*Monthly Update* February 2024

 Heyo! Look at me sitting here pretending like I'm doing a good job writing posts regularly enough to justify a monthly update post (and that I'll keep up with that too!) But for some reason I'm feeling optimistic and motivated right now, so here we are. Anyway. 

In February, I made it a point to read books almost exclusively by Black authors for Black History Month. I did have a couple books I was finishing up at the beginning of the month and I think two audiobooks from Netgalley that I had to listen to as their archive dates were fast approaching, but otherwise, the only books I read in February were by Black authors. I even managed to read 22 books in February, because I certainly wasn't spending that time writing reviews for those books (but we're not going to talk about that, okay?) Sixteen if those 22 books were by Black authors, and I have three books currently started also by Black authors, two of which I intend to finish sooner rather than later. The third is a big ass book about the history of racism in America, and while I'm absolutely going to finish it, I do intend to put it on the back burner for now because...

March is Women's History Month and I want to spend the entire month reading books by women (and none of those three Black authors I'm currently reading are women). The caveat to my month of reading books only by women is that I want them to be mostly non-romance. Not that I have anything against romance, but I want to focus on genres that aren't dominated by women writers. Additionally, I intend to read at least 5 non-fiction books about notable women (ideally written by women, but I may make an exception on that. I will acknowledge that it's quite possible those books will all end up being memoirs). So hit me with your recommendations of non-romance books by women, especially if you have some recommendations of non-fiction about notable women. 

Books read in February

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Dollmaker by Morgan Shamy

The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Meister of Decimen City by Brenna Raney

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson

Queen's Catacombs by Jordan H. Bartlett

Poemhood: Our Black Revival edited by Amber McBride, Erica Martin, and Taylor Byas

Stronger Together by Terry Crews and Rebecca King Crews

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae

A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Everything's Trash, But It's Okay by Phoebe Robinson

For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

My blogging goal for March is to do some serious work on getting caught up on my backlogged reviews (I have over 80 non-children's books to write reviews for and more children's book reviews than that to write). I'd really like to see exactly what kind of hole I'm in on Netgalley, but to do that, I gotta' get my feedback written and submitted. Only 5 of the 22 books I finished in February were Netgalley books, but at least 5 of the books I read were Netgalley books (it could have been worse!) Anyway, I've got some reading to do to hit my amended page goal for the month, and only a few hours left to do it, so tata for now. - Katie 

*Review* The Black Queen by Jumata Emill

 

Genre: YA Thriller

Published: January 31, 2023

Pages: 396

Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High—but now she's dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller.

Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.

Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.

No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.

Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.

But Tinsley has an agenda, too.

Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.

For Black History Month this year, I decided I wanted to really focus my reading on books by Black authors, and as I'm currently on a YA horror/thriller kick, this was a great book to start me off. I was immediately drawn into the story, and although one of the two characters started out comparing situations to She's All That, I saw some serious Bring it On vibes at the beginning of things. In both cases Gabrielle Union is the reason for the comparisons (and even though she's over 40, she could probably STILL play a convincing teenager). 

This story is told from two perspectives, her best friend Duchess and her arch-enemy Tinsley. They ultimately have the same goal of finding out who killed Nova and will stop at nothing to do it. Duchess wants justice for her friend and Tinsley desperately needs to clear her name, because she's the number one suspect after a drunken rant goes viral. 

I'd love to tell you that I saw all the twists and turns coming, and figured out who the killer was immediately, but that would be a big fat stinking lie. This book consistently had me second-guessing myself, and I didn't really figure out who the killer was until Tinsley and Duchess did. That basically never happens to me. 

As an added bonus, this book gave me up close and personal insight into how Black police officers can be viewed in their community, and the extra pressure it puts on them. 

Overall I give The Black Queen 4.76854 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Jumata Emill is a journalist who has covered crime and local politics in Mississippi and parts of Louisiana. He earned his BA in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College. He’s a Pitch Wars alum and a member of the Crime Writers of Color. When he’s not writing about murderous teens, he’s watching and obsessively tweeting about every franchise of the Real Housewives. Jumata lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the author of The Black Queen and Wander in the Dark.

*Review* The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook by Erin Browne

 

Genre: Cookbook

Published: April 4, 2023

Pages: 240 

Bring the fun of Dollywood right to your own kitchen with 100 of the most delicious foods from Dollywood and its surrounding parks.

From favorite snacks and main dishes to refreshing drinks and popular desserts, Dollywood has some incredible food. And now, you can recreate all of your favorites—and discover some new favorites—with these 100 recipes in The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook.

You’ll learn to make:
-Frannie’s Famous Fried Chicken Sandwich from Grandstand Café
-Meatloaf Stackers from Granny Ogle’s Ham ‘n’ Beans
-Fruity Pebbles Funnel Cakes from Crossroads Funnel Cakes
-And much more!

Perfect for everyone from Dollywood super fans who miss those familiar flavors in between trips to fans who have never visited but still want to experience the amazing food, The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook has all the recipes you’ll need to make treats worthy of Dolly Parton herself.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I have never been to Dollywood and before reading this cookbook didn't really know a whole lot about Dolly Parton either. I'm familiar with a few of her songs and knew what she looks like, but that's about it. After reading this cookbook, I feel like I know quite a bit more about Dolly Parton herself, and she seems like a pretty fantastic human being. I also feel like I know a fair bit about Dollywood now too (it seems to be a theme park along the lines of Silver Dollar City in Branson). And I have all of this information because it was included as information explaining the various different recipes and their inspiration. 

I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to try any of the recipes from this book while I had access to the eARC, so I can't tell you if they are actually good, and I wouldn't know if they were at all accurate anyway. But boy, when I tell you this book made me so hungry. I was basically salivating over the recipes, and not only do I intend to buy myself a copy of this book so that I can actually try them out at home, but I also really wanna go to Dollywood now just to eat all the food. And while I'm no slouch in the kitchen, I'm also not a gourmet chef, but these recipes seemed fairly simple, with easy to follow instructions. 

Overall I give The Unofficial Dollywood Cookbook 4.8756 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Erin K. Browne is the blogger and photographer behind Brownie Bites, where she shares approachable, easy recipes that are as fun to make as they are to eat. She especially loves pop culture and fandom-inspired recipes, with Dollywood being a major source of such inspiration as the park is just a short drive from her home. Outside of the kitchen, Erin enjoys reading in a cozy chair, hiking in the mountains, and exploring the country in her family’s RV. She currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband, Matt, her two children, Jasper and Shelby, her goofball corgi, Dewey, and the sweetest kitty who ever lived, Ham. Learn more at BrownieBites.net.

*Review* The Man or the Monster by Aamna Qureshi

 

Genre: YA Historical Fantasy

Published: August 30, 2022

Pages: 450

She made her decision. Now she has to live with it.

Durkhanai Miangul sealed her lover’s fate when she sent him through a door where either a lady or a lion awaited him. But her decision was only the beginning of her troubles. Durkhanai worries that she might not be the queen her people need or deserve when conflict threatens her kingdom.

Her presumed-dead father comes back with a vengeance and wishes she join him in his cause. But her family’s denial of his revenge forces Durkhanai to take matters into her own hands and she must decide whether to follow the traditions of her forefathers or forge a new path on her own.

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I went into this book not realizing that it was the second book in a duology. This means that there was a lot of background information that readers are expected to have that I didn't. For instance, I have no idea why Asfandyar was in the arena facing the challenge in the first place. I can make some assumptions based on what happens in The Man or the Monster, but I don't know for sure. Which also means there are aspects of the court intrigue that I just don't have a full understanding of. But while I was listening to this audiobook, it didn't actually occur to me that it might be a sequel. I honestly kind of assumed I'd get some flashbacks to see where things went wrong between Durkhanai and Asfandyar. In spite of the missing background information, I felt like I understood the way this world worked as much as I was supposed to at the time, now I'm not so sure that's true. 

This story was told from a few different perspectives, which allowed me to see a broad range of the events as they were happening, but also led to frustration as certain characters were clearly unnecessarily at odds with each other, they just didn't know that. I do feel like this approach helped me to feel less lost by coming into the tale halfway through. 

The narration was a little rough for me at first, trying to listen through the accent, but once I got used to that, it sounded perfect. It helped to transport me across the world to another land and pulled me into the story. 

Overall I give The Man or the Monster 4.2875 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Aamna Qureshi is a Pakistani, Muslim American who adores words. She grew up in a very loud household, surrounded by English (for school), Urdu (for conversation), and Punjabi (for emotion). Through her writing, she wishes to inspire a love for the beautiful country and rich culture that informed much of her identity. When she's not writing, she loves to travel to new places where she can explore different cultures or to Pakistan where she can revitalize her roots. She also loves baking complicated desserts, drinking fancy teas and coffees, watching sappy rom-coms, and going for walks about the estate (her backyard). She currently lives in New York. Look for her on IG @aamna_qureshi and Twitter @aamnaqureshi_ and at her website aamnaqureshi.com.

*Review* Smarty Ants by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call

Genre: Children's 3-7 years

Published: August 1, 2023

Pages: 37

Ants are busy little creatures, and these smarty ants are extra busy using their math skills! They are ready to build one gigantic home, filled with everything an ant could want. But what happens when disaster strikes? Dynamic author duo Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call (Mootilda’s Bad Mood and Cold Turkey) use simple addition, word play, and rhyming text to create a memorable math book that you will want to read over and over again.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This was a cute mathematical story about ants building a new house. The story itself progresses through the numbers 1-10, with some very simple sums as we go along, and then we even count back down from 10-1. Additionally, the story made a point of emphasizing all the words that contain ant, which I found cute. 

The illustrations were super bold and colorful, really drawing your attention in and providing items for the children to count as you read along. I could read this book a few times before I'd want to hide it for a while to read something else. Overall I give Smarty Ants 3.9758 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Corey Rosen Schwartz is the author of The Three Ninja Pigs and a significant number of other rhyming picture books. She lives with her family in Warren, NJ, but is getting antsy and plans to relocate soon.

Kirsti Call is an inhabitant of Antover, Massachusetts, where she can't stop reading and writing books. She's the author of Mootila's Bad Mood, Cold Turkey, Cow Says Meow, and The Big Scream. Find her at www.kirsticall.com.

Erin Taylor loves to travel: by plane, train, automobile, and pencil. She has lived in three different hemispheres and strives to reflect her world experiences in her artwork. When Erin's feet are on the ground she loves time with her family, getting lost in the wild, and visiting the zoo. Drawing is a daily necessity, just like eating, which she also enjoys quite a bit!

*Review* The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn by Amber Logan

 

Genre: Mystery

Published: November 15, 2022

Pages: 466

Cracked doesn’t always mean broken.

Grieving her mother’s death, Mari Lennox travels to Kyoto, Japan to take photographs of Yanagi Inn for a client. As she explores the inn and its grounds, her camera captures striking images, uncovering layers of mystery shrouding the old resort—including an overgrown, secret garden on a forbidden island. But then eerie weeping no one else in the inn seems to hear starts keeping her awake at night.

Despite the warnings of the staff, Mari searches the deep recesses of the old building to discover the source of the ghostly sound, only to realize that her own family’s history is tied to the inn, its mysterious, forlorn garden . . . and the secrets it holds.

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I listened to this audiobook over three months ago, and I still think about it often. For me, it was a ghost story wrapped up in a mystery. There were a lot of things about the story that didn't seem to make much sense at first, like why Mari was invited to take photos of Yanagi Inn in the first place, since the owner seems to avoid it as much as possible. But as I learned more about the inn and Mari's connection to it, everything made so much more sense. I imagine a second reading/listen with the knowledge I now have would reveal some details and clues that I missed on my first listen. 

Although the story got off to a slow start for me, once Mari started exploring the inn, I was drawn into the story in a big way. I wanted to know why she was so strongly discouraged from roaming around the grounds and why she kept hearing crying in the middle of the night. I was excited to see the reactions to her secret project. I really just wanted to ignore my responsibilities and keep listening. 

The narration fit the character perfectly, at least the way I pictured the character in my mind. Although it's possible the narrators voice led to the picture in my head. Overall I give The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn 4.99836 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Amber A. Logan is a university instructor, freelance editor, and author of speculative fiction living in Kansas with her husband and two children—Fox and Willow. In addition to her degrees in Psychology, Liberal Arts, and International Relations, Amber holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

When she’s not writing, Amber enjoys trips to Japan, exploring unusual vegetarian foods, and reading Haruki Murakami.

*Review* Who Made This Mess by Laura Gehl

Genre: Children's 3-8 years

Published: August 1, 2023

Pages: 37

Mud splattered everywhere, tangled-up wool in huge piles, and carrot tops strewn about—what in the world is happening in this animal village? It’s quite a mystery! But thanks to rhyming clues, everyone will be able to easily guess the animal culprits—or will they? In this laugh-out-loud, expectation-defying picture book, Laura Gehl (May Saves the Day and The Hiking Viking) uses a rhyming mystery to help readers adjust their outlook, keep an open mind, and learn not to make assumptions.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This rhyming story is about a farmer who is woken to loud mooing from outside and when he goes to investigate he finds messes upon messes. Throughout the story, the reader is asked who they believe made each of the messes, but the actual answer is never the obvious one, but rather a silly alternative. 

The illustrations were colorful and bold, and also rather silly. I would have no problem reading this book several times as it had me giggling (although I'm sure it would get a little old after a while). I imagine the kids would appreciate when they learn the answers that aren't so obvious with multiple readings. Overall I give Who Made This Mess 4.3976 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Laura Gehl is the author of popular picture books, board books, and early readers including One Big Pair of Underwear, My Pillow Keeps Moving, I Got a Chicken for My Birthday, the Peep and Egg series, and the Baby Scientist series. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD with her husband, four children, and large stash of dark chocolate.

*Review* Stronger Together by Terry Crews and Rebecca King Crews

 Genre: Memoir

Published: April 15, 2021

Duration: 4 hours, 44 minutes

America’s Got Talent host and comic personality Terry Crews and his wife, singer Rebecca King Crews, share the staggering ups and downs of their relationship and how they weathered the myriad crises that have rocked their marriage. 

In a unique narrative, Stronger Together begins on the day everything fell apart. In their own voices, Terry and Rebecca recount D-Day, as they call it - the moment that Terry admitted his unfaithfulness and addiction to porn, and Rebecca told him not to come home. Charting a course back to their earliest days, each one shares more about their difficult childhoods. Growing up in Flint with a devout mother and abusive father, Terry became fascinated by superheroes, landed a career in the NFL, then in Hollywood, while hiding an addiction to porn that fueled a toxic masculinity that led to that awful day. Rebecca, whose father died when she was a child, recounts being the only biracial child in Gary, Indiana, her passion for singing, her early pregnancy, her devotion to God, and her blind faith in Terry despite the challenges of being an NFL wife, her passion for motherhood, and the emotional pain when Terry’s hidden addiction was exposed. 

As they share their journey, the mistakes they made, the moments that shifted their worlds, and ultimately, what put them back together, they provide hope, reflection and comfort. In this audiobook, you will also hear the kindness in their voices, and what it sounds like to have a partner who truly listens, respects and loves. The book includes a final coda about the year 2020 when the couple endured Rebecca’s breast cancer diagnosis and controversy around Terry’s social media comments. 

Honest, intimate and filled with hope, Terry and Rebecca make you feel if they can survive it, you and your partner can, too.

This book is only available as an audiobook, but that just so happens to be my favorite way to indulge in celebrity memoirs so that was perfect for me. I really liked the way this audiobook was presented, with each person telling their part of things as it became relevant. It felt like they were right in front of me, telling me their story. 

It was really interesting to me to hear about how they each grew up, and how those experiences shaped them, especially Terry's story. I apparently have really only known feminist Terry, so it was a bit of a shock to me to hear some of the beliefs he had and the ways he acted before their D-Day. But that also gives me a measure of hope if we could just get the men to want to change for the better. He also briefly speaks about his sexual assault and the blowback he received from speaking about it during the Me Too movement, which just goes to show that women also have some work to do, because Me Too should be for everyone who has ever been victimized, regardless of their gender. 

Overall I give Stronger Together 4.56438 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Amazon does not provide any information about that author. 

*Review* Sense of Play by Dana Meachen Rau

 

Genre: Children's 3-7

Published: August 1, 2023

Pages: 37

Joy and Chip wake early for a full day of play. Inside, outside. Riding bikes, reading books. Taking turns, sharing treats. And no day is complete without creating an adventure with their imaginations. Chip is Blind. Joy has sight. Their day is filled with so much more than play. They see the world together. Dana Meachen Rau describes a simple, joyful day between siblings celebrating the senses beyond sight—the sounds, smells, tastes, and textures that make playing together play so much fun.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

This is a story about a brother and sister who spend their day playing together in different ways...and the ways in which their play looks different based on the fact that Chip is blind while Joy is not. The story really seemed to focus on inclusion in spite of the children's differences, because Joy never left Chip out of the fun. 

The illustrations were bold and really helped to showcase the different ways that Chip and Joy played together. I would definitely be willing to read this book a few times since it teaches children not to exclude others who may be different from them, and does it in a fun way. Overall I give Sense of Play 3.9857 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Dana Meachen Rau worked as a children's book editor before launching into her writing career. Since then, she has written more than 350 books for children, including picture books, early readers, nonfiction, and biographies for preschool to high school. Visit Dana's website at www.danameachenrau.com to learn more about her and her books.

*Review* Queen's Catacombs by Jordan H. Bartlett

 Genre: Fantasy

Published: March 14, 2023

Pages: 410

Winning the crown was only the beginning.

Jacs, now the rightful Queen of Frea, seems to be Queen in title alone. She scrambles to learn the customs and traditions of a Realm she had only read about in books. The Council of Four have her firmly under their thumb, and their ideas for the Queendom are oppressive and outdated. Their knowledge of her mother and Master Leschi’s whereabouts is the only leverage they need to make the new Queen dance to their tune.

Jacs is determined to find those who were taken from her and do what’s right for her Queendom. But in her search for answers, Jacs uncovers a much darker truth from the Queendom’s past that will forever change its future.

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I seem to be making quite the habit lately of starting book series out of order. That is what happened here with Queen's Catacombs, as it is book two in a series and I've not read or even listened to book one. This is important information, as many of my struggles with this book would probably have been non-existent had I simply read the first book first. The biggest of those was keeping all the characters positions and relationship to Jacs straight (although some of that problem may also be attributed to the fact that I was listening to the book rather than reading). 

Queen's Catacombs is what you would get if you wrote a fantasy novel with Barbieland as your original world inspiration. All of the positions that are typically filled by men in our historical or typical fantasy worlds are filled by women in this novel, a fact I was constantly having to remind myself of when titles like Lord and Master were being used, and my initial inclination was to put a male face in that place. And the oppressive female dominance feels just as wrong in this book as it does in the recent Barbie movie. 

Even with my struggles putting faces to names, I was absolutely drawn into this story and the intrigue of the queendom. I wanted to see how Jacs would solve her problems and assert the authority that she was supposed to have, even though the Council of Four was not interested in a Lowerite having any real power. 

The narration felt like it fit the main character really well, but it didn't feel like there was much difference in the way most of the female characters spoke. The male characters voices did have a slightly deeper tone and felt at least natural adjacent as it was narrated by a woman. 

Overall I give Queen's Catacombs 3.9856 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Jordan H. Bartlett is a New Zealand-born Canadian with a love for children’s literature and female empowerment. She grew up reading books about boys for boys and found it hard to find a strong female heroine she could relate to. Bartlett wrote Contest of Queens to give young readers that character she so longed for in a world where gender norms are reversed. Bartlett currently resides in Banff, Alberta where she works as a Speech Language Pathologist and is a certified yoga instructor.

*Review* Poemhood: Our Black Revival edited by Amber McBride, Erica Martin, and Taylor Byas

 

Genre: Poetry

Published: January 30, 2024

Pages: 160

Starring thirty-seven poets, with contributions from acclaimed authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ibi Zoboi, and Nikki Giovanni, this breathtaking Black YA poetry anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Amber McBride, Taylor Byas, and Erica Martin celebrates Black poetry, folklore, and culture.

Come, claim your wings.

Lift your life above the earth,

return to the land of your father’s birth.

What exactly is it to be Black in America?

Well, for some, it’s learning how to morph the hatred placed by others into love for oneself; for others, it’s unearthing the strength it takes to continue to hold one’s swagger when multitudinous factors work to make Black lives crumble. For some, it’s gathering around the kitchen table as Grandma tells the story of Anansi the spider, while for others it's grinning from ear to ear while eating auntie’s spectacular 7Up cake.

Black experiences and traditions are complex, striking, and vast—they stretch longer than the Nile and are four times as deep—and carry more than just unimaginable pain—there is also joy.

Featuring an all-star group of thirty-seven powerful poetic voices, including such luminaries as Kwame Alexander, James Baldwin, Ibi Zoboi, Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks, this riveting anthology depicts the diversity of the Black experience by fostering a conversation about race, faith, heritage, and resilience between fresh poets and the literary ancestors that came before them.

Edited by Taylor Byas, Erica Martin, and Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner Amber McBride, Poemhood will simultaneously highlight the duality and nuance at the crux of so many Black experiences with poetry being the psalm constantly playing.

I won a copy of this book through Goodreads. This is my honest review. 

I'm not going to lie and pretend like I immediately understood every poem in this collection. In fact, there were some that I'm still not sure I really get even with the super helpful outros that followed every poem. But in my experience, that's kind of the nature of poetry. Sometimes I just don't get it, and these poems deriving from the Black experience, which I clearly do not have, left me with even less inherent understanding overall. But every poem in this collection was followed by a short explanation, so even when I didn't know what event the poem was referencing or drawing inspiration from while reading the poem, I still got that insight in the end. 

The poems that I did understand while reading the first time, hit kind of hard. They tended to reference more recent events, and while I still can't entirely relate to the experiences described, I felt like I was getting a different perspective on the events, often deeper or more personal. 

I will likely revisit these poems at some point in the future, and like with most poetry, rereading will hopefully increase my understanding of the themes even more. Overall I give this collection 4.6397 out of 5 stars. - Katie 

Amazon

Amber McBride is currently an assistant professor at the University of Virginia. She received her MFA in poetry from Emerson College in 2012. She also served as the media assistant at the Furious Flower Poetry Center. Her poetry has appeared in various literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Provincetown Arts, Willow Springs, the Cincinnati Review, the Rumpus, and others. She has been nominated twice for Best on the Net awards. Her debut YA novel in verse, Me (Moth), was a finalist for the Morris Award and National Book Award in Children’s Literature and won the John Steptoe–Coretta Scott King Award. Her sophomore novel in verse, We Are All So Good at Smiling, received four starred reviews.

Erica Martin is a freelance editor and a poet. Her debut poetry collection, And We Rise, was an ABA Indies Introduce selection as well as an ABA Indie Next pick. She has been featured by Oprah Daily and enjoys making a difference in the world through political activism, reading, and writing. When she’s not reading and writing, you can find her editing, baking pies, or watching The Vampire Diaries for the millionth time.

Taylor Byas is a Black Chicago native currently living in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the first-place winner of the 2020 Poetry Super Highway, the 2020 Frontier Poetry Award for New Poets, and the 2021 Adrienne Rich Award for Poetry. She is the author of the chapbooks Bloodwarm and Shutter and her debut full-length collection, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times. She is also a coeditor of the forthcoming The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume X: Alabama.