nuhafariha's reviews
1159 reviews

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Thanks Knopf and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available May 28th 2024.

Searing and vulnerable, KB Brookins' Pretty is an exploration of what it means to be a Black trans male in the American South today. Told through prose essays and bursts of poetry, the memoir follows KB from childhood in Fort Worth to adulthood in Austin, TX. Alongside personal experiences, KB meditates on a range of subjects such as hospital care for trans people, working in the nonprofit industry, and pursuing an MFA. One of the most powerful parts of this book was when KB takes accountability for past abusive behavior - it showed true vulnerability with the audience.

You Get What You Pay For by Morgan Parker

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.25

Thanks Random House and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available.

There are no words to describe what a gift Morgan Parker's You Get What You Pay For is as a collection. Weaving the personal and political, Parker discusses how enslavement and colonization continue to impact race and social structure in the US to this very day. She grapples with the trauma and inheritance of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and the shortfalls of reparations. Some musings can get a little dense, but overall this book is a detailed and precise interrogation of what it means to be a Black woman in America.

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I enjoyed this book but would have enjoyed it more if it weren't mandatory reading for class.

Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

Thank you Ecco and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available April 30th 2024.

Bite by Bite is a gastronomic delight, exploring personal, political, and social history by excavating the author's food choices. I've long loved Aimee Nezhukumatathil's wonderful prose - World of Wonders is one of my favorites of all time! Bite by Bite is no different, only the focus this time is food. I loved every delicous turn in this book, the way we could zoom in and out of the discussion at hand while still being carefully led to our final destination. There is so much grace, love and tenderness here, so much earnest joy and gratitude that I, as the reader, walk away feeling lighter, happier, and ready to engage with the world.

To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Now available!

Truly there is no word for to describe the beautiful, painful, and haunting way Tracy K Smith excavates her family's history, starting in the Antebellum South to the current day. In lyrical and prosaic style, each chapter builds upon the last until we return with Smith to her native land in Alabama. In this book, the personal is political and Smith spares no detail in the precise way she maps the brutal history of slavery and racism on her own family tree. Yet, there are moments of levity, of joy - particularly in the chapters where Smith describes her own experience of motherhood. I could sense Smith's struggle in writing such a deeply personal work and felt vulnerable alongside her. An absolutely stellar, urgent read!

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Why does Dana keep defending Rufus???

American War by Omar El Akkad

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.

To be brutally honest, I did not finish this book at this time.
The style of writing felt very jarring to me - this is a book set in 2075, but the writing and pacing of the main narrative portions feels like it's from the 1930's.
I did appreciate the parataxis of found material against the storyline, it felt very interesting to get different viewpoints on the issue from the main character, and provided a fuller picture of the setting.

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

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challenging dark fast-paced