When the World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It has been a crazy two years and I feel like as an essential worker I've been going going going and haven't had much time to sit down and reflect on everything that's happened. I know there's been some anthologies about lockdown they released in 2020 and beyond and people have mixed opinions about them. This is the first story I've read really tackling the pandemic. I received a finished copy from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows four different children during the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic. It's not easy making 4 different characters each sound unique and fleshing out their family dynamics but K. Ibura does a great job here. Taking care of younger siblings, dealing with a depressed parent, helping elderly neighbors, dealing with fighting parents, and processing anxiety were just a few of the issues this story tackles.

When the world shut down in March 2020, my world never shut down. While I heard about the kids struggling with online school I never stopped to think about how much they had to process with everything else going on. These children were at least lucky enough to have each other since they live in an apartment building even though they had to take precautions while interacting with each other. It also brought me back to just how little we knew about this virus back then which only added to the terror at the time. 

I liked that this book had the kids trying to help out in their local community. Social Justice is more than just issues of racial injustice and I feel like sometimes in stories aimed at Black kids there's a hyper focus on that. Of course it's impossible to tell a story about the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and not mention the impact of George Floyd's death. So that is mentioned here with care. I never watched the video, I refused to. But the news was everyone and it was sparking major conversations. This story shows it through the eyes of children who are having uneasy conversations with their parents. The kids have been really processing a lot and we don't give them enough credit. 

Books to Check Out During Black History Month

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's that time of year again. February is Black History Month in the US and it's a time to celebrate the achievements of Black Americans and acknowledge their often overlooked history in this country. So I wanted to recommend some books that highlight Black life in America. 

Going Down Home With Daddy

“On reunion morning, we rise before the sun. Daddy hums as he packs our car with suitcases and a cooler full of snacks. He says there’s nothing like going down home.”

Down home is Granny’s house. Down home is where Lil Alan and his parents and sister will gather with great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Down home is where Lil Alan will hear stories of the ancestors and visit the land that has meant so much to all of them. And down home is where all of the children will find their special way to pay tribute to their family history. All the kids have to decide what they’ll share, but what will Lil Alan do?

Ruby's Reunion Day Dinner

Once a year, each of Ruby’s relatives prepares a special dish to share at their family reunion. Daddy calls it their “signature dish”—and Ruby wants one of her own. She wanders through the bustling kitchen looking for inspiration. As she watches Pop-Pop’s chicken sizzling in the skillet, Uncle G slicing onions, and Auntie Billie cooking corn on the hot grill, she wonders if she’s just too young to have a signature dish. That’s when she finds it— the perfect solution!

The Amazing Life of Azaleah Lane

Azaleah can't wait for her class field trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., especially when her teacher announces the chance to earn extra credit. But when Azaleah gets home, she quickly realizes extra credit isn't as easy as she thought. Azaleah's younger sister Tiana can't find Greenie, her stuffed animal, and she's sure he's been stolen. With Mama at the restaurant and Daddy at work on a big case, it seems Azaleah is the only one available to track down the stolen stuffie. Can Azaleah get to the bottom of the mystery in time to finish her extra credit?

It All Comes Down to This

It’s 1965, Los Angeles. Sophie is the new black kid in a nearly all-white neighborhood; her beloved sister, Lily, is going away to college soon; and her parents’ marriage is rocky. Plus, there’s her family’s new, disapproving housekeeper to deal with. Then riots erupt in nearby Watts and a friend is unfairly arrested, and Sophie learns that life—and her own place in it—is even more complicated than she’d once thought.

Maya and the Rising Dark

Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.

When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it

in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over.

All the Things We Never Knew

From the moment Carli and Rex first locked eyes on a Texas high school basketball court, they both knew it was destiny. But can you truly love someone else if you don't love yourself? 

A glance was all it took. That kind of connection, the immediate and raw understanding of another person, just doesn't come along very often. And as rising stars on their Texas high schools' respective basketball teams, destined for bright futures in college and beyond, it seems like a match made in heaven. But Carli and Rex have secrets. As do their families.

The Voice in My Head

Indigo Phillips has always lived in the shadow of her identical twin, Violet—the perfectly dressed, gentle, popular sister. But when Violet becomes terminally ill and plans to die on her own terms via medically assisted death, Indigo spirals into desperation in her efforts to cope. That’s when she begins to hear a mysterious voice—a voice claiming to be God. The Voice insists that if she takes Violet to a remote rock formation in the Arizona desert, her sister will live.

Incredibly, Violet agrees to go—if their chaotic family tags along for the ride. With all nine members stuffed into a wonky old bus, including their controlling older sister and distant mother, Indigo must find a way to face insecurities she’s spent a lifetime masking and step up to lead the trip. As she deals with outrageous mishaps and odd strangers along the way, Indigo will figure out how to come to terms with her sister, her family…and the voice in her head.

Jubilee (Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking)

Throughout her career, Toni Tipton-Martin has shed new light on the history, breadth, and depth of African American cuisine. She’s introduced us to black cooks, some long forgotten, who established much of what’s considered to be our national cuisine. After all, if Thomas Jefferson introduced French haute cuisine to this country, who do you think actually cooked it?

 

In Jubilee, Tipton-Martin brings these masters into our kitchens. Through recipes and stories, we cook along with these pioneering figures, from enslaved chefs
 to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking—deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration.

Bitter Root Vol 1

Once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time, the Sangerye family specialized in curing the souls of those infected by hate, but those days are fading. A terrible tragedy has claimed most of the family, leaving the surviving cousins split between curing monsters and killing them. Now, with a new breed of monster loose on the streets of Harlem, the Sangerye family must come together, or watch the human race fall to untold evil.

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Do you know what it feels like to get to your mid to late 20s and realize you're not where you want to be in life? That the job who've had for the past five years feels stagnant with no room to grow?  That's where I was for most of 2021, which was part of the reason I decided to pick up Must Love Books. I received an arc from Sourcebooks for review. 

Nora has spent five years in publishing as an editorial assistant at Parsons Press. Her love of books led her to the job but Parsons doesn't publish the kind of books she loves. They publish repetitive business books usually from long time authors who have published with them for years. Right now they are focusing all their energy on acquiring the manuscript of a young breakout author, Andrew Santos.

After receiving a pay cut that has her barely able to pay her bills, Nora decides she needs another job. So she lies to her former manager, Lynn about leaving Parsons and takes a freelance job at publishing company Weber. Weber sees Parsons as direct competition so there's definitely conflict of interest there. Nora just has to do a good job for the next six months and keep the arrangement a secret until Weber offers her a full time position. In the meantime Parsons puts a promotion on the table if Nora can convince Andrew to sign the contract for his next book. Nora does start to develop a closer relationship with Andrew but feels conflicted over steering him towards one publisher over another based on what's best for her interests.

It was a little slow as we go through the day to day in Nora's office. And as the conversations all center around work it can become a little repetitive but it was the relatability that kept me reading. Once Nora's coworkers who she's close with start to leave it makes it even harder for her. As someone who has been in that situation it's so relatable. It's easier to suffer through a bad job when you have people surrounding you who make the job better. A popular saying is that people don't leave the job they leave the manager. Nora was very close with her old manager Lynn but doesn't have the same relationship with her new manager Rita. 

Nora's mental health has all taken a toll the longer she's been working at the job and she at times has suicidal thoughts. While some readers may be disappointed that she doesn't go down the path to therapy I appreciate that she does actual that her mental health is important and that she needs to find a job that's better for her. It's okay to not be completely in love with the job you went to school for or to stick with your first job or field forever. 

This book really takes away the glamour of publishing showing it as a job much like any other job. Publishing is a business first and foremost and her company conducts itself like every other big business. They make decisions without factoring their employees mental health into the equation, there's plans for growth that leave one person doing the job of several, and the lowest level employees are experiencing pay cuts.

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I love mermaids! So when I saw the beautiful cover when it originally was revealed I knew I had to read this book.

Simidele is a Mami Wata who serves under the goddess Yemoja. Her job is to bring the souls of the deceased back to the great creator. She's only been one for a short time but already she's lost most of her human memories. She likes to visit land often to remember pieces of her old life even as she struggles to block out the trauma. One day she comes across a boy who was thrown overboard a ship. Unable to let him drown, she rescues him and nurses him bringing him back from the brink of death. She is informed by Yemoja that she has doomed them with her actions. To protect her Mami Wata family from death at the hands of the great creator, Olodumare she must embark on a journey with the boy she rescued. 

Sometimes you pick up a book that far exceeds your expectations. Before reading I didn't realize that Skin of the Sea is historical fantasy set in West Africa. And while the slave trade effects the main characters it is not the center of the story. There are no white characters taking over the narrative. Instead we see the beauty of West African from brown skin to braids and curls. We taste the flavorful cuisine and smell the spices. Beneath the hot sun and salty sea air we follow Simi and Kola on a thrilling journey to stop the power hungry Esu.

Little pieces of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid are woven throughout. Simi cannot be with Kola or else she will turn to seafoam and when she's too long out of the water her feet pain her.

I love a book with a works cited page so I can do my own further reading. I could tell Natasha Bowen did a lot of research while writing this story. Now that being said, Yoruba isn't just mythology but a group of people, language, and religion. And things can get dicey with authors who were not raised within that culture using it as inspiration for their fantasy stories. While she uses real Yoruba names for her character names versus psuedo-African sounding names, she gets things wrong when it comes to the language. And while someone like me who is unfamiliar with the language did not notice it's important to respect the opinions of people who are Yoruba. I'm linking a review from a Yoruba reviewer who discusses the inclusion of language and portrayal of the orisas. 

I found the story evenly paced with lyrical writing and never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to book 2! 

Utilizing the Library

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Today I wanted to make a post about the library. The same library that often comes up only in piracy conversations for some people only to be ignored again. Last year I made more of an effort to support my local library and I've discovered a variety of services it offers the community.

One of the bright spots of this pandemic is that it caused me to start utilizing the library again after having stopped for a few years. With Kindle deals of the day, Audible subscriptions, and Netgalley and Edelweiss arc at my disposal I had taken a break from reading a lot of physical books in general and in  my mind that's what the library was for.  But then some Book loving friends told me about Libby and Hoopla and my life was changed. I feel like I'm constantly discovering new things on both. Not only can I borrow ebooks and audiobooks but they also have movies and music. I was so happy when I saw it had some of the Lifetime holiday movies that I missed.

They're not going to have all the books you want but they can definitely save you some money. Especially when it comes to new buzzy releases you won't get to for a few months anyway. And if you save some money on the traditionally published releases you can always spend it on the indie published ones.

I understand that not all libraries are created equal and that many people especially outside of the US live in areas where they don't have an accessible local library. But those of us who do need to acknowledge how the library is more than just a place to get books but a community center of sorts.

Just some of the resources my two libraries offer include local genealogy database, resources to start a small business, snack packs for the kids during the summer, craft kits for the kids, computer classes, museum passes, conferences, hot spot rentals, printing, faxing, and copying,  cooking classes, English as a second language, public meeting rooms, passport applications and photos, and notary services. 

For those of you in the US who live in a small town with a library system that never has the books you want I recommend looking into the other libraries in your state. Some of the bigger library systems offer virtual cards free of charge for patrons who live in state. 

Publishing is relying hard on pre-orders despite that method not even being how most people choose their books. And I've seen readers online feel like they have to pre-order all the books to support authors but then also struggling with wanting to save money.  If you have a library system that's able to take requests and you want to support and author you can either recommend they purchase a physical copy or you can recommend a purchase through Overdrive.

And not all libraries do it so definitely check with your local library, but some libraries accept book donations of newer, gently read books. And encourage your favorite authors to visit their local libraries and donate. And add pre-orders through the library to their pre-order campaigns. 

If your local library has a foundation I highly recommend donating to it. Maybe skip that monthly book haul and contact your library to inquire about how to  use those same funds to purchase a book for them. That book that's a complete cover buy that you'll unhaul before the year ends could be a donation to your library so many readers can enjoy it. $25 doesn't seem like a lot but that's the donation fee for my local library to purchase and maintain a book.

Interview with Author Patricia A. Jackson

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I am excited to bring you the first interview of the new year and it's with an author whose book you definitely want to check out.

Where did the idea for Forging a Nightmare come from?

Sadly, the current American education system and the bane of standardized testing is killing childhood imagination, suffocating the creative spark. I learned this when I turned my creative writing students loose to work on their first stories. They stared at me, stunned like sheep raised inside a barn. They didn’t know what it was like to be free, outside in open, green pastures. So I went to the board and did a mind-mapping activity where I just let ideas flow, starting with the character of Michael Childs. When I was done, they just sat in their desks, still staring at me. “Question, comments, or concerns?” I asked. “Are you going to write that?” they asked. “Because you need to write that novel.” For months, they would not let it go until I did start working on it along with them.

I read that you originally imagined Michael as white. What made you change that?

One morning, one of my students, a young Black man, met me at my classroom door. Holding a book in his hands, he was bouncing up and down in glee. This was a senior in high school, almost 18-years old, giddy about reading? I asked what the fuss was about. He announced that the book in his hands was a fantasy with Black people as the main characters. He had never read a fantasy book with a Black cast. His excitement was infectious. I will forever be haunted by that moment. 

I grew up in a world that told me to be beautiful, I had to have blond hair and blue eyes. Tragic fallacies with tragic consequences! There are children in the world, like this student and me, who need to know that black skin and natural hair are equally as desirable and beautiful! Forging a Nightmare was my exorcism to uplift about that fundamental truth. Anaba is as much my savior as she was Michael’s, making us become who we were truly meant to be. I vowed to love myself and come to terms with who I was as Black woman—unapologetically beautiful! I’m on a mission to bring not just diversity, but representation into the SFF genre with protagonists, mentors, anti-heroes, even smug, genius villains of color, so that BIPOC folks can see themselves represented in a world where we are often underrepresented or relegated to the token ensemble.

Do you have a favorite non-spoiler scene from the book?

Oof, that’s hard! I do love when Anaba kicks Michael’s ass in Chapter 2! Marines rule! And he deserved it! But my favorite scene is when Michael and she are trapped in an alley, where they are about to be attacked by the bad guys. To save them, Anaba reveals her true nature and shows Michael that she is a terrifying force to be reckoned with. Oo-rah!

You mentioned starting what became Forging a Nightmare on Wattpad, do you think Wattpad is a good platform for aspiring writers?

Yes and no. Wattpad is a fantastic platform for practicing the craft of writing, especially when you level up and have to share your work in real-time with complete strangers in order to build your readership. I have always said, if you want to ‘own’ your writing, you have to ‘hone’ your writing skills. However, the feedback is the difficult part. You either get super cruel people, who generally do not know what they are talking about when it comes to writing. Some take pleasure in trashing your work. Or you get really nice folks who are too afraid to be honest with you. You have to work at finding genuinely good readers/writers who are willing to provide honest feedback.

You wrote The Black Sands of Socorro, a supplement to the Star Wars role-playing game. What was it like writing in a universe where the lore is already established?

The first part of dream come true! Writing in an established universe is less stressful, in my opinion, because the world-building is done for you. But it’s also a grind for any writer who forgets their purpose: to create. I was never interested in writing about the main characters or adding to the canon. When the Death Star blew up, someone was burying their spouse of fifty years. Someone else was having a baby. And where the hell were the Black folks who looked like me? I wanted to tell ‘those’ stories. So my approach was to tell great stories about people and their lives, but within the framework of the Star Wars mythos fans have come to love.

What has it been like balancing writing a book while also teaching during a pandemic?

Writing is my therapy. I do it because it’s a compulsion to maintain sanity in an upside down world. If I can’t get out to the barn to ride my horse, I can lose myself on the limitless playground of my imagination. Daydreaming is a self-preservation tactic for this only child, especially during the pandemic when teaching, a difficult occupation, became even more difficult. I have never seen a time when teachers are so villainized and reviled. So I established boundaries. Unless a kid was in trouble or needed advice, school time was school time, and I did not allow it to encroach on home time. (I fail epically at this on a daily basis because I love my students <sigh>.) But when things get tough in the real world, I perch myself on the couch, break out my trusty iPad, and lose myself on the Vestibule Road.

Is it hard to get students interested in reading and writing? 

YES and yes! I find that 80% of my students do not read. THEY DO NOT READ. It’s a jaw-dropping fact. Many have never even considered what genre they want to write in because of this. They claim they don’t have time to read, but if they would steer clear of social media for a few hours, they would have PLENTY of time to lose themselves in a good book. I think the majority of the exhaustion they are experiencing due to the pandemic is self-inflicted, caused primarily by their addiction to the digital realm. They are always connected and interacting on social media. They never take the time to unplug. Adults are equally as guilty.

As for writing, it is difficult for kids to be creative because digital interaction provides instant gratification, wielding magical powers to whisk kids away to worlds of fantasy and lore. When the kids have to actually do the wizarding themselves, creating the magic behind every story, many fall short, usually due to a lack of confidence. “That’s hard work, miss,” they say. And beyond the hard work is harder work with editing. There are few students who are truly devoted to their craft or the task of improving it. A heartbreak to a teacher who has seen many a best-seller never get off the ground.

What was your experience like dealing with the recent book ban in your school district in York, PA?

It has been exhausting and liberating at the same time. I have been blessed to stand on the frontlines with the leaders of the Panther Anti-Racist Union (PARU), a student-led club, and their faculty advisor Mr. Ben Hodge to be a voice against this insidious effort to whitewash history and cleanse culture. The ignorance sweeping this country and the call for book banning is fueled by nothing but racism and hatred of anyone who is not white, heterosexual, cis, or Christian. It is a travesty! And worse, these narrow-minded people want to redefine what it means to be an American into their own ugly image, ignoring that this nation was built on the backs of Black and brown patriots who suffered egregious injustice, but still fought and died for this country.

After the death of George Floyd, the book ban was the final cut to my psyche. When the kids stood up to speak their truth, I decided they would not be silenced. Nor would I. These insular people can burn their crosses, but they will never again keep me in the shadows. The cost for standing up to speak that truth has brought public and personal attacks, calls for termination of employment for myself and my colleague, as well as repeated trolling of my social media. I am ever thankful to the ACLU and their mentorship, as well as Dr. Bernice King for her words of encouragement and wisdom.

Have your students read any of your published stories?

Yes, some of my students have read a few of my Star Wars short stories. The very first beta readers for Forging a Nightmare were students in my creative writing classes. From concept to published work, I have shared every moment of this journey with several classes over the years, even the unboxing. (Rotten kids made me cry. I love them so much!) The students who were present in the early drafts helped me wrestle with issues of plot, character development, and worldbuilding. It cracks me up when they compare the first drafts of the novel to the published version. Some have even gone so far as to listen to the audiobook and report in with me.

How did you get into horseback riding?

My dad used to watch Bonanza, and I fell in love with Little Joe and his Paint. My folks were raised in Alabama, and my mom had a cousin that had a horse that looked just like that one, so I got to hang out with him during the summer. When I was 12, I did the riding camps with the Girl Scouts to earn my badges. I think my dad was waiting to see if it was a phase, but it wasn’t, so I started lessons, and got my first horse, Fonzi, for my 14th birthday. I have owned horses ever since. A forty-year love affair that shows no signs of stopping, even if my body makes it difficult. I own two horses now, the ever lovable Maya (aka Cookie Monster), and one of the best show horses I ever had the privilege to call mine, Indy, an off-the-track Thoroughbred who helped shape what it means to be a Nightmare.

Do you have any other hobbies besides riding horses?

I LOVE to play Dungeons and Dragons (yep, total geek girl). I also love video games, but it has to be a really good role-playing game because it’s competing with my overactive imagination and writing. I am awaiting the new Mass Effect with great anticipation (though expectations are low after the last one) and I enjoy playing Witcher III, especially since Netflix is producing the series, which I love!

Are there any projects you’re currently working on that you’re able to talk about?

I am very tickled to say that the first draft of THE NIGHTMARE HITMAN (working title) is complete, but far from done as I work to put the puzzle pieces together. While the characters are different, the novel is set in the same universe with fallen angels, the Vestibule Road in Hell, a lovable, but misunderstood Nightmare, and the chosen Nephilim who loves him. According to current beta readers, this story is a bit darker and grittier than Forging a Nightmare, but no less action-packed with a twisting plot, reinvented religious and mythical lore, and a crew of extremely affable heroes and diabolical villains. I am hoping that it will find a good home, so that I can once again share the ride with others.

 

Follow Patricia A Jackson on Twitter @Treistan and on Instagram  @bybirthright for updates