Book reviews and more!

Posts tagged with ‘Black Writers’

A CHANCE IN THE WORLD, by Steve Pemberton

September 16, 2012

AN INSPIRING MEMOIR follows a man’s search for his birth parents, brothers and sister. Touching and direct!

Grade: SOLID B

A CHANCE IN THE WORLD: AN ORPHAN BOY, A MYSTERIOUS PAST, AND HOW HE FOUND A PLACE CALLED HOME
Thomas Nelson
2012

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GATHERING OF WATERS, by Bernice L. McFadden

July 27, 2012

ELEGAIC, MOVING RE-IMAGINING of the lives of Emmett Till, the girl who loved him, and her family. A triumph.

Grade: A MINUS

GATHERING OF WATERS
Akashic Books
2012

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BEING LARA, by Lola Jaye

June 27, 2012

A LONDON WOMAN’S unexpected, life-changing reunion with her Nigerian birth mother–thoughtful, touching novel.

Grade: SOLID B

BEING LARA
William Morrow
2012

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SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER, by Grace Octavia

May 6, 2012

MAGNIFICENTLY ENTERTAINING SOAP-OPERA tale of a woman finding a secret society/support group for spurned wives.

Grade: B PLUS

SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
Kensington/Dafina
2011

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ASSUMPTION, by Percival Everett

March 28, 2012

LITERARY MEETS NOIR in Percival Everett’s latest novel, a complex and playful twist on police procedurals.

Grade: B PLUS

ASSUMPTION
Graywolf Press
2011

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LET’S PLAY WHITE, by Chesya Burke

January 27, 2012

HAUNTING, COMPLEX HORROR and fantasy tales offer a sophisticated take on race, culture, and the power of legend.

Grade: B PLUS

LET'S PLAY WHITE
Apex
2011

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LOST IN LANGUAGE & SOUND, by Ntozake Shange

January 16, 2012

BEAUTIFULLY NUANCED, POETIC essays on art, life, culture, and a black woman’s experience from Ntozake Shange.

Grade: B PLUS

LOST IN LANGUAGE & SOUND: OR HOW I FOUND MY WAY TO THE ARTS
St. Martin's
2011

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SALVAGE THE BONES, by Jesmyn Ward

October 29, 2011

UNFORGETTABLE, VIVID, POETIC tale of a teenage girl’s hardscrabble Mississippi life as Hurricane Katrina hits.

Grade: A MINUS

SALVAGE THE BONES
Bloomsbury
2011

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REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE, by Andrea Hairston

October 12, 2011

BREATHTAKING HISTORICAL FANTASY: glorious take on the power of magic AND sharp commentary on race in the US.

Grade: A MINUS

REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE
Aqueduct Press
2011

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SECRET OBSESSION, by Kimberla Lawson Roby

October 4, 2011

NOBODY DOES URBAN soap-opera like Kimberla Lawson Roby, and she’s at her most gloriously melodramatic here!

Grade: SOLID B

SECRET OBSESSION
Grand Central
2011

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