Reviews May Vary

Book of the Month with Dr. Kenya Malcolm

I have so many great books I’ve read recently that I want to talk about! I can already see that its going to be hard to pick one book each month for y’all. How do I choose!? I decided to lean in to this month’s BlaqueOut theme: The Purge. Here in Rochester and across the US, we’ve been thinking a lot about the old ways and the old guard. Its election season, true, but the conversation about what it means for America to be great is long standing: great for who and on whose back? This month, my suggestions for you are books that offer an opportunity for reflection on this theme through story. We can’t illicit systemic change if we aren’t also doing the personal work. I’m obviously still recommending more than one book. #SorryNotSorry If you’ve read any of these or have any recommendations for me, drop me a line with your thoughts or suggestions: Reviews May vary@gmail.com

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall (Essays, NonFiction)

This book is a set of essays discussing a wide range of topics that should be considered feminist issues but often aren’t. For example, marginalized and impoverished people not having their biological needs met is a feminist issue. The bulk of filling the gaps in our society when people go without fall on women, and hardest on women of color. A key theme throughout the essays is that mainstream feminism has been lifted on the backs of women of color while leaving their needs behind. It often is more focused on increasing privilege of white woman and less on lifting the boats of equity across race, class, and socioeconomic status. It makes important points about how we can have allies to some of our identities that are oppressors to others. Any feminist approach that doesn’t include all women is tragically behind the times and needs to be purged.

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles (Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction)

The second book is a Young Adult book (yes, you should be reading books across all age- targets!) that centers around a high school senior who thinks he’s a “nice guy” and has been low key obsessed with the girl who played Dorothy in their 1st grade production of The Wiz. You know the type. He thinks his intentions are good even though some of the things he’s doing to get close to the girl he likes is actually just manipulative, like joining a purity pledge at his church to get to spend time with her. This is an excellent fictionalized exploration of teen relationships with family, friends, and the church. Our young man’s understanding of the world starts to crumble around his ears as he comes face to face with the consequences of toxic masculinity and the double standards of sexual scrutiny for young men and women. The role of religion in education and identity development is also great as the teens figure how to become the kind of person they want to be. This book was written by one of the cofounders of We Need Diverse Books, a grassroots organization that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people. Media practices focused on presenting only one narrative as correct or valid needs to be purged.

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin (Science Fiction/ Fantasy, Fiction)

And finally, a book that might be off the beaten path. This book is a fantasy with a little bit of sci-fi flavor. Science Fiction and Fantasy have long been the genre of revolution across all media platforms, interestingly offering Black and Brown writers, actors, and visual artists more outlets than more “proper” genres, but that’s a different post for a different day. The Killing Moon is the first book in a duology set in a world where a highly religious group of people, The Gatherers, maintain peace by ushering the corrupt into the afterlife. The energy obtained from the gatherings is used for healing for the betterment of society. The Gatherers discover early on in the book that they may have been used unwittingly in a larger plan by their government against folks who have opposed their society’s privileged way of life. Ms. Jamison, as some of you might know, is a master of world building and is quickly becoming a staple for any reader interested in decolonizing their fantasy bookshelf. Her books often take on a larger theme: any society that maintains a hierarchy where the people at the top have too much while the people at the bottom have almost nothing should be purged. Amen to that. generations of moons rising & suns falling countless ancestors control the currents of