Recently Purchased
I am so excited for the third installment of Rep. John Lewis' graphic novel series about the Civil Rights movement. Lewis was a founding member of SNCC and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and most recently caught headlines for leading the Democratic sit-in of Congress to protest that body's refusal to address gun violence in this country. The man is a living legend, and his series is a must for history buffs, people interested in social justice, or people who just care about humans.
Recently Finished
A YA dystopian novel following 16 year old Scotch, a mixed race teen whose skin is being covered by an unremovable sticky black substance. Then her brother disappears in a bubble of light, and everyone in town starts changing.
I had high hopes: Scotch's voice was incredible and the diversity of the characters was well-done, but the plot itself just seemed to fall apart in the second half. There were some interesting tie-ins; the legend of Baba Yaga showed up, as did the story of Brer Rabbit, but I would have preferred it if the Chaos never happened. There didn't seem to be anything clear as to the cause or resolution of the weird and devastating things that were happening.
I do love Hopkinson's writing, though, and I definitely will be reading more of her work.
Currently Reading
Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai
The story of a young Vietnamese-American girl who is, in her words, forced to accompany her father and grandmother back to Vietnam for the summer because a detective has told her grandmother that her husband, who was imprisoned during the war, is still alive. Only a few pages in, but the angsty tween voice is fun to read!
The injustices in our legal system, from the local law enforcement all the way up to the Supreme Court are very, very real.
Putting this one on a small pause right now. Tomorrow's the anniversary of Katrina, and while I wasn't here, I had family and friends who were. Couple that with a possible tropical storm heading our way this week, and while I'm enjoying Ward's story and characters; I just am not in the right head space for this currently.
I'm having a tough time getting into this one. I just haven't found anything to really hook me into the story yet. I will finish it (I only have 3 days until book club!), but so far it's leaving me...meh.
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