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Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall is set in Caball Hollow in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, where legend and lore thrive. Pearsall tells the story of the James family and the lives of its women whose legacy is superstition. A family of suspected witches, the James women use minerals and locally grown plants to create infusions, tinctures, and balms. With these homemade remedies and whispered words, they treat people’s ailments. However, this story extends beyond a family and natural remedies to become about our deepest desires, a belief in possibility, and the sacrifices we are willing to make in the name ofRead More →

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Mexican-American author Pedro Martín writes a graphic memoir with his latest creation, Mexikid. Largely, it features a 1970s setting and recounts Pedro’s memories growing up. As a Mexican his name is Pedro, but as an American, he is Peter. The dual names are all part of being a Mexikid, according to Martín whose feet are planted on American soil but whose heart belongs to both sides of the border and whose head is trying to fill in the gaps in his own heritage story. A creative, barrel-shaped boy, Pedro likes comic books and collects action figures. These characteristics often make him the target of others’Read More →

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With Phoenix Revived, Judy McCluney has written a story about the trials faced by two teens trying to make their way in the world.  Although told in a fairly straightforward, realistic fashion, McCluney does apply a richly developed allusion to the Egyptian myth of the phoenix while also setting the story in Arizona. Uprooted by her dad’s job in the Air Force, Sami has just moved from California to South Phoenix. More than anything, she wishes to fly away to a place of possibility where she hopes to work as a veterinarian. Unable to rely on her parents for monetary support to attend college, SamiRead More →

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All You Have to Do by Autumn Allen invites readers to consider some important issues and to answer some key questions. Allen follows the lives of two black men: Kevin, an activist in 1968, and his nephew Gibran Wilson, a high school senior in 1995 attending Lakeside Academy in New York. Allen’s intergenerational story is about “Black people taking care of business—the business of and for Black people” (37). It shares the similarities in the fights both young men have in exercising control over their lives, politically, economically, and psychically. Through her two protagonists, Allen asks: Do we join the world with all its imperfectionsRead More →

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Io Ora lives in the Silts, a city that’s constantly battered by flood waters and the ill will of those who distrust other-born like Io. Io is a cutter, descendent of the Fates, sister to a spinner and a drawer. She has the power to see life threads– and sever them. She uses that power to make a living as a private investigator, supporting herself and her sister Ava. What starts as a routine infidelity investigation ends in a murder case when her target is murdered by a Wraith, a woman whose life-thread has been severed and should be dead. This case brings her toRead More →

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Anyone looking for a book with a strong female character will find it in Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera. Set in East Los Angeles, Rivera’s book features twelve-year-old Natalie de la Cruz Rivera y Santiago, aka Nat. A hard-to-contain fat girl with astucras (cunning), Nat feels it is her duty to school anyone who acts out of bounds. Bull-dozing her way into situations, she’s fearless. After seeing the performance of an artistic swimming team, the LA Mermaids, Nat decides she wishes to be on the synchronized swimming team. She not only wants to do something glamorous but to wear the sequined and shiny costumes. However,Read More →

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Set in the 70s in Santa Monica, Clouds over California by Karyn Parsons tells the story of a mixed-race sixth grader. Stephanie Morrison, aka Stevie, moves to a new neighborhood at a critical time in her life, so making friends adds a layer of challenge. Her best friend from her former school has moved on, and talking about boys and fingernail polish are not Stevie’s thing. For Stevie, the library is a kind of church. She’s also loves to skate and imagines herself in an Olympic arena as a Roller Derby queen defending the team’s lead. When her older cousin Naomi comes to live withRead More →

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The plot of Sabina Khan’s recent book, What a Desi Girl Wants, revolves around the life of Mehar Rabbani, a mixed race girl who lives in Newton, Kansas. Speaking her mind is Mehar’s brand, which doesn’t always work in her favor. Prone to whining, Mehar hates being reasonable—a trait that backfires on her when she makes a trip to India to reconnect with her family on her father’s side. Hoping to salvage her relationship with her father, Mehar is intent on apologizing to him and mending their fractured bond. She also wishes to reconnect with her judgy grandma while in India for her father’s wedding.Read More →

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Although Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed is certainly a story about love, the plot runs much deeper to embrace other topics, as well. Topics like immigration, socioeconomic status, truth, and following one’s dreams also find a place in these pages. Saeed shares multiple morals as the story of Raf and Yas unfolds. When the story opens, readers learn briefly of Raf’s trek from Golub and about a sacred tree that allows or denies passage from one world to another. People from Raf’s world have a golden leaf birthmark that pulses and warms in warning if a person has moved beyond the perimeter ofRead More →