Welcome to Litsy!

This book has been on my TBR for awhile, I‘m so glad I finally got to it. It‘s definitely a thinker (and might require a re-read) but combines sci-fi & modern politics into a thoughtful, poetic look at racism and misogynoir. It‘s the type of thing that I would think would be a great conversation piece for high school or college students, most certainly. Novella but has serious depth.

Photo is from this weekends Galentines brunch 🥰😘

There‘s a lot packed into this short novella. Anger. Family. Love. Rage. And I was so impressed by the authors writing that kept me with this one . What I struggled with more was the lack of plot, narrative timeline and the mystical elements. Impressive for sure but also left me wanting a bit more of Ella and Kevin‘s story #booked2023

Let me start by saying this novella is good. Really, really good. Onyebuchi‘s writing is incisive, impassioned and bursting with anger as are his characters—Ella who can see into someone‘s past or their future & who wields an unimaginable power, & her brother Kev who was born during the LA Riots. A story about family, love, opportunity, racism, injustice, rage, & so much more, this is a short but very powerful story.

This brief, powerful novel follows Ella and her brother Kevin, who was born during the 1992 LA riots, when the cops who beat Rodney King were found not guilty. This is an origin story born of rage, as Ella's power grows and the state relies increasingly on surveillance to maintain control. The author notes that he was inspired by NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, and I can totally see it. A searing look at the fruits of injustice.

Although I think I missed some things listening to this on audio, I did get the rich, evocative imagery and the sense of rage and power vs hopelessness and helplessness. This is a novel that looks into the near future, imagining what happens when we as a society continue to choose to accept injustice for some for the illusion of peace. This story suggests that reforming a broken system isn't going to be nearly enough.

Fiery, urgent writing but there was no story. Just a series of happenings. Ultimately, I was left a little disappointed.

#TBRPile 📚 “Before her Thing begins. Before even Kev is born. Before the move to Harlem.”

My feelings on this book are complicated. It is an intense and disturbing story and it deserves recognition. It wasn't always easy to follow, but it was worth the effort. I would recommend it to people interested in anti-racism and empathy who like sci fi. Everyone else would probably benefit from reading it, too. It was a good book. To say I liked it would be using the wrong language.

Short, fast paced read.

This short work, nominated for the 2021 Hugo Best Novella award, is powerful and beautifully written. It mixes elements of science fiction with themes of racism, police brutality and family relationships. #hugo2021 #hugoawards

First book finished for the #JoysofJune readathon! @Andrew65

This was wonderful. The characters were real, the sci-fi/fantasy elements were so interesting. More than that, the messages about racism were so well done. Especially the commentary about policing and prisons in relation to race. Definitely recommend. Read this for #LMPBC Will get it in the mail on Tuesday

One of those that made me feel like I possibly missed some things throughout. Listening to the #audiobook was a great experience; it was read by the author which is something I appreciate. The narration was awesome in this case, but the abrupt shifts in perspectives and time/place was disorientating and left me confused. I hope I got all I was supposed to out of this sci-fi/fantasy social justice commentary, which was just 4 hours long.

Kev, born during the LA Riots, is incarcerated. His sister Ella can see past and future, wreck entire cities, and that‘s just the beginning of her powers... This blistering and speculative finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Novella this year has so much to say about racial justice, police brutality, and the surveillance state. I did sometimes find myself a little lost, but I respect how much it accomplishes in such a brief page count.

This Novella packed quite the punch! I'll hold off on posting my thoughts on this one for now as it's a #lmpbc pick but it had me feeling all the feels. Great pick @Readergrrl ! I'll send this your way on Thursday, @rjsthumbelina

Up next. This month has really gotten away from me! Time to work on this #lmpbc pick.

I just finished Riot Baby and I can‘t stop thinking about it. Onyebuchi‘s writing style reminds me of NK Jemisin‘s dystopian anger with a heaping helping of Spike Lee‘s lens on racial injustice. I finished wondering how a dystopian/fantasy novel could reflect reality so authentically! This novel is for my fantasy-themed #LMPBC and I hope that they like it. It took me a little bit to get into the shifting time frame, but once I did...🔥🔥🔥 4/5⭐️

#currentlyreading

@Readergrrl I‘m glad I waited so we could open our #Bestof2020 swaps together. Thank you so much, I love it! I‘ve had this book on my TBR for a while so this was just perfect and I‘m sure I‘ll be starting it soon. And the maple brittle is already half-gone too 😂😘💌

Wow what a searing telling of the past, present time and future. Ella has a gift that can allow her to move forward and backwards in time to specific places and events that have and haven't taken place yet. Kev, is a young black man in jail. Kev ttys his hardest to keep his sister safe in the inside as she lives out her life with her gift. Powerful story. Well done. Great Audiobook.

Currently Listening to the tagged book. It's excellent. I really like it.

Pssst the book in wrapping is The Nicole Boys By Colson Whitehead

What's your favorite Subscription Book Box?

#SubscriptionBoxes #BookMail #Books

Hello #LMPBC #GroupI I‘ve been waiting for a batch of books I ordered and finally got my hands on the tagged book that I‘ve been oh-so-eager to read. I‘ve suggested it to several friends and it came highly recommended as a “Best of 2020.” At only 173 pages, I‘m leaning heavily this way as I‘ve just finished a couple of chunksters. However, if anyone has already read it, I‘ll certainly choose another. Thoughts?

I really liked how it was written, the voice and imagery are amazing. Ella's powers felt like a tease but built just enough for understanding. I was unsatisfied by the ending. This may be from lifetime of happy endings and a major issue addressed by the book is the lack of happy endings for people of color in every day America. We'll all need to continue to work for positive changes in the real world, so these stories can become true fantasy.

This book is so so angry, but in a way that matters. It‘s a quick read, yet somehow Onyebuchi builds a fire of seething resentment in those few pages. I really liked he applies superpowers to a non traditional setting of an impoverished minority neighborhood. Read if you‘re ready for a slap in the face wake up call about white supremacy and a flawed system that leaves so many behind.

🎧 I thought this was science fiction. There were some sci-fi aspects but it felt more like a well-written commentary on racism, shitty environments & police brutality with a lil fantasy/sci-fi. I enjoyed War Girls by this author more but sci-fi/fantasy is my jam!

Ella & Kev are sister & brother. Ella has a laundry list of unexplained uncontrolled super powers that could end the world. Kev is incarcerated.

This had such a bleak ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Started this one this morning during breakfast. I might be able to finish it tonight after dinner. 45 pages in and my heart has already shattered twice.

Jan 2021 - urban fantasy / Nigerian-American author - wonderful words and interesting characters.

I like to set my yearly Goodreads goal to 100 books because I know (for me) thats one I'm almost sure to pass, which means I can read a lot of books, meet my arbitrary goal, & not stress too much about it, especially when the books I need to read for work or research get to be a bit overwhelming & I'm thinking "gee I really just want to read for fun."

So here's to another year of great books & pushing myself while also setting attainable goals!

An exceptional novella about trauma, violence, and the ongoing epidemic of police brutality / systemic racism toward black people-- with a speculative twist. This is one of those books you just can't put down. Siblings, one with dangerous powers and the other living the horrors of incarceration, struggle to come to terms with their reality--and then decide coming to terms with it is the last thing they should do. An excellent, explosive read.

The past few days I've concertedly tried to do nothing much-- reading and movies and knitting and hanging out. Today was the first day I've done a bit of writing and also picked up a new book. I've enjoyed the break but this was nice, too.

3⭐️. Not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It was a little confusing to understand what was going on with Ella and Kev‘s power. That being said, this book reflected a lot of the anger and injustice that is taking place today as well as historically and looks at how that could play out in the future. Definitely gives the reader a lot to think about when reading.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Powerful read! 💚

This story of two siblings and what they must endure felt very familiar to the current state of affairs. It is full of black anger, police brutality, and injustice. Although it's an alt-history setting with magic, it will leave you spooked at how accurate it fits in our own timeline.

a very powerful and emotional novella that embodies black anger and yet, still seeks hope. the novella explores the roots and effects of engrained systematic racism in both major and subtle ways, with a bit of fantasy and sci-fi elements mixed in. I was really fascinated by the usage of one character's psychic powers and the dark future sci-fi elements and I really wish this book wasn't so short since it ends a bit abruptly.

Library book haul! As usual all my holds came in at one time! 🤓💕📚 #librarylove #librarybookhaul

Born during the Rodney King riots, Kevin grows up highly conscious of his black family‘s place in American society. Violence is a constant. His older sister has fearsome psychic powers she can‘t always control. Is hurting other people the only way hurt people can right historic wrongs? When mechanized cops are programmed with a supposedly race-neutral algorithm, how do you indict an algorithm? A thought-provoking alternate history #audiobook. #BLM

Did some #audiobaking today. Sour cherry chocolate cake with sour cream chocolate icing.

I‘m telling the kid about how everyone in the book club had to sit at separate tables and you had to swivel around to talk to people so nobody felt left out and if somebody wanted to read something out of the book, you had to toss it to them and hope they caught it or it landed within reach.
(Internet image)

This time, the book for the Tor Book Club of the Month is Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi for free download in mobi or ePub before 11:59 PM ET, August 21st.

Available only in the US and Canada.

https://ebookclub.tor.com #torbookclub

Tor.com is giving away free eBooks of Riot Baby this week! It was a great read, and fairly short.

http://click.mail.macmillan.com/?qs=13f91641acf5788b30e5717d0ec8b671d6cc189cba0a...

Free ebook compliments of Tor Ebook club.

Get yours now.

https://ebookclub.tor.com/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=eblast&utm_term=tor...

It's powerful and provocative, even though it's an odd mix of social commentary, history, science fiction, and fantasy, that doesn't seem to completely work together.

Don‘t let the small page count of this book fool you— it‘s a thought-provoking and heavy read with some gorgeous prose and startling imagery. It‘s an extremely timely read, too. The story centers around two siblings dealing with racism, police brutality, the US prison system, and rioting juxtaposed against Scifi elements that become more apparent as you read. More thoughts in comments ⬇️

Wow! A short but powerful read. Follows the story of 2 siblings growing up in a world of protests, riots, and the mistreatment of Black people. Sound familiar? Because the only thing that makes this fiction is the scifi element with Ella who has special powers. And even that acts as a vehicle for metaphor. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed a lot about this short book, particularly its rhythm. But I feel like the story didn't really start until the last 30 pages or so and then it was over too quickly. If this story were continued, I'd definitely read part 2!

This book was broken up into sections, which had some different feelings. I found the magic to be very cool. And the story to be interesting.

I‘m hoping to read these books in July, along with a bunch of audiobooks I currently have out from the library (The Last of August, Royal Holiday, You Deserve Each Other, The Bromance Book Club) and of course I have the next Eclectic Readers book (The Forest of Enchantments) which I really need to start reading if I have any chance of finishing it before our meeting...😅 What are you looking forward to reading this month?
#tbr

A story filled with righteous anger that most publishers would probably be too scared to print. A sci-fi look at race and police injustice that couldn't be more relevant at this time. While it may seem written in response to the past month, we all know publishing take time, so this is just another reminder that recent police actions are not isolated events. But anger doesn't equate to hate, and I did not get hate from this story.

It took a minute to find the rhythm in the prose, but once I did, I raced through this book. Filled with sadness, rage, and a kind of dark hope, this is a novel I both never wanted to end, and was terrified of it going on any longer.

This was just what I needed after reading Friday Black.

The books I ordered from BookConline arrived today! Looking forward to all of them, but I may have to rethink my June TBR to make sure I squeeze Riot Baby in this month. I‘m taking a day off work tomorrow (this week has been such a dumpster fire) and I plan to hide in my closet fort. Maybe I‘ll read Riot Baby tomorrow...