Rating - 9/10 How adorable is this book! I love the title of it and I'm always ALL about that Black Girl Magic! Yassssss I read this cute book with my Niece and she absolutely loves it. The story is just so inspiring and really awesome for little black girls to read. It teaches them or illustrates to them that they can truly be ANYTHING they want to be in life, and what more could you ask for in a children's book?! I adored it. The illustrations were really sweet as well. Just an all round cute and must have book for your little girl's collection. It's so wonderful seeing all of these new books that are geared towards black girls. I really wish I had books like these when I was growing up. I also really appreciate that on the cover, the little girl has her hair in braids/cornrows! So relate-able! Love love love and my niece, Malia, wants to be a doctor just like in the book. *sigh love it. Song Pick: So I love pairing songs with books and for this read, this song was Malia's favorite song for the entire summer of 2020. I mean she couldn't stop listening to it. Also it definitely has that Black Girl Magic in it!! Yass! Malia's song pick for this book, is, 'Savage' by the awesome Megan Thee Stallion. What a track! Check out our adorable YouTube review below too! She is a character and a half.. haha Thank you Malia for joining me for my Children's Book Review! Yayy! Genre: Children's Literature | Fiction Publication Date: May 20, 2020 Publisher: Chaunetta Anderson Pages: 28 Pages

Rating - 9/10 After seeing this book on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club when it came out earlier this year I knew I had to read it! Also how fabulous is this book cover?! An explosion of glitter and wonder, and just I had to read what was inside it and I do love me some glitter y’all. A lot of female celebs have raved about this book too such as Kerry Washington, Emma Watson, Debra Messing, Oprah, Adele, and more. It’s such a fun book title right? I also knew that it was an LGBTQ book & that the author was gay so I wanted to hear what her story was all about too. It just looks like a hella cool book so I had to dig into this autobiography. About Untamed: This is how you find yourself. There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent—even from ourselves. Glennon Doyle has denied her own discontent for many years. While at a conference one day, she looked across a room and fell in love instantly. That woman was Abby Wambach, who is a former US captain of the women’s soccer team and was there promoting her own memoir. Glennon thought to herself, ‘There She Is.’ Glennon soon realized these words came to her from within herself. For years, she had buried herself beneath numbing addictions, cultural conditioning and institutional allegiances. This voice was from the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to abandon the world’s expectations of her, she quit abandoning herself, and in return became free. She quit pleasing and started living. Untamed is an intimate memoir & a wake-up call. It’s the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is. My Review: I knew pretty soon after this book came out in early 2020 that I wanted to read this book, but when I found out that Glennon Doyle was narrating the audiobook, I thought to myself, hm, this would make a good audiobook to listen to! I listened to a sample of it before I committed to the full book and I really liked the sound of her voice! There’s something quite intimate about listening to a memoir narrated by the author of the book. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! What an empowering read this was. The book starts out with Doyle telling us about a time when she was in a zoo with her children and they all go to watch this cheetah ‘run’, or basically perform for all of the kids and the adults at the zoo. Doyle’s daughter notices at one point that the Cheetah, for a moment, “turned wild again.” I really liked the opening in the book. It immediately starts us off with a story about a wild animal that is meant to be untamed, and it’s quite a good metaphor for how women live their lives. Oppressed, watched, judged, & caged to the point of where they forget who they were before they were molded and shaped to be what society deems them as ‘acceptable’. This is Glennon Doyle’s 3rd memoir. Wild right?! I had never heard of her before this book came out. We follow Doyle as she tells us the story of how she fell in love with a woman, Abby Wambach, Olympic gold medalist, who is now her wife. She tells us about her journey to how she came to the realization that she was in love with a woman. She tells us about her former marriage and her divorce to her ex husband, she also delves into issues such as parenting, her religion and faith, and finally coming into her own self and skin after years of feeling repressed and tamed. I genuinely enjoyed reading or listening to this book a lot. There were chapters that spoke to me more than others, but the underlying messages sprinkled throughout this book were just so awesome. Doyle uses a lot of powerhouse phrases in this book such as finding your own freedom and what that means to you, being bold and unapologetic, empowering yourself to do whatever you want and to achieve anything you want in life, not fitting ‘the mold’, I mean I could go on. This book is essentially a self-help book, and I was here for it. I enjoyed hearing all of the stories in Doyle’s life, and some of them felt very relatable. I will say this though, at times, it did feel like this book is geared towards white suburban wealthy women because some chapters were just so unreachable for me, and at times felt kind of privileged, but, it would 100% speak to those women who can relate to her type of life than your average non wealthy white or blue or brown woman. I truly loved the beginning of this book. It excites you and draws you in and I was like hell yes Glennon! Amen!! I’m always up for uplifting women and this book totally hit that spot. Then at times I was a tad bored with some of the chapters, but then I’d be up again! Haha She’d go into these scenarios which are just not that relatable to me, but then again draws you back in. I had a total love/hate relationship with this memoir. I will say that I loved all of the messages that Doyle would dish out in each story and it was an immensely personal story of her life. It takes some real courage to completely lay all of her personal business out there into the world as she did and I admired that. This is a great book for ALL MOTHERS. If you’re a mom, pick this book up! Especially if you're a mom to any boys. This is also a great book for ALL WOMEN, it gives us great insight about how to be a woman of today. Doyle speaks about her experiences in raising her children. She raises them to be more empathetic, she also speaks about privilege, especially privilege parenting. She covers issues such as race & being an antiracist from a white woman’s perspective, she talks about religion, she talks about what it’s like to raise children in our day and age, and many more subjects. This is a wonderful book for parents in our current time and sort of the “Gen Z” age. Doyle also speaks about how society sees women and the expectations that we place upon ourselves due to these standards. I think we can all take something away from this read. Personally, I enjoyed it. I love any book that will make me feel good and is a bold, empowering, feminist read. Not all women will agree or love this book because at times, it did feel a little selfish or surface-y, but all in all I liked it a lot. I also LOVED hearing her voice, haha she’s very easy to listen to, highly recommend the Audiobook, and it was a relate-able read too from a woman's perspective. In the end I was cheering right along with her, I’m all for the self-love, self-renewal, and I was like fuck yea! I am WOMAN. Untamed and free to do whatever the fuck I want. Amen sister. I hear you! I also personally love a good LGBTQ coming out read, so yay for Glennon Doyle! Excellent memoir! Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get. Song Pick: Well, I kinda knew early on what my song pick would be while reading this book. It’s all about being strong, it’s a hopeful read, it’s empowering and has so many positive vibes. My song pick for Untamed, is ‘Brave’ by Sara Bareilles. A punchy, fun and powerful song to go with an empowering book! Fun Fact: Sara Bareilles bloody loved this book too! Sara Bareilles said - Source: Untamedbook.com "Untamed. The Next great guidance from an extraordinary woman. Devouring this gospel of truth.". The next great guidance from an Genre: Autobiography | Memoir | Self Help Publish Date: March 10, 2020 Pages: 352 Pages Publisher: The Dial Press

Rating - 7/10 This is one of those books where once I saw the cover, I thought that it looked like such a sweet read! I liked the gingham checkered print on the title of the book, as well as the quirky illustration, and it looked like it would be a lovely and easy read. I received a free Advance Review Copy of this book from Algonquin Books and I’m so glad that they reached out to me to review it! Thank you so much Algonquin Books!! I was also a part of a fun blog tour, and it’s always so nice being a part of the bookish community. One of the many perks of being a book reviewer :) You meet so many lovely people! I also LOVED that the book was set in Ireland. Shout out to my auntie Margaret, an awesome Irish lass! Lets get on with the plot & review shall we? Plot: The setting is a fictional small village in Northern Ireland called Aghybogey. We follow Majella O’Neil, a heroine like no other. Majella lives a quiet unassuming life caring for her alcoholic mother and working at the local chip shop, where she watches all of her regular customers come and go in this very routine and mundane atmosphere. Majella is at her happiest being away from the spotlight, the stares and the endless gossip of the small town she lives in. She wears the same clothes everyday to work, an uncomfortable and too tight overalls, and eats the same dinner each and every night, fish & chips microwaved at home, and watches the same show on DVD, Dallas. All from the comfort of her bed. Underneath Majella’s ordinary and plain life, there are other major circumstances that have rocked her world. Such as her father’s disappearance, & that every single person in her town has been affected and changed by The Troubles & the lingering divide between Catholics & Protestants. When Majella’s predictable life is upended by the mysterious death of her grandmother, she comes to the realization that there may be much more to life than the never ending gossiping of Aghybogey, the chip shop and the local pub. She maybe thinks that there may be a much bigger world outside her small town. My Review: Well if there is one thing to be said after reading this book, is that I have never craved a fish & chips meal as bad as I did while reading this book and after! Oh boy! I miss my chippy so much! What a nostalgic read this was. Majella is quite a character. We follow her throughout this entire book and we really get to know life in Aghybogey through her eyes. Majella is quirky, sweet, unbothered, real & very much an introvert. She doesn’t like being in social situations either. I actually quite liked her character, Gallen truly delved into the oddities and quirks of Majella and her personality. She is also very funny and naive, especially for a 27 year old. But you soon discover why she is the way she is. Nothing much happens in Aghybogey, it is your typical small town village but with a shit ton of history and leftover scars. I quite liked the everyday routine of her life. Everyone knows everyone’s business, and the chip shop “A Salt & Battered!” where she works at, and always opens with the same line, “What can I get chew” is brilliant! The chip shop is visited by the local people in her village and the drunkards who come in routinely and order the same dinner they always do. I actually got into this routine style of the book quite a bit. It was very comforting and familiar to read. The book is split into these brief sections of where Majella takes us through her day to day activities and routine life, and tells us her likes and dislikes in the title of each section. It was quite an interesting format. At first, I was a little confused by it but once you settled into the book you kind of understood why Gallen did it in this format. I actually have to say that I really liked the writing style that Gallen had in this book. It’s all written in an Irish accent. A very strong Irish accent! It made the story and book feel more authentic! I generally always love writing styles like this. Where the writer writes the story as how the characters would speak it. It didn’t take very long for me to adjust to reading the style of writing at all! But maybe that’s because I have been to Ireland and also lived in England for many years. I know I know! Totally different accent!! Haha but it sort of helps! I actually think that the audio book for this would be really awesome! It’s narrated by the actor Nicola Coughlan from the sitcom, Derry Girls. In fact! If you liked Derry Girls, then you will definitely like this book! I liked that Gallen also touched on the history of the Good Friday Agreement through the aftermath of the villagers, and how they now live their lives. You can only imagine what a little northern town like this went through during this harsh time period. This book is set in a course of one week in November and 10 years or so after the Good Friday Agreement. I would say, if you are a person who loves a good routine or lives a structured life, then you will love this book! It’s a very comforting and quite darkly funny read! I found Majella to be quite a feminist which you guys know I absolutely love. She sort of does what she wants and doesn’t care about what others think of her. I liked her character a lot. The only negative points I had about the book was that if you are the kind of person who expects drama, and a stronger storyline, then you probably won’t love this read. It’s quite same-y and monotonous, and I do wish the book was a tad shorter....but those points aside, I genuinely did enjoy the reading process of this book. I wasn’t a fan of the ending, hence my rating, but I did enjoy reading the book itself. Also, it encouraged me to learn a little more about The Good Friday Agreement! Plus I love Irish culture and small town living types of books. This is a total comfort read and I definitely recommend it if you love a good ol cozy winter read. Also great if you like a bit of dark humor too! I will say that Majella is definitely a character that I will remember for years to come. Song Pick: I obviously had to pick a song by an Irish artist, 1 - because there are so many awesome Irish artists that I actually listen to, & 2- it would be criminal not to pick an Irish artist. I wanted a song that was comforting, melancholy & nostalgic. Also I feel like this song describes the relationship between Majella & her father. My song pick is by the incredible and awesome band, The Cranberries & the song is ‘Linger’. Bit of a classic tune. Love it. A little about the author, Michelle Gallen: From her website- “I was born in County Tyrone in the mid 70s and grew up during the Troubles a few miles from the border between the ‘Free State’ and the ‘United Kingdom’. The border between these territories dominated all our lives. In the late 1960s, 19 roads criss-crossed Donegal and Tyrone in our local area. By the 1970s, just one ‘official’ road was left usable after the British Army blew up and barricaded the ‘unapproved’ roads and bridges. This campaign dramatically impacted communities on both sides of the border throughout my childhood and teens.” Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Coming-Of-Age Published Date: December 2020 Pages: 320 Pages Publisher: Algonquin Books

Rating - 7/10 Firstly, I have to give a MASSIVE thanks to my twitter family via @writereads for including me on this epic book tour for this extra special book. How awesome is it to see a black character front & center in a fantasy magical book?! I was here for it soon as I heard about this read. ALSO this book is being made into a motion picture alongside superstar Marsai Martin. What a queen. Also, I do love a bit of magical fantasy every now and then so I had to get stuck into this beautiful read. The Plot: Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal? Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate. Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out. With an evil magician threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton. My Review: Okay so firstly, please know that I'm 3/4 into this book so I haven't fully finished it, BUT that being said, I seriously think it's such a special and sweet book. The plot is super gripping and just so easy to read! What a rollercoaster of a story, right from the beginning we're taken on this epic and wild journey and I could not stop turning the page with this book. Amari is such a sweet and just kick ass character. I wanna be her friend so bad haha I loved her to bits! I love how resilient she is and super clever too. This is a fabulous book for little black girls and it's filled with that special #blackgirlmagic in the entire book. I definitely wish that I had a book like this when I was younger. I love how diverse the fantasy world is becoming too. I will say that if you liked Harry Potter, then you will definitely enjoy this book! I cannot wait to see the movie too. Stay tuned for my full review once I've finished this read. I'll also include my perfect song pick once I am done with this book. Definitely one to add to your list for your little ones and perfect for middle school age as well. A perfect, wild, fun, thrilling book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A little about B.B. Alston: B.B Alston lives in Lexington, SC. Amari and the Night Brothers is his debut middle grade novel. When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead. Genre: Fantasy | Middle Grade Publication Date: January 19, 2021 Pages: 416 Pages Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Rating- 10/10 Why has it taken me this long to read this book!!! ARGH! This book has been on my to read list for 2 whole years! Can we also discuss how stunningly gorgeous the cover is?! It's my absolute fav. I have wanted to read Circe since it came out and took the book world by storm back in 2018. I LOVE Madeline Miller's writing. Ever since I read her amazing book The Song of Achilles, another Greek Mythology book, which was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction back in 2012, of which I gave a raving 10/10 for btw (link is below this review)! I knew her 2nd novel, Circe would be just as good. Circe was on the NY best seller list for 16 weeks, and it was named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Washington Post, TIME, Entertainment Weekly and more. It also won Goodreads choice of the year for 2018. That’s massive! I honestly cannot believe it took me this long to read this book. I’ve also never seen a book such as this be completely saturated all over the Instagram book world, you couldn't get away from it & you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about Circe. As you may or may not know, I’m a huuuge greek mythology lover. Huge. So yeah I had high expectations. Oh and a big thanks to my little sister Bridgit and her hubby Joe for gifting me this gorgeous book for my birthday back in 2018 :) better late than never to read it right?! Read on peeps. Plot: The setting is an enchanting Greek Island named Aiaia (in Homer’s Odyssey, the spelling is Aeaea) In the house of Helios, god of the Sun, mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child. She is not like the other goddesses, nor is she powerful like her father, or viciously alluring like her Nymph mother Perse. Circe turns to the world of mortals for companionship and soon discovers she does in fact possess a power, the power of witchcraft, of which she can transform any rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened by this newly discovered power, Zeus, the king of all gods & men, banishes Circe to a deserted island named Aiaia. Circe lives in Aiaia for centuries and learns to hone her power and soon is able to tame wild beasts and perfect her witchcraft. She crosses paths with some of the most famous mythology figures such as Medea, the Minotaur, Daedalus & his son Icarus, and the one and only wily untamable Odysseus. On this island, there is danger for a woman who stands alone. Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men & gods and finds herself pitted against one of the most feared and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must gather and summon all of her strength and skill and choose once and for all, where she truly belongs. Either with the gods of where is from and born into, or with the mortals that she has come to love. My Review: I lived and breathed this book. Every single word was like a drop of the sweetest honey there ever was. Where do I even begin with my review?! Okay, let’s start with the story itself. Circe, what a goddess. I adored Miller’s retelling of this amazing mythology story. I had actually heard of of the name Circe maybe once in my life, but I didn’t know anything beyond that about Circe until I read this book. I seriously need to go ahead and read some classics after this book. Miller is an incredible storyteller. This book is a slow burner but my god it’s an insanely satisfying page-turning read. So much happens in this book, it’s ridiculously layered & epic. We follow Circe as the protagonist, from her youth right up until she finally gets to know who she truly is and where she fits in, It’s epic. She has a tough upbringing and isn’t respected much by her family given that she barely possesses any power [no pressure with her dad being the god of sun and all!], until she discovers she has a knack for witchery which ends up getting her banished to the desolated island of Aiaia. Once she gets to Aiaia, that’s where the story truly takes shape. It’s funny how time is a completely different concept to the gods and mortals. Gods can go on to live for centuries and centuries and obviously mortals grow old and die. That is the one difference you really come to grips with in this book. How the gods live and what they value as important, it was all very fascinating. I loved all of the mind blowing adventures that Miller throws at us in this book. She somehow manages a delicate balance of patiently telling the story of Circe, and giving us full on heart pulsing action at the same time. I appreciated that it even covered the raw and unfiltered difficulties of motherhood. There were a number of subject matters that Miller covered in this book that I loved reading about. The 2nd feature I want to cover is the plethora of characters that we are introduced to in this book. Just like Miller’s first book The Song of Achilles, Circe also packs a punch when it comes to the stellar cast of characters that come in and out of Circe’s life in this book. We’re talking epic gods here, fearless and terrifying goddesses, brave and courageous mortals, we literally have an entire book of the most epic and awesome characters that everyone would enjoy. That’s what I admire the most about the characters in this book, is that everyone will have a favorite person that they’re ruling for. Circe, is the one who truly brings this book together. The fact that she was awkward and a bit of an outcast made me love her even more. She had her flaws as we all do, she was an endearing character. Even though she is a goddess, you sort of feel like you can relate to her life, her emotions and even how she grew up and who she becomes. She is what I like to call a legit feminist. Miller’s retelling of Circe was just spot on. I loved one particular scene in the book where Circe is walking on the island and going about her business, and hikes up her skirt & braids her hair, because it’s simply the practical thing to do and no one is going to tell her otherwise. Brilliant. My 3rd but not least feature that I loved was the writing. Ugh. Immaculate, decadent, & oh so satisfying. Miller is a stellar writer and I knew what I was getting into given that I had absolutely loved and raved about her 1st novel, The Song of Achilles. I knew this would be just as good and it did not disappoint!! I'm in love with Greek mythology and I’m one of those people who if it involves classic and epic tales, gods & mortals, fates & epic battles, decadent English language, well sign me up! Having read another similar feminist Greek mythology read in the past titled, The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, which I gave a rating of 8/10. Miller’s writing is leaps and miles better than Parker’s in my opinion. Circe was a spellbinding read. I don’t even have enough words to describe to you how amazing this book is. You do not have to be a Greek mythology lover at all to read this. It’s an adventure filled, feminist story that everyone will enjoy. If I were to compare the two books that Madeline Miller wrote, I honestly couldn’t choose. A small part of me would maybe go with Circe mostly because it’s a feminist tale, and a little less gory. To be honest, I have enjoyed both books tremendously. Circe is a story about love, betrayal, magic, rich and eclectic characters, ruthless and majestic gods, heroes, monsters, tragedy & immortal conflict as well as the meaning of life. I truly think that Madeline Miller is one of the best writers I have ever come across. She completely demands for you to sit, pay attention, listen and absorb every single word of her books. I hope Miller will continue to write more on Greek mythology. Here are some awesome quotes I adored from Circe, by Madeline Miller “I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.” ― Madeline Miller, Circe “I asked her how she did it once, how she understood the world so clearly. She told me that it was a matter of keeping very still and showing no emotions, leaving room for others to reveal themselves.” ― Madeline Miller, Circe Circe was lush, compelling, harrowing, deliciously slow burning, entertaining and utter perfection. I couldn’t find a single flaw. It will always have a special place in my heart. READ IT. Apparently it's also being made into a short series fantasy drama on HBO! Definitely need to watch that soon. Song Pick: As most of you know, I LOVE music. I love pairing songs with books that I read, it's just become a bit of a habit that I do and also I get to share with you a soundtrack for the books I read. For Circe, this was a hard decision! haha I had SO many songs that made me think of this book, but in the end. I went with a song that reflected Circe and her story in this book, how she came to be her own person and finally became comfortable in her own skin. My song pick for Circe is, Fighter by Christina Aguilera. What a TUNE! Perfect for this book. I can totally picture Circe stomping around Aiaia singing this with the wind blowing in her face with her lions by her feet. Epic. Listen to the song here. Genre: Greek Mythology | Fantasy Fiction Publication Date: April 10, 2018 Pages: 393 Pages Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Rating - 8/10 I remember seeing this book on the BookBub website (book recommendation site) and thought oh wow, I love the cover and title of this book! Something about the title drew me in and I do love to read an adventure story every now and then. After reading the blurb, I was sold! How gorgeous are these deep blues on the cover. I would love to thank Harper books for sending me an advance review copy of this read! It took me so long to read this book because life was not allowing me to get stuck into it. But alas! Here is my review of this read. The Cold Millions is now on sale and you can read my review below and purchase it all in one go! Haha On to the review. Synopsis: The setting is the Northwest frontier of the early 1900s. We follow two adventure seeking brothers named Rye & Gig Dolan. They live by their wits jumping freight trains and trying to line up day work at crooked agencies. Ryland is 16 years old and yearns for stability and a good home, while his dashing 21 year old brother Gregory follows his heart and dreams of a better world fighting alongside union workers for fair pay and some decent treatment. On their travels they come across a mysterious woman named Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a cougar, and introduces the two brothers to a dangerous man. A powerful and ruthless mining magnate who will stop at nothing to keep all of his money as well as Ursula by his side. Rye meets a young fearless and outspoken activist & feminist named Elizabeth Gurley Finn, he gets completely swept up in her passionate workers’ cause but alas, a storm is brewing and Rye will be forced to decide where he stands in all of it. Is it all worth it to win the occasional battle, even if you can never win the war? This is an intimate story of brotherhood, sacrifice & betrayal set against the stunning backdrop of an early 20th century America that is very relevant to our current time. My Review: I love a good adventure book and also this also had a mix of historical fiction in it which I very much appreciated. You are completely transported way back to a time long gone and it truly felt like you were right there in the chilly pacific northwest, jumping in and out of those freight trains and feeling that blast of cold air on your face. The weird thing is, it took me a while to fully settle into the story or I should say, the writing style of the book. There was something quite I guess distant in the way Walter wrote this book. But not in a negative way at all, just different! I ended up loving his writing style a lot in the end. Jess Walter truly transported you in this book and I seriously felt like I was right there with the two brothers having these amazing and intense experiences that they were all having. It sort of reminded me of the writing style of the novel, On The Road by Jack Kerouac, but The Cold Millions to me, had more grit & had more heart. I’m going to give you the main features that I loved about this book. Right off the bat you are transported across all of these amazing states, and a lot of the places he mentions I actually visited during my road trip across the US last year! So for me, it was a really visual experience. He takes us through Montana, Idaho, Seattle, WA, and a lot of it was based in Spokane, WA. So you can truly imagine the awesome scenery of this epic book. This was all brought together by the eclectic mix of characters of this book. I loved the relationship between Rye & Gig, it was quite believable, they had no one else in this world other than each other. That deep brotherly bond worked amazingly well with the setting, the political turmoil, and activism story of this book. I loved the sort of free, do what ya gotta do attitude of the brothers’ lives of which they basically went where the work was. Spokane was one of the main boom areas where it was all happening. The protests, work, a possible home for Rye, I genuinely loved the setting of this book a lot and it was fascinating to experience that electric atmosphere in this book. I also learned a lot about the history of the IWW - the Industrial Workers of the World, most commonly known as the Wobblies. *Fun Fact: They were founded in Chicago, IL in 1905 as one big union to cut across all industries and trades. It’s fascinating to learn about all of this in case you were unfamiliar. Walter openly delved into this specific time in the west and sort of showed us from the viewpoint of the brothers and a few other key characters, what it was really like in this time and period when the IWW were starting to kick off. Walter centered the book on the real-life free speech demonstrations that happened in Spokane. I loved this mix of real life elements of the book and it really took shape towards the middle of the book and well into the end of the story. I loved it! I loved that Walter used real life activists in this book such as Elizabeth Gurley Flynn who was a real life labor leader, feminist and activist who played a very important role in the IWW, and played a major role in women’s rights, birth control and much more. It made me love it even more! I appreciate that Jess Walter took the time to truly research his history in this book and you could tell that a lot of work had gone into writing this novel. I was well impressed. I have to keep it real and tell you guys that I knew very little of the Wobblies and the amount of turmoil that everyday people went through during these time periods so I, personally, learned a lot by reading this book! It offers a cold dose of reality into the endless struggle of a working man, the underdogs, and the fight for better working conditions. I loved that he told the stories of the unsung heroes that fought for their workers rights and he focused on the everyday man. Also, what a title! The varied range of characters in this book were fantastic. Obviously we see this world through the two brothers’ eyes, but included in this book were all kinds of great characters such as, crooked cops, fresh off the boat immigrants, Native Americans, socialists, amazing performers, I could go on and on. I just loved the plethora of rich characters that Walter brought to this story. My only negative comment was that personally for me, it took a little while to get into the book, I think it was due to the writing style of the book, but I will say that once I did, I was hooked! Like I was in it!! It's almost like I had to get used to the way he wrote, but once I did, I loved it. Excellent storyteller! If you want to get transported to a time long gone, into the wilderness of the north pacific west, and the growing mix of frontier/civilized bustling town of Spokane and to also learn about the IWW and what it must have been like for people just trying to live and have rights in the workplace. Read this book! Also, it’s a perfect read for the winter season! The Cold Millions offers readers a 360 portrait of a time and nation grappling with the differences between rich & poor as well as harsh realities & simple dreams. Filled with rich characters and a stunner of a backdrop, I would highly recommend this read to any adventure and historical fiction lovers out there. Song Pick: I do love to pair songs with books, and for this read, I wanted to pick a song that spoke to the core of this story that Walters wrote about, the ongoing struggle and fight for basic workers rights and the unions organizations. My song pick is 'Which Side Are You On' by Pete Seeger. This song was written in 1931 by activist, Florence Reece, the wife of Sam Reece who was a Union Organizer for the United Mine Workers in Kentucky. Very fitting I reckon. It's a good song too! Genre: Historical Fiction | Western Fiction | Adventure Publication Date: October 27, 2020 Pages: 352 Pages Publisher: Harper Reviewed by Chrissy's Books

Rating - 9/10 I had first heard of Ibram X. Kendi back in 2016 when he won the Non Fiction National Book Award Prize for his book, Stamped from the Beginning about the origins of racism in the US, which I’ve yet to read! How to be an Antiracist came out in the summer of 2019 and immediately it went on my to read list. One year later, following the killing of George Floyd protests, this book jumped to number one on all best selling lists and even stayed on the NY Times nonfiction bestseller list for 18 weeks! It was also all over the bookstagram (instagram) world for all of 2020 summer and beyond. I knew I definitely had to read it since it was seriously ingrained in my brain after what has been going on in the US with the systemic racism resurgence & protests. This book was hailed as THE book to read by all the major book review outlets such as TIME magazine, NPR, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, the list goes on. Read on to see what I thought of this best selling read. Synopsis: In Kendi’s book, How to be an Antiracist, he questions and reshapes the conversation about racial justice in America. He gears and liberates us towards new ways of thinking about racism, ourselves and one another. He asks us to take a closer look at how an antiracist world would look like and what we can do as people to actively play a role in building it. In this autobiography of Kendi’s life, he weaves together immersive and engrossing subjects such as history, science, law, ethics and blends in his own life experiences and his own awakening into antiracism. This book is for anyone who wants to play a more active role into how to be an antiracist, and how to take the next steps into contributing to a more just and equitable society. My Review: Fun fact! I actually listened to the audiobook and it was narrated by Ibram X. Kendi himself! I’m not usually one for audiobooks but I was going through a phase of wanting to listen to one, and this one definitely hit that spot, and then some. How to be an Antiracist was an excellent read. Given the amount of turmoil that the black community has faced in 2020 and for many previously, this book seriously just hit all the points to a tee and was a pivotal book. It was a timely read given the current political climate in the US, there’s a lot in this book that feels quite electric to the current time that we are in socially, racially, economically and politically. Right off the bat, you’re hit with these definitions. From Chapter 1 “Racist - One who is supporting a racist policy, through their action or inaction or expressing a racist idea. Antiracist - One who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea.” Kendi basically tells us in his memoir, how to become an antiracist and clearly explains what an antiracist is. This book was a mix of an almost textbook feel meshed together with his own life experiences and his own awakening to realizing that he himself, was a racist especially towards his own black community. I found this book to be completely riveting and very eye opening. It made me question my own views on racism and how I perceive others, my own race and how I behave in certain situations and how I can better myself or change. I think that’s what resonated with me the most, is that we all have a chance to be better and to make better decisions when it comes to actively being and contributing into society for anti racist behavior. I loved learning about how racists policies truly began. He takes us back to the beginning of how these systems were built in government structures, where the term or word ‘race’ comes from, how it was born, and where the idea came from of which we have placed upon ourselves with different races and stereotypes. I found that chapter particularly fascinating. In How to be an Antiracist, Kendi comes to define racism as any policy that creates inequitable outcomes between people of different skin colors. In this, he comes to the conclusion that a person doesn’t suddenly become racist, it all stems from racists policies created by the original people in power. I.e. - our Founding Fathers, and before them, their’ founding fathers’ in Europe. I won’t go into grave detail about this but it is truly fascinating. I also very much enjoyed learning about Kendi’s life. I think in knowing how he grew up, and his life experiences, I was able to relate to what he was sort of teaching us in his book. Even for him to have written this pivotal book, he had to have gone through his own personal awakening and into where racism truly stems from and how he got to where he is now in actively being and becoming an antiracist. It doesn’t happen overnight and I do like that he explains that being an antiracist is a journey, it’s a step that you actively must try to maintain and be constantly aware of. One other chapter that I truly adored of which I seriously can’t remember the name of right now, was one where he described racism from non whites. He shows us that each ethnic group can be racist, not just whites. I thought this was an amazing chapter and a subject matter that I’ve never really thought of as I, myself am a person of color. I found it to be interesting and thought provoking. This book definitely makes you think of certain stereotypes that we have placed upon each other unintentionally and it makes you question where these stereotypes stem or originate from, and how we can begin to change our thought process on these issues. It makes you think of new ways to face racism placed upon us by society, and how you can self reflect on becoming an antiracist. The reason I gave this book a high rating, was that I personally, got a lot out of this book, and I really did find his life quite interesting and liked that he blended his own life experiences together with his research and his ideals on antiracism. I feel like this is one of those reads that will get mixed reviews, but all in all, I thought it was brilliant! I do have to say, seeing as I listened to the audiobook, I sometimes found his voice a little grating or annoying, that’s just my opinion though. I had a love/hate relationship with his narrating throughout this book. I feel that I wished I had read it instead, but I’m very sure I will in the future. Also, a part of me did prefer a similar read to this which is titled, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Brilliant book to add to your list! I kind of preferred how blunt she was in her book, where this read felt more personal seeing as he was telling us his story. But this book was more timely in our current climate in 2020. It felt like this is a book for the here and now. I have heard reviews from his first book Stamped from the Beginning were much better, maybe because it was more direct? This book felt like a mix of textbook/memoir/history book/how to, which some people won’t love, but I personally loved it and I will also be reading Stamped from the Beginning as well! If you want to take an active role in trying to be more self aware, and to actively play a role in being an antiracist, learn about systemic ideals in our society, and to be more aware of what being an anti racist means, read this book. It is a hopeful and essential read. Highly recommend it! Song Pick: There are a lot of amazing songs out there at the moment, especially since the killing of George Floyd. Such as State of the Union by Public Enemy, This is America by Childish Gambino, I Can’t Breathe by H.E.R - highly recommend all of those songs. For this book, one song in particular spoke out to me, and it felt like what Kendi was experiencing in his personal life as well as the topics he was speaking about in his book. My song pick for this book is ‘Black & Ready’ by Jords - even though it’s by a UK rapper and not an American one, the lyrics are phenomenal. CLICK HERE to watch the music video on YouTube. Beautiful track. Genre: Non Fiction | Memoir | Autobiography Pages: 305 Pages Publication Date: August 13, 2019 Publisher: Penguin Random House Reviewed by Chrissy's Books

Rating - 9/10 Yay!! My first ever children's book review for Chrissy's Books you guys! How adorable does this book look! I sooo wish that I had books like this when I was a kid. I have a 4 year old niece and I wanted to buy her books that feature characters that actually look like her, and tell stories that she would be familiar with so when I saw this book online, I knew I had to add it to her little book collection. Not that she has many books haha but how cute is this read! Synopsis: This little girl has big hair, and she does not care! Her hair is much bigger than all the kids at her school, and she really doesn't care about how big is is and she shouts it from the rooftops. This sweet and charming book is aimed at kids who look like just like them to help boost their self esteem and to make them know that you know what? You have big hair, and it's okay! Being different rocks! My Review: Well, how does one review such a cute read like this! I loved this book. I read it with my little niece Malia and she adored it. I loved that the little girl looked just like her because my niece has the biggest hair and it is gorgeous and fabulous. I adored the rhyming phrases in this book, it was fun, sassy, cute and seriously adorable! I also like that it illustrated all the fun hairstyles that little black girls have when it's in protective styles, it's so great for them to see characters that look just like them. I seriously wish I had more books like this when I was young. I love supporting black authors, especially if they are black women so any book that gives little black children more confidence is a huge hit in my opinion. Loved it! If you have 4 mins, please do watch my YouTube review posted below because it features my adorable little niece Malia, who looks just like the little girl on this cover. Malia tells us all about what she loves about this super cute read! It's pure joy!! Song pick: For my song pick for this fun book, I actually picked Malia's current favorite song haha and it's a true jam!! I picked 'Whip My Hair' by Willow Smith. Click Here to watch this fun video! *Fun Fact: Willow Smith is Will Smith's daughter and she was only 10 years old! Super talented. Genre: Children's Literature | Fiction Publication Date: September 21, 2013 Publisher: Goldest Karat Publishing Pages: 30 Pages Reviewed by Chrissy's Books

Rating 9/10 Once upon a time, I was scrolling through the Instagram bookish world and came across this beauty of a book, I knew right off the bat that I HAD to read it! How gorgeous is this book!! Ugh I can’t deal. I also fell in love with the title of this book - Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture - super dope. I would love to thank Harper Perennial for sending me a print copy of this read. I will cherish for years to come. I had previously heard of Emma Dabiri because I follow The Guardian Newspaper on social media quite a bit, seeing as I lived in London for years and years. The Guardian is a British daily newspaper, same league as the NY times, and I had seen Emma do a few posts here and there as a contributor for the paper, and it clicked as soon as I saw the title of this book, and soon realized it was the same Emma that I had been seeing on The Guardian, I love her vibe and her work a lot so I had to read this book. Also, how awesome would it be to learn more about black hair culture? Right?! Synopsis: Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture is a collection of essays that explore the ways in which black hair has been stigmatized throughout history. It also ponders on race, pop culture, body politics, and Dabiri’s own journey to finally loving her own hair. For as long as Emma can remember, her hair has always been scrutinized, shamed, and discriminated against, from strangers as well as her own family members. Emma can tell you the first time she had her hair chemically straightened, She can even describe what it smelled like, the salon’s atmosphere, and the range of emotions that hit her when she saw her kinky curls suddenly fall down onto her shoulders. She’s not alone in this feeling. Despite the increase on liberal world views, black hair still continues to be stigmatized, criticized and appropriated to the point of taboo. Through Dabiri’s personal and historical journey, she gains insights into the way racism is coded into society’s perception of black hair, and how it’s often used for an avenue into discrimination. Dabiri takes us on a journey through pre-colonial Africa, to the Harlem Renaissance, and into today’s ‘bold’ natural hair movement. She explores everything from women’s friendships, to the criminalization of dreadlocks, and even the fad provenance of the Kardashian’s braids. Through the base and lens of hair texture, Dabiri discusses all facets of black hair culture, and leads us on a cultural and historical investigation of the global history of racism and her own personal journey of self love & acceptance. My Review: What an informative and fun read! I feel like Emma Dabiri and I would get along so well! Haha. I loved this book you guys. Obviously, you all know I’m black, and in case you were wondering, I am a 4C hair type (See diagram below) the very far end of the curly scale or the ‘unmanageable, hard to control, unruly’ hair as described by my hair products. The stereotype and the hair shame that we/black people with a number 4 type hair receive is real. Dabiri covers a plethora of examples and topics that delve into these specific issues. She covers everything to do with black hair, and even explains all the different types of hair textures in this read. So this book was truly a worthwhile time investment and it was interesting to learn all this amazing history about black hair culture, some of which I knew and some I was completely unaware of. I was very much drawn to this book cover, and this bangin' title, the book definitely lives up to what I was expecting it to be. Growing up in Ireland during the 80s and 90s, to a white Irish mother and a black Nigerian father, Dabiri shares what it was truly like to be one of the only black girls in her school, or neighborhood and the judgement and hardships that she had dealt with due to her hair and racial background. A lot of black people who have grown up in these sorts of environments would be able to relate to what she had gone through. She takes us on her hair journey and the pressures that she received from society in order to ‘fit in’ to the European standards. Dabiri truly dissects why this came to be, as well as the history of why curly hair is seen as the undesirable type as opposed to straight or wavy European hair. “Black women might wear their hair straight, but the fact alone does not manifest a slavish reproduction of European aesthetics. The hair may be worn in gravity-defying constructions or in unnatural colors. Often the price paid for this innovation is the label “ghetto”, until it is appropriated and becomes alchemically redefined as high fashion.” [Dabiri - page 96] This here is truly one of my biggest, massivest (if that's even a word) things in life that truly bother me to my core. Cultural Appropriation. ‘the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity.’ (source - wiki) Dabiri covers this in chapters where she describes the ‘Kardashian’ effect and many other great examples, and I could not agree with her more. [Dabiri primarily mentions this subject on page 191] This book was about so much more than just hair. It dives into the cultural heritage of where certain hair styles come from, their origins, cultural tradition from African tribal braiding and customs, as well as the stigma and racial bias that black people have endured throughout the centuries from slavery, right down to our current time. She looked deeply into how this has affected black people as a race and what we have to now try and 'un-do' in order to take apart these stereotypes placed upon us by history, European standards, the media, and by our own family and friends. “The concept of validation from the white gaze resonates deeply. I am reminded of all the times I was told I was pretty for a black girl, or that I was lucky I was pretty because I could “get away with being black.” That perceived beauty was the price I had to pay for the burden of blackness. My worth as a human being was not recognized because of my race, but apparently the possession of beauty could compensate for my racial inadequacy.” [Page 181] Dabiri delves into how hair culture is often used as an avenue for discrimination. I learned so much by reading this amazing book. It also made me feel as always, extremely upset and angry about the racial injustice placed upon black hair culture, and black people all over the world. Racial politics, systemic racism, systemic oppression, all play a key role and are all connected. Dabiri truly shows us this in her extensive and layered research that she did for this collection of essays. One of my favorite things about this book was that it never felt too dense, or heavy to read at all. It sort of felt like Emma was talking right to you in a very informal and down to earth way. I loved all of the titles for each essay, and found a LOT of this content in the book very relate-able. For example, I have definitely in the past, been discriminated against because of my hair at certain workplace environments. It is completely unfair that one person gets to tell me or tell black people what hair should and should not look like, just because it is different from theirs. It’s racist bullying and discrimination at its highest. “...when members of groups who have historically benefited from black oppression (which they continue to perpetuate) are then prized for the appropriation of the hairstyles we remain marginalized for wearing” …”challenging racism and inequality is about transforming the system that continues to perpetuate racism rather than responding to each demonstration of it.” [Both quotes from Page 190] This book was short & sweet. I seriously loved it. Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture, explores the current black natural hair movement and takes us back to the historical legacies of afro hair in Africa, through to the Harlem Renaissance, and looks at the very first black hair entrepreneurs of black hair beauty products. I found this chapter especially fascinating! Twisted looks at black hair history, politics, race, pop culture, and of course, Dabiri’s own journey into finally loving and appreciating her gorgeous versatile and beautiful (number 4 type) hair. This is a great book for all black people, and even more so, every race to read. If you want to know more about black hair and it's culture. Read this book. It’s thought provoking, witty, informative & I highly recommend it. Song Pick: This song pick was pretty damn obvious to me, and maybe probably to you? Fun fact: The UK release of this book is called ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’. Which is the song pick for this wonderful read. It had to be the fabulous Solange's (feat. Sampha) amazing hit song - “Don’t Touch My Hair”. Nuff said...and seriously, guys, please DO NOT TOUCH black people’s hair! If you knew the amount of work it takes to wash it, condition it, style it, moisturize it….just don’t...okay, I'm done winging. Genre: Autobiography | Nonfiction | Race Publication Date: June 23, 2020 Publication Date for UK edition - ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’: May 2, 2019 Pages: 256 Pages Reviewed by Chrissy's Books

Rating- 10/10 Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerhouse of a journalist and writer. Let’s just start with that. In case you haven’t heard of him, here’s a little 411 on this incredible man. He has worked as a journalist for various publication outlets such as TIME, The Village Voice, Philadelphia Weekly and was a senior editor for The Atlantic where he wrote about social, political issues and much more. He has also been a guest columnist at the New York Times Magazine, O, The Washington Post, and Washington Monthly. He has accomplished a great deal in his career. I first heard of him when his Non Fiction book titled, Between The World and Me (Published in 2015) hit the number 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list. This book won the 2015 National Book Award for Non Fiction, and it was literary everywhere! It was also a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for General Non Fiction. I’ve yet to read it but you best believe I will very soon! The Water Dancer is the first novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates. When The Water Dancer came out last year in September, 2019 I knew immediately that I had to read it. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do so! Oprah called it -"one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. Right up there in the Top 5." SO yah, I had high expectations. Also the cover of this book is extremely breathtaking. This book was named one of the best books of the year by TIME magazine, it was a New York Times #1 best seller, it was an Oprah Book Club pick, it was on every single best seller review list, I mean, you get the gist. It’s a helluva book. I’m so glad that I finally read it and can tell you all what I thought of this epic read. Synopsis: The setting is Virginia during the Antebellum South in the mid-19th century. We follow a young boy named Hiram Walker who was born into slavery on a declining tobacco plantation named Lockless located in Virginia. When Hiram was at a very young age, his mother was sold away by his white father Howell Walker, who was the plantation owner. Hiram was gifted with a mysterious power and he had an incredible photographic memory but was robbed of all memory of his mother. Years later, Hiram almost drowns in a river, but he is then saved by his mysterious power. This intense brush of death burns an urgency in Hiram that he never felt before, and he begins a daring and dangerous scheme to leave the plantation, the only home he has ever known. Thus begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt environment of the plantation in Virginia, to the desperate wilderness of the unknown, to the caged coffin of the Deep South, and into seriously dangerous and idealistic movements of the North. His mysterious talents aid him and he becomes enlisted in the underground railroad, of which there are wars between the slaved and the enslaved and where there is much to do. Although, deep inside, is his resolve to rescue the only family he has ever known and had left behind. The Water Dancer is a dramatic story of the hardships and atrocity inflicted on generations of men, women and children during the pre-civil war era. It’s a coming-of-age story from boyhood to manhood, and from enslavement in the deep south and towards freedom in the free territories of the north. My Review: All I can say about this book right now, is WOW. Why I waited to read this book till now, is beyond me. I remember distinctly finishing the 2nd chapter of this book and thinking. Holy hell. This right here, is an amazing book, and I was only in the 2nd chapter people!! I felt it in my bones, in the immensely beautiful writing, in the refreshing, intriguing characters, and in the story. What. A. Book. I’m going to start off with saying that a lot happens in this book. A lot! I actually went into this book completely blind and I had no idea whatsoever what the book was about. I did know that it had something to do with slavery but that was about it. All I knew is that I had to read it because Oprah said so, and she also said it’s probably on her top 5 favorite books ever! I have also heard amazing things about Coates as a writer, and now I get what the hype is all about. In The Water Dancer, you become completely transported into the past. We are not in 2020 you guys. You genuinely felt like this book was written in the mid-19th century, pre-civil war period. It’s an instant classic. There was something exquisitely timeless about the way this book was written and I immediately felt that within reading a couple of chapters. The amount of layers in this book is insane, and we are sort of thrown into Hiram’s life without any sort of warning. It’s a lot. But it’s all so delicious and leaves you wanting more. Let's talk about the characters in this book. Hiram Walker. He is the protagonist and the narrator of this story. What a character. Mixed race, a slave, his mother gets sold when he was just a boy, his white father owns the plantation of which Hiram works in and he doesn’t really have any parental figures, or have any close relationships with either of his parents. That alone in itself, is a lot to take in. We come-of-age with young Hiram, and truly understands what his struggles are in this life that he has been given. The people that surround him were all extensively crucial in shaping who he came to be in his later years. I loved the character of Thena, his sort of adoptive mother in the plantation from when Hiram’s mother, Rose, was sold. Thena is a complex and melancholy character, who has been through an enormous amount of hardship throughout her life at the plantation. You come to respect Thena and was in awe of her grit and resilience in this story. I loved the relationship between her and Hiram, especially towards the end of the book. I also adored the character who plays Hiram’s love interest, Sophie. What a beautiful and complex relationship. Realistic, raw, and testing in the circumstances that they are in. There were a lot of characters in this book, definitely over 10 main characters at least, but it felt necessary with where Coates was taking us within each chapter as you read on. Each and every individual character played a unique role in this multilayered novel. There were some wonderful surprises in this book that I won’t mention! I also seriously loved the magical realism that took part in this book. When we think of the days of slavery, there is always a little bit of magic that plays part whether it’s with the slaves communicating with each other through song, or maybe the souls that live on long after they’ve died, and have passed along their tradition through family and friends. There was something quite comforting about the use of magical folklore in this book that a lot of people will enjoy. The writing is what truly did it for me in The Water Dancer. It was seriously on another level and this is what got me in those first couple of chapters. I was blown away. Utterly sublime, exquisite and timeless. *Side Bar* I actually had listened to the audiobook for The Water Dancer, which I was a little adamant about in the beginning, but I was totally sold when I heard who was narrating the audiobook. Joe Morton. My goodness. He did an absolutely stellar job narrating this book! He truly served the sheer weight of this book its justice with his amazing skilled acting and his beautiful tone of his voice and narration. I highly highly recommend the audiobook. With that being said, I will 100% be read this book in the future. I must own it as I really want to get my eyes on the words of this book. Lets go back to the writing of this book though. It was by far, my favorite use of the English language in any book that I have read in a long long time. It was in the choice of words that Coates would use. For example, he called the enslaved “the tasked”, it felt quite bold and creative. Listening or reading to The Water Dancer, at times, felt like you were reading or listening to a poem. I adored this book. I think, and it’s not the end of the year yet, but I think this is the best book that I have read in 2020. There. I said it. I was completely blown away by this amazing read. The fact that Coates tackled one of America’s hardest and difficult periods with such grace and bold writing completely puts him on a whole other level for me. The Water Dancer was an imaginative, breathtaking, and exquisite read. I mostly remember one particular message that this book relayed to me, which is, the sheer relentless, resilience of the slaves, and how they took matters into their own hands, and chose to risk their lives to free others, and for their own freedom. A lot happens to Hiram in this book, but I loved the subliminal messages that Coates sprinkles throughout the book. Coates did some extensive research for this book and it truly shows. I adored the water theme in the novel. Seeing as slaves literally did come from across the sea, the symbolism together with how water plays such an important role in this book was raw and imaginative. One of my favorite quotes in the book was; “The masters could not bring water to boil, harness a horse, nor strap their own drawers without us. We were better than them – we had to be. Sloth was literal death for us, while for them it was the whole ambition for their lives.” Who are the slave owners without their slaves? It was harrowing to read. The Water Dancer was never too violent, never too long, never boring, and kept you wanting to read more and more. It dealt with the complexities that one endured during slavery but freshly told. It dealt with the damaging horror of family separation, it was about love, loss, and was an adventurous coming-of-age story and also a tender romance. I adored it. I’m officially a Ta-Nehisi Coates fan. This is a book that I will seriously remember for years to come. I don’t often feel sad when finishing a book, but with The Water Dancer, I was genuinely upset that it had ended. An enthralling and eloquent book. I hope they'll make this book into a movie! READ IT! Song Pick: For my song pick, I wanted a song by a man, and with quite a soulful, baritone feel. I felt the need to choose something from our time, but with a voice and style that fit the time period of this book. Something about this novel felt quite fresh and bold. My song pick was ‘Coming Home’ by Leon Bridges. I love Leon Bridges, he sounds like he’s from a completely different time period. (highly recommend his first album!) If you read this book, listen to this song and you’ll know why I chose it :) Genre: Historical Fiction | Coming-Of-Age | Race | Magical Realism Publication Date: September 24, 2019 Pages: 403 Pages (hardcover)

Rating- 8/10 I have to say, this is probably one of the nicest thriller covers I have seen in a while! I tried to capture the shiny metallic rain effect that you got on the cover in the photo above, but it’ll never do justice to the physical book itself. I was mega excited to get to read this book because, one, I loved Wendy Walker’s book titled ‘The Night Before’ that I read last year, (I’ll link my review for The Night Before below this review) I gave The Night Before a 9/10 rating! So I knew this would be a great read too, and two, the book cover had me at hello! I’d love to say a huge thanks to St Martin’s Press for sending me an advance review copy of this thrilling read! Synopsis: The setting is New England, between Southern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The night that Molly Clarke disappeared began with a torrential storm, she was on her way home after driving down Route 7 from her son’s university to catch his football game. Molly ran out of gas, and a man in a pick up truck offered her a ride to safety. When Molly stepped into the truck and the door suddenly locked, she knew she somehow had made a terrible mistake. The next day, a note was found at a nearby hotel. They called it a “walk away.” It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over. But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke? A new lead in Molly’s disappearance, brings Nicole, Molly’s daughter, back to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to renew the desperate search. The locals are sympathetic and eager to help. The innkeeper. The friendly bartender. Even the local police. It all seems fine, up until secrets begin to reveal themselves and Nicole comes closer to the truth about that night as well as the danger surrounding her. Don’t Look For Me is a story about a woman with a tragic past and seemingly bleak future. It’s also a riveting story of a daughter's desperate search to find her mother before it’s too late. My Review: Let me just start off by saying wow. What a true psychological, thrilling read! This book is THE definition of a Psychological thriller. Well Done Wendy Walker. This story is told from two points of views, Molly, the mother who disappears, and Nicole, her daughter. It weaves through separate timelines but soon the story pulls itself together extremely well towards the end. I loved the pace of the book a lot! Walker kept you on your feet throughout the entire book. There was no point where I felt bored, or I thought that the story was lost in anyway, this book was a complete thrilling ride and I loved every second of it. I liked the character development for Nicole and Molly, we got to know exactly where both characters were coming from, and you got a good sense of who they were as people, as well as the kind of decisions they would make in life. Molly was your typical suburban mom who just adores her kids and I loved all the little touches that Walker put within her character. Such as how Molly knows certain recipes off her head, and memories she has about her kids, she was a very endearing and a realistic character and definitely relate-able. Nicole as well, was a great character and we get to know these two women and the relationship they have with each other. There were very few characters throughout the book which made the plot super easy to decipher, as well as getting to know who each individual person was and their role in this story. I enjoyed the setting of this book. A random middle of nowhere town somewhere in New England. I actually drove through this area last year, and on route 7, so I could totally picture these random towns that were in the book. Walker was very descriptive with Molly and Nicole’s surroundings and it all felt highly visual as you read the story. This was a moody, twisty and captivating read! I loved it, I really did. It was eerie, creepy and a total edge of your seat suspenseful read. The pace of the book was truly exciting from beginning to the very end. This is the kind of book you can read in one sitting, or over one weekend, as it is extremely fast paced with the short chapters and any thriller lover will adore this book. I kept wondering who the culprit was or I kept trying to solve the puzzle, and I never guessed that ending that Walker brought to us until it was revealed. I was pretty shocked! Ha. Great twist in the end and well worth the read. Don’t Look For Me is a story about the bond between a mother and her child, a relationship between husband and wife, it’s also about grief and forgiveness. I tend to get disappointed sometimes when I read psychological thrillers but I definitely did not feel this at all with this book! I’m officially a Wendy Walker fan, seeing that this is now my 2nd book of hers that I’ve read. This is probably my favorite thriller of the year that I have read so far. Highly recommend it! Check out my past review on Wendy Walker’s book from February last year titled, The Night Before HERE. I seriously loved this book so much! She’s an amazing psychological thriller writer. Song Pick: I wanted to choose a song that showcased the strong themes in this book, of loss and grief. Also a song that captured the haunting mood of the story and the captivating book cover. I chose a beautiful song that I’m sure you have all heard of, love this track. my song pick is, - ‘My Immortal’ by Evanescence - Click Here to hear and watch the music video Genre: Psychological Thriller | Suspense | Mystery Publication Date: September 15, 2020 by St. Martin’s Press Pages: (Hardcover) 352 Pages

Rating- 9/10 When I saw this book cover and title, I knew I had to read this book! It gives off a soulful and rich vibe that I was totally digging. I love all the bold prints on the book cover and the color scheme too. Also, it’s based in Africa, and it’s been a hot minute since I read a book from the motherland y’all. This is one of 2020’s fall most anticipated reads according to a good few must read book lists! I would love to say a huge thanks to Tin House Books for sending me an advance review copy of this beautiful book. A Girl is a Body of Water is out now! Let’s check out the synopsis and my review for this gorgeous read. Synopsis: The setting is Uganda, Africa. We follow a young girl named Kirabo as she comes of age in 1970s Uganda as her country is transformed by the bloody dictatorship of Idi Amin. Kirabo is been raised and surrounded by strong women in the small village of Natetta. She's brought up by her grandmother Alikisa, her many aunts and her best friend. But all the while, the absence of her mother follows her around like a shadow. No one in her family is willing to tell her anything about her mother or if she’s even alive or dead. Kirabo begins to experience strange sensations of which her body feels as though it’s split in two. One part being headstrong, bold, and strong, and the other timid, sweet and obedient. Kirabo begins to visit the local witch named Nsuuta. They spend afternoons trading stories and Kirabo learns about this mysterious force inside of her. Nsuuta also tells her about the woman who brought her to life, and discovers that her mother is indeed alive. Nsuuta explains to Kirabo that she has streaks inside of her of the ‘first woman’ there ever was, an independent, strong state that has now been lost on all women. As the years pass, Kirabo finds herself enrolled in an elite school and we follow her as she comes-of-age and learns more about herself, and grapples with her identity, her family origins and her family expectations, as well as trying to figure out what it means to be a modern girl in a world that seems determined to silence women. This book deals with Kirabo’s desire to reconnect with her mother, and the modern notions of feminism against a backdrop of traditional Ugandan folklore. My Review: A Girl is a Body of Water is heaping with rich, traditional Ugandan culture. There is an entire village in this book you guys and I was here for it! This is one epic saga and I relished it all in one week. Let's talk about what I loved about this book. Okay so this book was a total slow burner, in the sense that it takes its time to truly develop. Makumbi was in no rush and I was totally digging it. It felt like you were watching a soap opera or a saga in a way, but it was so nice to read, I loved it! The characters in this book were all exquisitely unique and individually charming. I absolutely loved Kirabo. What a relatable and great character she was. You fully understand who she is seeing as we grow up right along with her. We follow her from a young age of about twelve years old, and spend quite a bit of time with her during her teenage years as well. I loved all of Kirabo’s family as well. Nsuuta, the local witch, was a gem of a character. She is surrounded by some powerhouse bold women, which is in fact very true to African culture. African women tend to be very strong, bossy and independent. I quite liked how Kirabo was a total tomboy compared to a lot of other girls in the village. Especially with the pressure she would get from her grandmother to be more feminine. This was an interesting aspect of the book, I liked the depth of which Makumbi had brought to life with the traditional African culture customs, and the clash of feminist uprising that we were getting from Kirabo’s character, and a lot of other characters in the book too. This book was filled with layer upon layer of depth within the story. A lot goes in this book, a whole lot more than I was expecting. Especially given the small description of the book, you definitely got more than what you signed up for but in a really great way! I loved it! Makumbi covered a plethora of issues in this book, it was insane. A lot of these problems or ideals that she addresses are actually very relevant in all cultures, not just African traditional cultures. Makumbi brings up issues such as the gender roles, and high expectations that women place on each other, to be the rock of the family, to bear the children of the men with no questions asked, to be the homemaker while the men can go about their business at work, and can sleep with as many women as they’d like. Also, how female friendships can be completely torn apart because of boys. I mean, these are universal issues here, and I loved how relatable they all were. I adored the feminist themes in this book immensely. There were a lot of strong and opinionated characters in this book! Just as there would be in any African, or non African family for that matter. This book definitely made me laugh a few times, it was completely endearing. There were a lot of themes being thrown around in this book such as Privilege, sexism, marriage, relationships, close community life, religion, politics, I mean I could go on you guys. This book had it all! You also learn quite a lot too! I sure did. My only negative comment is that sometimes the book can tend to be a little slow, especially during Kirabo’s younger years, but as soon as she’s a teenager it just gets so juicy, and you were hooked right back in there. At times I felt upset by the crazy tradition of how powerful the men truly were in this book, but this is staying true to time period the book was set in and the culture too. Women really got the short end of the stick here, but that aside, this book is a celebration to women and the immense work they put in everything they do. This was a really fascinating and engrossing book to read and I genuinely enjoyed it! It was jam packed with a lot of awesome characters, like a lot! It was really funny! Especially if you can relate to the African/family ties and mannerisms in this book. Makumbi captured East African women to a tee. It was brilliant! Highly recommend it. Makumbi is a gifted storyteller. A Girl is a Body of Water is a feminist coming-of-age historical fiction read for all ages, races and faces. This book is full of rich Ugandan folklore, and universal themes that we can all relate to. I loved all of the characters, the sense of community as well as the powerful female roles that played an important part in this book. A truly rewarding and memorable read. Song Pick: I could not decide you guys!! So I picked two songs, haha totally breaking the rules here. Of course I had to pick female Ugandan artists due to the amazing women in this book! I have to expose you to some bangin' tunes right? My 1st pick is a powerful song titled: 'Woman' by Juliana Kanyomozi. This song is bold, strong and depicts all of the women in this book! I also wanted to pick a fun song that captures the young spirit of Kirabo and her lighter side. I wanted a fun tune to capture the essence of East African culture, so my 2nd pick is titled: 'Omusheshe' by Spice Diana and Ray G. While you're here check out Eddy Kenzo, he's an awesome Ugandan artist - Click Here to check out his banger - 'Sitya Loss'. Genre: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Coming-of-Age Publication Date: September 1, 2020 Pages: 560 Pages