Reviews May Vary

Hello Readers!

I hate to sound predictable and trite, but can you believe that it is 2021? It seems like I have adjusted to writing 2021 and letting go of the last year more quickly than in other years. I think we were all pretty tired of 2020, who somehow blinked by and dragged us behind it at the same time. Good riddance, am I right? But, we must take the good with the bad. I think that 2020 gave us (the whole world) some real opportunities to stop and think about what’s important to us. The social-distancing we had to do in response to the coronavirus alone certainly shiNed every system I work with: healthcare, education, employment, courts. If we add in the events associated with police brutality, Black Lives Matter protests, and the debacle that was 45’s campaign, 2020 was a mass of traumatic events, reflection, and growth. And you know what the biggest protector against trauma and the best context for reflection and growth is? Oh, yeah. Relationships. And February’s theme is Black Love. Ha! I went a long way for that connection, didn’t I? Haha!

Love Like Sky by Leslie C. Youngblood (Children’s Book, Realistic Fiction)

A recommendation for a children’s book about a little girl and her family might seem, to some, a bit out of place for a magazine that also includes drag queens and kissing adults and side boob. But, actually, the love and relationships we have in our lives as children can allow us to express our full range of identities as we grow up. Love Like Sky is about a girl, G-Baby, and her little sister, Peaches. Their parents are divorced and re-coupled. The story is told from G-baby's point of view as she figures out her place in both of her families. When Peaches gets sick, her parents are back to fighting and G-baby takes in on herself to make everything right again. The title makes reference to an analogy in the book. G-baby tells Peaches to think about a road trip. Love isn't like the fuel in the gas tank, limited and needing refills. Love is like when you look up and out the window. You see the sky goes on and on forever. That's how love is. Love is like sky. Leslie C. Youngblood is a Rochester, NY local.

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole (Romance, Realis<c Fic<on)

Could I do a February book recommenda@on on the theme of love and NOT recommend a romance? No, I could not. This book is a novella that I read via audiobook. It’s about a woman, Likotsi, who had her heart broken by her girlfriend, Fabiola, several months before. She is still nursing her ego and heart when they run into each other on the subway. Fabiola asks for just a brief come together to chat. It’s a romance, so you already know that the small come together gets the women thinking about their past and their future. Alyssa Cole is a phenom when it comes to romance story telling. This novella is part of her larger “Reluctant Royals” series. Likotsi is a side character (i.e., a royal bodyguard) from another of the books. Cole recently wrote her first thriller, which I purchased ASAP and am looking forward to. You can guess that my To Be Read list is a little out of hand.

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Science Fic<on/ Fantasy)

I didn’t reach my word count! I’m just gonna drop a mention of one of my favorite books of 2020. It’s about 6 people who are tapped as avatars for the city - to represent and protect NYC boroughs when the city evolves into a living breathing being. Yeah, it’s weird. But this book is about the love we have for our neighborhoods and our ci@es. It’s about how we are all connected to something bigger than ourselves. It’s about the love, y’all.