5 Stars
Thoughts: So this is my second time reading this novel, as I picked it for my book club to read this month and decided I really needed to reread it in order to participate in the conversation. I have to say that I’m really glad I reread it, and I’m even more glad I took notes and really paid attention to the lineages. On the surface, it’s easy to see the stark difference between Esi and Effia’s lineages… Esi’s future generations were condemned to a life of slavery, poverty, and imprisonment, while Effia’s lineage were able to make choices for themselves in who they would become. But, at the heart of this novel, the struggles both lineages face stem from expectations and assumptions about who they are and who they are not, and the role that ancestry plays in our inherited trauma. Marcus’s chapter touches briefly on this idea, which really brought the story full circle for me. This story is so masterfully woven, and I cared about each character deeply, even though I only had a short time with each of them.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Anyone interested in African history and multigenerational stories. Anyone looking for a unique read.
All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig
Premise: It’s WWI and Aurelie runs away from her mother, who is living at the Ritz in Paris to be with her dad, closer to the front lines of the war. It’s WWII and Daisy is married to a Frenchman who is betraying his country to help the Nazis. It’s 1964 and Babs is trying to solve the mystery of her husband’s time in WWII. All three women are connected by the Ritz and their love of family.
Rating: 4 Stars
Thoughts: When these three authors come together, you know I’m going to read whatever they write. I read and loved The Forgotten Room and The Glass Ocean, and I had high hopes for this new release. As always, the characters in this novel were full and dynamic and so, so likable that I was cheering them on through every step of the book. I also appreciated seeing different time periods played out, and I thought that Babs was a great addition to the wartime characters.
That being said, this one fell a bit flatter than the authors’ other collaborations. It was really difficult for me to keep Aurelie and Daisy straight… they were both during wartime, and a lot of the characters overlapped between stories. For good reason, I see now, but Babs’s story was a breath of fresh air in between the other two characters. The ending of the story (especially Daisy’s rise to fame) felt a bit rushed as well; I would have liked to see more of her internal dialogue when she was choosing how her life would unfold. All in all, it was a good book, especially if you like a good love story, but it was not my favorite by the authors.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes multiple timelines and points of view. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction and love stories.
Elevation by Stephen King
Premise: Scott Carey is losing weight. It wouldn’t be a big deal, except his body is not changing… at all. And when he adds weights to his pockets, the scale doesn’t register it. As he loses one or two or three pounds a day, he reevaluates his life and the people around him.
Rating: 3 Stars
Thoughts: I have never read Stephen King before, mostly because I’m a bit scaredy cat who hates anything horror related. But multiple people told me (swore to me!) that this wasn’t a horror story, and I needed a quick audiobook, so I grabbed this one on Libby and went for it.
This is a novella, really, longer than a short story but much shorter than a normal book, and I thought it could have been a bit shorter (like short story length). It was an intriguing story that forced me to think about the nature of the end of our lives and how we can come to terms with it. I also really liked the community that Scott formed around himself before he left, and it felt really sweet and authentic.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who likes short stories and novellas. Anyone looking for a story that makes you think.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Premise: Emira loves babysitting Briar, but Alix Chamberlain, Briar’s mom, can be a bit overbearing. This is amplified when Alix finds out that she has a history with Emira’s new boyfriend.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Thoughts: This book was a tough one for me to rate, and not only because it’s been hyped literally everywhere (hello, Reese Witherspoon). I wasn’t super tempted by it, but after reading so many rave reviews, I figured I’d hop on the long library holds list and see what the fuss was about. Maybe the hype had something to do with my ambivalence towards the book, but I think I’ll stand by my rating. The hardest part about the book for me was Emira’s basic lack of… anything. It felt like she was more of a placeholder that did what everyone else wanted her to do. Sure, she loved Briar and she stood by that love throughout the novel, but I didn’t really get why she didn’t take more initiative or speak up more, not just in her job but with her friends and with Kelley and with her parents… it just felt like she was a stand-in while everyone else was living her life for her.
At that same point, I do think that’s 100% what the author intended for her, so that’s probably more of a me thing and less of a not-great-book thing. I did like the commentary on the ways racism plays out subtly in our culture, between Alix’s “white savior” complex and Kelley’s fetishizing of black women. Racism isn’t always so blatant as a security guard holding Emira hostage at the grocery store, and the author did a great job of showing the various systems in which this does play out.
Who Should Read It: Anyone who wants a quick, captivating read. Anyone looking for social commentary that doesn’t bum you out.
