Before she was Betty X and before she was Dr. Betty Shabazz she was just Betty. A girl who lost her beloved aunt. A girl who had to move to Detroit to live with a mother and family she did not know. A girl who had to deal with the life of a black girl in the 1940s. Loosely based on the life of Betty Shabazz, her daughter Ilyasah Shabazz (with the help of Renée Watson) gives you a peak at the events that would […]
Life Doesn’t Make Narrative Sense
I cannot review the Little House books without talking about this: these books are racist. I hope that teachers or parents who are introducing these books to children for the first time are having serious discussions with these kids about racism and colonialism, and how these attitudes influenced westward expansion. As I was rereading these books (which, by the way, I loved as a kid and reread many times), I couldn’t stop thinking about the word “pioneer,” which in this case is just a euphemism […]
Decent Historical Fiction Novel Bogged Down by a Horrible Narrator
This one is a bit frustrating because there were certainly things I liked about this novel, other things where I liked the concept more than the execution, and then the parts that just made this a difficult read to get through – which actually is rather closely related to the concept that could have worked with a slightly different execution. Having finally been swept up in the Hamilton craze, the Hamilton bio still feels rather daunting so I decided to start with this historical fiction […]
History is Storytelling
“And in my village we have a saying about separated sisters. They are like a woman and her reflection, doomed to stay on opposite sides of the pond.” I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that has managed to stuff so much history, trauma, heartbreak, love, hardship, and resilience into so few pages. At just 300 pages, Yaa Gyasi manages to weave a rich web of connecting stories, spanning hundreds of years in history over 7 generations. We begin with two sisters, Effia and […]
Revisiting an old favourite
4.5 stars A long time ago now, back in April 2011, I first discovered Courtney Milan as an author, having read favourable things about her on various romance review blogs. My original review of this book, can be found here. Fondly as I remember Ash and Margaret’s story, this is not the Turner series book I’ve revisited most often. According to my records, I’ve only re-read it once before, back in 2012, so I was very interested to see if it was as good as I remembered. I […]
Orphan Train without the train
Before We Were Yours topped several “Best Of” lists in 2017 including its win for Best Historical Fiction in the Goodreads Choice Award. I lucked out and found a copy at my library on its “Too Hot To Hold” shelf. This was a good book but not a great book; it had a slow start but picked up towards the end. It’s pretty clear how the past and present are connected but it’s a well written story. “A woman’s past need not predict her future. She can dance […]
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