Church Girl. Naima Simone. 2024. Afterglow Books. 264 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] Admittedly, the cover of Church Girl drew me in, and the story held my interest. Aaliyah is a runaway bride who left her small Alabama hometown to get out from under the thumb of her bishop father. She convinces her cousin to take her back to Chicago, where she’s planning to reinvent herse...

Stuck Wit’ Chu. Olivia Shaw-Reel. 2020. 149 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Stuck Wit’ Chu is essentially a story about a broken marriage and a couple at a crossroads. Keith and Marlow have been married over a decade, are parents to three young children, and have somehow lost their way. They’re navigating the Covid-19 pandemic while facing their own crisis at home, and the book follows their attempt to figure otu whether to s...

Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known. George M. Johnson. 2024. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 127 pages. [Source: Public library.] The Harlem Renaissance was a remarkable period in American history, but was pivotal within Black America. The “New Negro Movement” launched the careers of countless scholars, photographers, musicians, and dancers and ushered in a rebirth of racial pride and solidarity, in addition to le...

Twenty-four Seconds from Now … Jason Reynolds. 2024. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. 253 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher courtesy of Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.] How many times do Black boys get to be the center of a love story? I don’t mean a coming of age novel with hints of dating among the minutiae of teen life. I mean a story that is completely focused on the evolution of a romantic relationship and i...

Share My Life: A Journey of Love, Faith, and Redemption. Kem, with David Ritz. 2023. Simon & Schuster. 272 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher courtesy of Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.] Before reading Share My Life, I wouldn’t have called myself a die-hard Kem fan. I was certainly familiar with some of his larger hits, but I had little familiarity with his overall career or his persona as an artist.  That unfami...

The Cow in Patrick O’Shanahan’s Kitchen
Advance Reader Copy , Children's / October 16, 2013

The Cow in Patrick O’Shanahan’s Kitchen. Diana Prichard, Heather Knopf, ill. 2013.  32 pages. Little Pickle Press.  [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Edelweiss] This is a cute story about how Patrick discovers the origins of the foods he eats on a regular basis.  According to the the author, the book seeks to answer the question, “Where does your breakfast come from?” While he helps his father prepare “World Famous French T...

Series: The Billionaire’s Obsession
Contemporary Romance / October 15, 2013

The Billionaire’s Obsession: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Mine For Tonight, Mine For Now, Mine Forever, Mine Completely) J.S. Scott.  2013. 286 pages. Golden Unicorn Enterprises Inc.  [Source: Personal copy] I’m reviewing this boxed set as a whole because it’s a serial novel.  Admittedly, I’m not a fan of serial novels at all.  Cliffhangers are best left for chapters where the resolution doesn’t string you along to...

Make You Mine

Make You Mine. Niobia Bryant. 2009. 352 pages. Dafina.  [Source: Personal copy] First — I read this book in less than a day, it is THAT engaging. I absolutely could not put it down. This was my first time reading Ms. Bryant, and I was thoroughly pleased. Make You Mine follows Julius and Caress, who truly define the phrase “opposites attract.” She’s an unemployed slob; he’s a successful photographer who borders on OCD. When th...

Test Driven: High-Stakes Accountability in Elementary Schools
Education , Non-fiction / October 10, 2013

Test Driven: High-Stakes Accountability in Elementary Schools. Linda Valli, Robert G. Croninger, Marilyn H. Chambliss, Anna O. Graeber, Daria Buese. 2008. 208 pages. Teachers College Press. [Source: personal copy.] I can only hope that more people than just educators and those in academia are exposed to the invaluable information the authors provide here. The insights into how the educational landscape is being warped by a focus on stan...