Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Dark Academia is still widely popular and we're starting to see even more in the mainstream from authors of color. Society of Lies was a Reese's Bookclub pick and seeing people share it was how it ended up on my radar. 

Maya has returned to her alma mater, Princeton after 10 years for her younger sister Naomi's graduation. But then Maya receives the news that Naomi is dead and the police are quick to try and rule it as accidental but Maya believes otherwise. Maya discovers that her sister had joined the infamous Sterling Club, a secret society with a history of tragedy and lies surrounding it.

Society of Lies is told across three timelines: Maya's present day, Maya's time as a student in Princeton in the early 2010s, and Naomi's time at Princeton in the early 2020s. At first as an audiobook listener it was hard to differentiate between the povs of Maya and Naomi during their years at Princeton because they have very similar narrative voices. The story also takes too long finding it's footing during part one where certain incidents could've easily be recapped in a passing sentence rather than a full scene. My interest wasn't grabbed until part two when it felt like movement was actually happening with the storylines rather than the college parties and shallow friendships. Maya's perspective is the stronger of the sister's and the story would've faired better being completely told from hers both past and present. Naomi's experienced paralleled her sister's too closely and felt a little heavy handed in it's attempts to tackle current events.

While part two and three were engaging in part four the pacing again slows down to the book's detriment. It was hard to care when the side characters were rather lackluster. And the overused cliche phrases kept pulling me out of the story. It wasn't a terrible book but the writing lacked depth. It may be good one for those transitioning out of YA books because the plot moves pretty straightforward with a couple of twists thrown in so it's not too hard to follow. However if you've read a few of these types of books don't expect to be wowed by this story.

Church Girl by Naima Simone

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Harlequin debuted their new line Afterglow this year promising fresh new stories to appeal to a Booktok audience and I'll admit I was sad about the Desire line being shuttered and also unsure about the vibe of the new line. I appreciated the diverse array of authors and stories but was having a mixed experience with some of the previous selections. Church Girl caught my attention with it's premise that sounded different than my recent reads and it being from an author I was already familiar with gave me more incentive to try it. 

Aaliyah Montgomery was supposed to marry the ideal man and become First Lady of  the church but decides instead to flee on her wedding day and convince her cousin Tamara to take her back to Chicago with her. Her plan is to go to school for an art degree but she needs a job so she can start holding her own in the meantime. Von Howard is pretty rude to her on their first encounter deciding with one look at her that's she's unfit for the job. However he's desperate for a nanny for his daughter, Gia so the woman he's dubbed a "real life Disney princess" will have to do.

There's plenty of drama to keep the story going between Von's battle against his ex-wife for ownership of his tattoo shop and primary custody of his daughter. Aaliyah is experiencing her first real taste of freedom and navigating coming into her own outside of her parent's gaze. Von is a very talk straight type of man who says what he means and doesn't sugar coat anything. And it was refreshing specifically to have a Black male love interest who isn't prim and proper. He feels like a real tattoo artist from Chicago in how he talks and moves. We get good insight to his relationships with his employees at the shop as well as his passion for his craft. He supported Aaliyah and encouraged her to speak up and be confident in herself but his approach is a little different.

Aaliyah starts out as more of a meek character used to playing the role and putting the Lord above all. It was funny watching her hold her own in situations when it came to Gia's well being. And she's not only finding her voice but embracing her likes. She comes into her own sexually and the steamy scenes did not disappoint. Despite growing up in different households and going off on different paths, she's able to connect with her cousin who is a big support for her during this new transitionary period in her life. 

If you're familiar with Naima Simone from her other Harlequin books, this one has a different vibe at least from the ones I read but the things you love about her writing are still there. And I'm looking forward to the next book in the series following cousin Tamara. 

Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison -- and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton, Antoine Patton , and Kiara Valdez

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I've been happy to see the surge in graphic novels the past few years because they're such a great way to tell stories that just wouldn't flow the same way in prose. They're also a great way to make stories more accessible. Nonfiction isn't always the easiest genre to take in so I'm all for anything that makes those stories more accessible. I wasn't really sure what to expect with Dear Dad but in the end it surprised me. 

Jay'aina "Jay Jay" Patton lives with her mom and brother in Buffalo, New York. Her father, Antoine has been incarcerated for a few years and they've gotten into a routine of phone calls and letters to keep in touch.  But phones calls can be expensive and not always possible and it's not always easy to receive letters. Antoine participates in a special program while in prison and learns how to code. Upon release he gets a software engineering job and the family has has to uproot their life in Buffalo to move to Florida. Antoine teaches his daughter how to code and they bond over that while developing an app called Photo Patch that makes it easier for families to share photos and letters to their incarcerated loved ones.

There aren't a lot of books out there that feature children with parents who are incarcerated and if there are it's focused on the negatives only. Books like this help destigmatize that which is especially important when we consider some of the crimes people are sitting in prison for and how they don't all hold the same weight. Kids should feel ashamed for being in that situation that's completely out of their control. And on the flip side this book can show children unfamiliar with that situation what another type of family looks like.

There's also not enough books out there that showcase good relationships between Black fathers and their daughters. Despite their situation Jay Jay and her father were able to have a relationship and though there was a lot of change to adjust to when he was released they took it in stride and found something to bond over. This book doesn't focus on the trauma surrounding the experience but instead how this family was able to flip a negative into a positive and will hopefully inspire. 

Nonfiction can often be harder to access for children once it moves in to prose for. So I appreciated this is in a format they can connect with easier and it's short and straight to the point. It can be read in one afternoon.

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

Welcome Back, Booklovers! This Cursed House had already gotten my attention being Black Southern Gothic and when I saw some early readers praising it I knew I had to check it out. And what better season to read something dark than fall when the sky is cloudy, the weather is frigid, and you're in the mood to just curl up in the house? 

Jemma flees Chicago for a fresh start after her cheating boyfriend ends up getting his side woman pregnant. She receives an offer that she believes is for a tutoring job in New Orleans for the wealthy Duchon family. Upon arrival, Jemma is warned by people in town about the mysterious family who keeps themselves isolated. The longer Jemma works for them the more she understands those warnings as secrets are revealed and she discovers ghosts roam the house. Members of the Duchon family are unable to leave the property and every seven years one of them dies on the same date. The family informs Jemma that she is the key to breaking the curse. 

This Cursed House starts off very fast-paced with many twists and reveals to get readers engaged. It had my undivided attention wondering what would be revealed next or how much more the Duchon family could disgust me. However once it's clear what direction this book is going in the story starts moving at a glacial pace.  There's also some repetition that made the book lag towards the end in addition to it feeling like it hits it peak long before the ending. 

This book deals heavily with colorism and racism with the Duchon family doing vile things to uphold those standards. So the forgive and move forward messaging in the second half of the book just felt clunky as that family was undeserving of forgiveness. Some of the discussions surrounding it too also felt more 2020s discussions than 1960s discussions so the overly modern feel there threw me out of the story. There's been much romanticization of families like the Duchons who believed in keeping the bloodline as white as possible to remain at the top of society so it was interesting to see that address in a book. However it didn't quite hit the mark. Jemma's motivations as a character started to not make sense in the grand scheme of things and what started out a very interesting tale fizzled with an unsatisfying conclusion. 

Christmas Picture Books for BIPOC Kids

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The past few years I've been keeping track of Christmas picture books for Black Children and have even bought many for the kids in my family. My family loves Christmas but it's harder to find images of Christmas that aren't only white. So seeing more released in recent years has been a treat. So check out this post for a few of my favorites and if you want more check out my idea list.

Jayylen's Christmas Wish

This is a heartwarming story about a little boy named Jayylen who tries to raise money so their family can visit his brother for Christmas when he has to stay at the base instead of coming home for holidays. This is very relatable to so many young children who have a family member in the military.

Santa's Gotta Go!

This is a fun picture book where Santa has to spend a few extra days with a family when his slay won't restart after delivering all the gifts. But they soon find out Santa's not the idea houseguest and are ready for him to go!

A Piece of Black Cake for Santa

This is a fun book about sharing different cultural traditions and food around Christmastime. The book includes a recipe for black cake!

Carla and the Christmas Cornbread

Carla's favorite holiday tradition is making cornbread with her grandma. And when Carla accidentally eats Santa’s Christmas cookie, the cornbread is there to save the day!

The Holly-day After

When all the gifts are delivered Santa and his family have their own special celebration the day after.

La Noche Before Three Kings Day

It's a The Night Before Christmas inspired story centered around Three Kings Day. A family comes together and prepares for the three kings to come bearing gifts.

Happy All-idays!

A book highlighting how different families celebrate winter holidays

Twelve Dinging Doorbells

An all holidays carol celebrating the family getting together

Dreams of Green: A Three King's Day Story

A story about celebrating Dia de Los Reyes in a new place

Countdown for Nochebuena

Celebrating Nochebuena, a holiday tradition for Latinx families on Christmas Eve