bookreviewswithkb's reviews
641 reviews

The Book of Rosy: A Mother's Story of Separation at the Border by Rosayra Pablo Cruz, Julie Schwietert Collazo

challenging emotional informative tense fast-paced

3.75

cw: family separation, forced detention, violence, rape 

i’m really surprised more people haven’t read this book! i am grateful to have had the opportunity to read Rosy’s immigration story, for her willingness to share her story, including the horrific trauma she experienced at the hands of the u.s. government, in order to bring awareness to the personal impacts the inhumane policies we create have. it’s a quick and powerful read 

i do think it would have been more powerful without the chapters reserved for Collazo to explain how she started the organization Immigrant Families Together, which could have been a description at the end of the book instead. it took away from Rosy’s story immensely and shifted the focus in a different direction

Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar

adventurous

2.0

although i appreciate the fearlessness of this book, Jarrar’s reckoning with embracing her body, her sexuality, her spirit, and her relationship with her father, there was so much about this book that didn’t work for me unfortunately. i thought this book was a memoir but it felt much more like an essay collection that is memoir-ish in nature. it’s not very deep or prophetic, but instead simple, direct and bare bones. also the sexual content is very explicit so beware of that if you do pick this one up 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

long overdue to read this beautiful classic that centers on womanhood, of women being forced into the will of men and needing the power of feminine connection to heal, to become, to understand; on sisterhood in all its forms; on choice, the power of leaning into what makes us whole, on saying yes to the things that bring you peace even when it means disappointing others

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee

2.0

i think i only finished this because by the time i realized i wasn’t liking it, i was too far in. the first couple of essays were more appealing to me, and i actually ended up liking the last one as well, but i found myself dreading picking it up most of the time 

Chee comes off a little…self-indulgent and unaware? almost like he was performing the act of profoundness. the lack of awareness around class privilege was unsettling - if you have access to live in an otherwise unaffordable apartment because your friend is able to let you stay there at an affordable price, you have some access to wealth, even if it doesn’t live in your bank account. some of  the essays also centered on such mundane things that i couldn’t care about even a little bit

is Chee a beautiful writer? absolutely. but i didn’t connect to a lot of the content and i didn’t feel drawn into his narrative 

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

i absolutely loved this book! a beautiful mediation on survival, on ambition and what we give up to find our version of success, of trying to fight back against the expectations placed upon us, the expectations placed upon Black people specifically, how this might show up in a multitude of ways. a mediation on the power of generational love, of the power of history weaving itself into each new generation, the impact of the massacre of Black people, the massacre of Black wealth in Tulsa, the impact of trying to fill up the wounds, of trying to prevent any more wounds 

the writing is so lyrical and soothing to the soul. it’s heartbreaking and mesmerizing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by Katharine K. Wilkinson, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

hopeful informative

3.75

what a warm offering to the earth ♥️

i put this book down and felt hopeful, when so much of the time i feel nothing but dismayed about our climate, both presently and in the future ahead. i appreciate that the collective voices in this collection led with a clear message of the power of community, the power of working together to use the solutions that already exist for pushing back against climate change, the power of listening to our ancestors 

it did start to feel repetitive and it honestly took me awhile to read, sometimes seemingly like the essays weren’t as connected as you might expect in a collection 

We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys by Erin Kimmerle

informative medium-paced

3.0

the nonfiction book that inspired Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, which i’m now longing to read again. this book explores the atrocities of the juvenile “reform” school, known as the Dozier Boys School, where boys as young as 6, many of whom were Black, were sent and then abused, and forced into indentured servitude. Kimmerle, a forensic anthropologist, led a team of researchers to locate the Dozier School’s graveyard and reunite the remains of the boys who were murdered on the school’s grounds with their families 

i am glad i read this book and it is an important piece of history that i’m glad has started to be told. as far as the writing elements of the book though, i thought it jumped around in an incoherent way. i also wish there had been more focus on the reunification process, the emotional impact on the families of finally being able to offer proper burials to their family members, and more exploration of the way racism shaped the Dozier School

Vanishing Maps by Cristina García

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

this book is equal parts funny and serious, moving at a very fast pace; there are some deeply disturbing moments and some moments that feel like pure joy and love, a little chaotic. it is an interesting metaphorical and literal exploration of the impact of the Cuban revolution on one specific family, how the choices each person makes leads the family to be divided across continents, across beliefs, across political affiliations but also, how when we really see each other, our connections carry us through and leave us loving each other even harder 

i really wish i would have known this is a follow-up to Gracía’s novel, Dreaming in Cuban; i think i would have enjoyed it even more. so here’s my PSA to read Dreaming in Cuban first 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

dark emotional tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

to me, this was a beautiful, atmospheric novel moving through ideas about what happens when we have a limited set of choices of survival, how those choices end up hurting the people closest to us. how the only real choice we have is to stay connected to each other, how those connections carry us, how they help us to fly. how our ancestors live within us, how they guide the direction of our lives, how when we neglect ourself we neglect them too. how love can heal 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

for me, the writing style wasn’t compelling enough to hold my attention. the characters were not developed, the storyline was moving so quickly without any details, and there wasn’t any depth to the plot, no emotion, no feeling. that style does not work for me, but if you like it cut and dry, i imagine this is a deeply meaningful book given how well loved it is