A Beautiful Ghetto. Devin Allen. 2017. Haymarket Books. 121 pages. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Edelweiss Above the Treeline.] I had chills while reading A Beautiful Ghetto. Part of it was seeing beautiful Black faces in environments that seem anything but that, based on social standards. Allen, however, captures everyday life in Baltimore with a brutal honesty that is truly compelling. There are pictures of children lounging on a rowhouse’s marble steps. Men in a barber shop. Dirt bike riders showing off tricks. Some images are less savory, though. Boarded up rowhouses. Vacant lots filled with debris. A streetside memorial. Allen also presents pain through images of the April 2015 uprisings in response the death of Freddie Gray, a young Black man who died from injuries sustained while in police custody. These are harder to look at — there’s an acute sense of pain, anger, and frustration conveyed that take me back to the days I wanted the uprising unfold from my living room only an hour away from Baltimore. The juxtaposition of destroyed property, police positioned in opposition against activists and protesters, and visible pain alongside hope shown through poignant signs, crowds of marchers, and impassioned speakers is powerful….

The Seduction of Dylan Acosta. Nia Forrester. 2012. 380 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Dylan lives a fairly normal life before a chance meeting with an up-and-coming baseball player, Mark Acosta.  She has a singular goal – get into law school — when Mark more or less barrels into her life. He’s thrust into the spotlight when he becomes the hot rookie for the Mets and she’s dragged into the spotlight with him.  The struggle of the book lies in how they navigate their relatively new relationship with all the trappings of fame and fortune. I have to say that I liked the book. It is chock full of drama worthy of tabloids between the players’ wives, the players themselves, and the mess each relationship leaves behind.  Of course Dylan and Mark get caught in the crosshairs and it can be infuriating to see how easily some things could be sidestepped but weren’t.  It’s interesting to see how Mark, someone who had a humble upbringing, adapts to his new fortune and scrutiny. It’s more disheartening to watch Dylan struggle with the same.

The Autobiography of Gucci Mane. Gucci Mane & Neil Martinez-Belkin. 2017. Simon & Schuster. 270 pages. [Source: Public library]. Trap God. Guwop. Gucci Mane. Radric Davis. All names for the same man whose career — and rap sheet — has read like a series of unfortunate events. Admittedly, I am not a Gucci Mane fan. There are a handful of songs of his that I like, but otherwise, I’ve only been as familiar with him as Twitter’s trending topics demanded.  Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the fact that a rapper who has spent at least a third of his “fame” behind bars still maintained a near cult-like fan base. I picked up this book mostly because I didn’t understand quite why the man with an ice-cream cone tat on his cheek actually got a book deal. I heard he had a “glow up” after his most recent prison stint, and figured this was part of it.  I put myself on the hold list with my local library and came into this book with low expectations. I was hating a little bit, but I was genuinely interested in what he had to share. When I started reading, though?

Dear Martin. Nic Stone. 2017. Random House. 212 pages. [Source: Public library.] If nothing in the world ever changes, what type of man are you gonna be? I picked up Dear Martin on the recommendation of someone because I’d enjoyed The Hate You Give. This book is in a similar vein as THUG in that it follows the aftermath of an officer-involved shooting that results in a young, black teen’s death.  More than that, however, it explores the complexities of racial and social class in nuanced ways. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Justyce, Dear Martin gives a young, black males insight, which I found especially interesting. Justyce is an honor student who attends a prestigious private school on a full scholarship.  He is, however, from the other side of the proverbial tracks, the child of a single mother and lives in what he describes as a bad area of Atlanta.  His bright future is a foregone conclusion – Ivy league education, law school, public policy career. However, he receives a rude awakening that his accomplishments mean little in the face of biased community members.

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Issa Rae. 2015. Atria. 225 pages. [Source: Public library]. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I’ve been a stan of Issa Rae since her co-worker caught her rapping along aggressively at a stop sign on Youtube.  That fandom exploded when her show, Insecure, hit HBO in 2016.  I’ve always related quite a bit to her experiences on her web-series, and (not surprisingly) the trials and tribulations of adulthood chronicled on the small screen spoke to my own experiences in dating, working, and trying to look like I had my sh*t together while I fumbled through the process. I’m honestly a bit disappointed it took me so long to get my hands on her autobiography, but it was worth the wait.  It’s an easy read and felt like I was kicking back on the couch with my girl from way back, reminiscing about the good, bad, and ugly.  (Sidenote – Issa Rae is my friend in my head. She completes my sentences and we do that thing where you can give someone a look and they know exactly what you’re thinking).  I appreciated from the start her ability to inject wit (albeit often…