I LOVE ZELIE!!! No, but seriously, she is my favorite. ?Zelie is depicted throughout this book with resilience to continue despite the odds constantly being stack against her. She is a bit rough, yet something inside her radiates with strength and beauty. Might it be magic?!?!? She is athletic, morally intelligent, and the “Major Key” (Dj. Khaled's voice) to getting magic back. What‘s not to love? 

I enjoyed listening to The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson. I was able to guess the individual who was responsible for certain events that happen within this audiobook, yet the reason why they did it was unexpected.

I was anticipating more from Hiram Walker's mysterious power. Ultimately, I felt my attention while reading this book was constantly out of focus. I wanted to be interested in the plot, yet I found myself not feeling connected to the characters or their stories. 

“Fear grew in places unlit by knowledge” ~ Roshani Chokshi, The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, 1)

“You will hear people speak of light and dark, but in my experience you must be well versed in both to find a balance.”

Added to my TBR List to be reread in the near future. 🔪🩸🧽🧤🧼🧽🤫

P. Djèllí Clark did a wonderful job with this novella. New Orleans, the characters, and the alternative historical aspect gave excitement to this extraordinary fantasy. The plot pace never left me feeling bored, and the story just flowed nicely. Every bit of action within this book left me anticipating the next scene. This is an exhilarating short story that I am delightfully happy I was able to read.

This is a compact novella that has a unique take on history, memory, and slavery. The history of the wajinru is painfully traumatic, yet beautiful in some aspects. Yetu must remember for all wajinru. Yetu try‘s to be strong despite her fleeting bravery as the remembering slowly takes over her identity. I could continue buuutttt... I think this book is worth reading and pulling your own thoughts and feelings.

Friday Black is a thought provoking anthology. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah created a book I could relate to while being extremely heart-struck, furious , and to my surprise joyful about. The Finkelstein 5 is the first story within Friday Black, and it sets the mood for an amazingly unique collection of stories. Adjei-Brenyah is a talented young author with the ability to write wildly relatable characters, and I anticipate his future pieces of work.

👌🏾👍🏾

I enjoyed Akata Witch from start to finish. I appreciated the details about the "free agent" and how it allowed the reader to feel like they just got magical powers and were also classified as a free agent. My favorite characters were Chichi and artist wasp. They both had me laughing, and I relished artist wasp's small but unforgettable part within Akata Witch. Ultimately, to keep it short, Nnedi Okorafor did an incredible job on this book.