Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Is there a book you see often on social media that it feels like everyone is reading and enjoying? Sweetness in the Skin was one of those books for me. Inescapable between my mutuals and my explore page on Bookstagram. 

In Jamaica, 13 year old Pumpkin lives with her granny and Aunt Sophie in a small home in downtown Kingston. Pumpkin and Aunty Sophie have dreams of moving to Paris on day and granny encourages them to move up their family's social standing. Pumpkin's mother Paulette dips in and out usually choosing not to stick around for long. However plans change when Granny dies. Sophie gets a job with the embassy in France while Pumpkin must stay behind until she's able to bring her over. Pumpkin's mother Paulette moves into the house bringing the father she never knew, Akil with her. Pumpkin peddles her baked goods at school and at local shops with the hopes to raise enough money to take the French exam and move in with her aunt.

This book almost felt like a checklist of commonly referenced topics in lauded Caribbean literature. The topic of colorism came up with Granny, Sophie, and Pumpkin being lighter than Paulette who was seen as the darker skinned less pretty one. However we never get a sit down between Paulette and Sophie to address this even though colorism divides the sisters. The author uses it as weak motivation for why Paulette is abusive and neglectful to Pumpkin. Abusive mothers often appear in acclaimed Black Literature not just in Caribbean stories but in other diaspora as well. However Paulette and Akil are downright evil towards their child and we never got good explanation why. There are plenty of neglectful parents out there who never wanted children. However many neglectful people simply stay away from their children and would be happy to have someone taking care of their child. These two both didn't want her but didn't want anyone else to want her and were jealous of her. 

There were plenty mentions of the uptown vs downtown dynamic that is present in Kingston which needed to be explored more. Reading this book it felt like an uptown author writing a story about downtown living via hearsay. We get glimpses of the dynamic via the school Pumpkin attends with her wealthier peers but nothing feels quite fleshed out. And it doesn't help that Pumpkin's environment is a stereotype of what "ghetto" life is. 

Even the conclusions Pumpkin comes to at the end seemed based off moments that happened off page because she suddenly had this open-minded outlook based upon how everyone else's lives had been going but not one solid conversation happened on page to warrant that conclusion. The ending felt too neat and tidy for the journey the story took readers on and this reader was left feeling unsatisfied. This type of story has been done before and better with more complexity. 

Beware the Heartman by Shakirah Bourne

Welcome Back, Booklovers! We're back in Fairy Vale, Barbados alongside Josephine again in Beware the Heartman where this time she faces a new villain. Keep reading for my review of this new installment in the series. I received an arc from Shakirah Bourne in exchange for an honest review.

Josephine has settled back into her regular life after the events of book one with Mariss. After almost a year, her father has been dating Miss Alleyne  and she's actually happy for him. She's a starting player on her schools' cricket team and they're getting close to the championships. Plus she may have a crush on one of her teammates. Things are going well until she takes the Common Entrance Exam and gets into Queen Mary instead of Lamming with her best friend Ahkai. Even worse is he's befriended a girl named Lynne who claims to be from overseas and is clearly trying to steal her best friend. Then things in Fairy Vale are really shaken up when her cricket coach disappears and all signs point to The Heartman, a fabled being who is known to kidnap people after dark and steal their hearts. Josephine and her friends must hurry to defeat the Heartman before they end up his next victims.

In book two readers are introduced to another figure from Bajan lore though not everyone in the village believes the Heartman is anything more than tales made up to scare children. I liked how some of the theories about the Heartman and his rumored society of secret men were included in a way that made sure to address the theories surrounding and bring the creep factor without being too much. We also see some of the lore from book one come full circle. 

One thing this series does really well is infusing comedy. Josephine is hilarious as always with a witty quip always in her arsenal. And she and her friends talk like real tweens in a way young readers will be able to relate. Her friend Ahkai is autistic but it's never treated as a hinderance. Though he doesn't like too much attention and touch, Josephine struggles more than him when it comes to fitting in with the other children and the prospect of attending a new school alone. It's very refreshing when I come across media with children with disabilities where those children are treated as just regular children.

Fast-paced, easy to read, and engaging Beware of the Heartman is a fitting sequel that keeps up the momentum of Josephine Against the Sea and leaves room for another installment. 

Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Just in time for spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month we have a YA fantasy debut. I received an arc from HarperCollins for Till the Last Beat of My Heart, a queer contemporary fantasy whose release is perfectly timed with the start of spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month. 

Jaxson Santiago-Noble is very familiar with death. As the son of a mortician, he's seen his fair share of bodies pass through his family's morgue. But nothing prepares him for when the body of his former best friend, Christian is brought in after an accident. Unaware Jaxson accidentally revives him and discovers he comes from a long line of necromancers. Suddenly it's as if Jaxson is one of the stars in his favorite horror movies. Bringing back the dead comes with a catch and it's a race against time as Christian is fading again and Jaxson is trying to control his newfound powers with the help of his Titi Clio. 

With Christian back Jaxson reconnects with him and has to face some of his social anxiety as Christian pulls him into his world of Spirit Days and Homecoming celebrations. We get this story of two boys who have always had feelings for each other but are now realizing they should explore that more because life if short and not promised. Though wacky things are happening throughout the story they're happening alongside regular days at school. 

The relationship between Jaxson, his mother, and his Titi Clio really shines here. So often in these types of stories the teens stand alone and their house is nothing more than a place they sleep at night. We might brief conversations with the parents in passing. The involvement here from the adults in his life feels very realistic. When it's not his mother or aunt looking out for him it's close family friend's within the neighborhood. While the power over life and death is generational, this book takes a slightly different approach by not tying it to any cultural specific legends or religion. Additionally Jaxson lost his father when he was younger and is learning more about who his father was outside of the authoritarian he remembers.

Louangie Bou-Montes delivers some slight horror, humor, and a queer romance you can root for. 

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Immortal Dark is a book many people have been buzzing about this year and it's been on my radar for awhile as well. So keep reading to hear my thoughts on this new YA dark fantasy.

In the world of Immortal Dark, vampires also known as dranaics only feed on the blood of members of certain influential families. Kidan and her sister June are the last living members of the House of Adane. But when June goes missing, Kidan connects her disappearance to Susenyos Sagad, the only dranaic still tied to their House and legacy.  To discover more about this dranaic who has stolen her inheritance, she must enroll in Uxlay, a prestigious university which human companions and vampires attend to learn more about their symbiotic relationship . 

There's a lot of worldbuilding here which can be a little much at times but I found the lore fascinating albeit sometimes confusing. Tigest Girma writes the vampires in a seductive way that's often missing from YA vampire portrayals. It's bloody and gory, yes but it's also tantalizing and readers understand why Kidane is getting entranced by this world.  In a dark fantasy romance that push and pull between characters is what drives the story and Kidande and Susenyos have great chemistry where even if I found my attention waning at some points they pulled me back in. 

Well paced in the beginning this is a pretty easy one to get sucked into. Though sometimes the prose got a little too flowery and cliched for my taste, there were other times where she described things so vividly I could picture the scene in my head. The book ends on a cliffhanger that will leave readers ready for book 2.