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passionyoungwrites's reviews
165 reviews
The Real Mrs. Tobias by Sally Koslow
This is a story of three women who marry into the Tobias family. A story of the relationships between mother- in - laws and daughter in laws. Honestly, the main character is the sons wife, Mel.
.
Anywho, the story comes together mostly when an incident happens and the youngest Tobias man, Micah, has an accident. This really shifts the nature of the relationships with the women. It brings out the traits of wanting to be in control. Mel and Veronika, the wives of the older men really but heads - both are therapists / counselors. They both aren’t trying fond of Micah’s wife, Birdie.
.
Birdie is a mother, and has ultimately placed her dreams aside. But after her husbands accident, she starts to see things differently. Packing up and going out of state to spend time with her family, she sees and appreciates how her people aren’t as demanding and controlling.
Along with all of that Mel’s daughter is planning a baby with her girlfriend. Veronika’s husband is losing his memory, and Mel is faced with an old fling that wants to offer her a job.
Plenty of action here, plenty of changes happening. I think the funniest part of this story is when Veronika’s husband, memory loss - dementia, thinks Mel is his wife.
.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This is a story of three women who marry into the Tobias family. A story of the relationships between mother- in - laws and daughter in laws. Honestly, the main character is the sons wife, Mel.
.
Anywho, the story comes together mostly when an incident happens and the youngest Tobias man, Micah, has an accident. This really shifts the nature of the relationships with the women. It brings out the traits of wanting to be in control. Mel and Veronika, the wives of the older men really but heads - both are therapists / counselors. They both aren’t trying fond of Micah’s wife, Birdie.
.
Birdie is a mother, and has ultimately placed her dreams aside. But after her husbands accident, she starts to see things differently. Packing up and going out of state to spend time with her family, she sees and appreciates how her people aren’t as demanding and controlling.
Along with all of that Mel’s daughter is planning a baby with her girlfriend. Veronika’s husband is losing his memory, and Mel is faced with an old fling that wants to offer her a job.
Plenty of action here, plenty of changes happening. I think the funniest part of this story is when Veronika’s husband, memory loss - dementia, thinks Mel is his wife.
.
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
“There are several kinds of happiness Washington. Sometimes it is not for us to choose, or even understand, the one granted us.”
🦅
Named “George Washington Black” by his former slave master, Wash sees and lives the happenings on a Barbados Sugar Plantation. Watched over and protected by a woman that goes by “Big Kit”, who makes Wash to believe they the only way out of slavery is to die. She tells him that his death, or any slaves death, will allow their spirit to go back to their motherland. That belief is altered once the new Master sees that the slaves are committing suicide to make that happen.
🦅
Wash is then summoned to the new masters brother quarters, where he is told that he will work as an assistant - no more a field slave. His live basically changes and still he is fearful for a while.
Some time later, a white man is killed or I should say dies in his presence and Wash then has a bounty out on his head.
🦅
Wash is one of few slaves that gets to see a white man’s mercy. In this story we travel with Wash and see him navigate life as a free man. Making choices along the way that suites him. He carries his drawings and love for science with him throughout the years and leads a life mostly to his liking.
🦅
Named “George Washington Black” by his former slave master, Wash sees and lives the happenings on a Barbados Sugar Plantation. Watched over and protected by a woman that goes by “Big Kit”, who makes Wash to believe they the only way out of slavery is to die. She tells him that his death, or any slaves death, will allow their spirit to go back to their motherland. That belief is altered once the new Master sees that the slaves are committing suicide to make that happen.
🦅
Wash is then summoned to the new masters brother quarters, where he is told that he will work as an assistant - no more a field slave. His live basically changes and still he is fearful for a while.
Some time later, a white man is killed or I should say dies in his presence and Wash then has a bounty out on his head.
🦅
Wash is one of few slaves that gets to see a white man’s mercy. In this story we travel with Wash and see him navigate life as a free man. Making choices along the way that suites him. He carries his drawings and love for science with him throughout the years and leads a life mostly to his liking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Blood, and Slavery
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
This story is a story of conjoined, identical twins whose mother dies during childbirth and their presumed biological father leaves and never returns. Their mother is a nun, whose pregnancy goes unnoticed until the father, a doctor, needs her at her usual duties as his assistant. Raised by other doctors at the clinic where their parents worked and lived, this story is told solely from the POV of the eldest twin, Marion.
⛏️
This book is full of medical terms, procedures and the everyday issues of life. Set in Africa, where neither of their parents are natives - the twins follow their fathers, and adoptive parents footsteps into studying medicine. Marion, receiving his credentials in America after having to flee and Shiva, his twin, receiving hands on training in the clinic in which the twins were born.
This story allows is to see motherhood at an unexpected time, adoptive parenting and a hint of parental struggles, health diagnosis from the clinics staff, war, survival, and silent sibling rivalry.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This story is a story of conjoined, identical twins whose mother dies during childbirth and their presumed biological father leaves and never returns. Their mother is a nun, whose pregnancy goes unnoticed until the father, a doctor, needs her at her usual duties as his assistant. Raised by other doctors at the clinic where their parents worked and lived, this story is told solely from the POV of the eldest twin, Marion.
⛏️
This book is full of medical terms, procedures and the everyday issues of life. Set in Africa, where neither of their parents are natives - the twins follow their fathers, and adoptive parents footsteps into studying medicine. Marion, receiving his credentials in America after having to flee and Shiva, his twin, receiving hands on training in the clinic in which the twins were born.
This story allows is to see motherhood at an unexpected time, adoptive parenting and a hint of parental struggles, health diagnosis from the clinics staff, war, survival, and silent sibling rivalry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Police brutality, Blood, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
The Yellow House: A Memoir by Sarah M. Broom
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The Yellow House is a memoir that gives an account of the authors family history, their hometown and the authors journey in knowing those that came before her. She weaves all of this information into this novel with extensive research, conversations and allows the readers to journey along with her.
Broom tells us of her family’s ancestry, all the way back to her maternal great - grandmother. We learn of each generation in great detail and their spouses all the way down to her own generation. Broom is the youngest of twelve children, having never met her father - he died when she was six months old.
💛
I really don’t pick up nonfiction fast, however I do enjoy stories that highlight actual people and actual events. As a memoir, The Yellow House takes you on a wild ride. Along with family history, Broom shares how her family made it through Hurricane Katrina, how they separated, and came together. It also gives us a deeper look into New Orleans from a political standpoint.
Broom also gives us an account of how the Yellow House became to be, how it had a lasting impact on her family, and how it shaped them as individuals - even when it was no longer standing.
Broom tells us of her family’s ancestry, all the way back to her maternal great - grandmother. We learn of each generation in great detail and their spouses all the way down to her own generation. Broom is the youngest of twelve children, having never met her father - he died when she was six months old.
💛
I really don’t pick up nonfiction fast, however I do enjoy stories that highlight actual people and actual events. As a memoir, The Yellow House takes you on a wild ride. Along with family history, Broom shares how her family made it through Hurricane Katrina, how they separated, and came together. It also gives us a deeper look into New Orleans from a political standpoint.
Broom also gives us an account of how the Yellow House became to be, how it had a lasting impact on her family, and how it shaped them as individuals - even when it was no longer standing.
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”
🐦⬛
Imagine this. You, your brothers and a few friends venture to a forbidden river to fish. Many times you go, and always without your parents knowledge or permission. This one time you see the madman - the one who’s labeled as crazy but also known to give prophecies that have proven to be true. He gives a prophecy to your oldest brother, and telling him that he will be killed by a “fishermen”. You and your brother call yourself “fishermen”
🐦⬛
I really didn’t know what to expect within this novel. Honestly after the first crazy incident I was worried with what all would happen next because the main part was only halfway through.
🐦⬛
For me, the wildest part was that the mother of these boys had to do it alone for some time. And besides these four older boys, she had two younger children to care for. I really feel that in raising children, family structure is important, but with jobs and things - what’s important doesn’t always work out as it should. All of this happened because these boys didn’t listen.
🐦⬛
The author gives euphemisms to describe the characters in relation to animalistic traits wowed me. And for this to be a Cane and Able - type story, it went to well beyond my expectations.
The biggest lesson here is that when parenting children, one must remember that it’s the decisions they make that will ultimately decide their fate.
🐦⬛
The Fishermen dives into the politics, economy, and religious beliefs of this family. All of which play a part into the destiny of this one family.
🐦⬛
Imagine this. You, your brothers and a few friends venture to a forbidden river to fish. Many times you go, and always without your parents knowledge or permission. This one time you see the madman - the one who’s labeled as crazy but also known to give prophecies that have proven to be true. He gives a prophecy to your oldest brother, and telling him that he will be killed by a “fishermen”. You and your brother call yourself “fishermen”
🐦⬛
I really didn’t know what to expect within this novel. Honestly after the first crazy incident I was worried with what all would happen next because the main part was only halfway through.
🐦⬛
For me, the wildest part was that the mother of these boys had to do it alone for some time. And besides these four older boys, she had two younger children to care for. I really feel that in raising children, family structure is important, but with jobs and things - what’s important doesn’t always work out as it should. All of this happened because these boys didn’t listen.
🐦⬛
The author gives euphemisms to describe the characters in relation to animalistic traits wowed me. And for this to be a Cane and Able - type story, it went to well beyond my expectations.
The biggest lesson here is that when parenting children, one must remember that it’s the decisions they make that will ultimately decide their fate.
🐦⬛
The Fishermen dives into the politics, economy, and religious beliefs of this family. All of which play a part into the destiny of this one family.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Child death
Minor: Hate crime
The Library Thief: A Novel by Kuchenga Shenjé
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A story of self - exploration and acceptance. Florence really is living in the moment. Struggling to figure out who she is and where she’s going. Taking the bookbinding job was a step forward from her current situation. Though the situation didn’t go exactly as she’d planned it.
A big house, a dead wife, and nobody really knowing her cause of death. Florence used that distraction. Then that opened up a lot, good and bad. Meeting new people, traveling, learning truths of her boss and his family. Even being brought to light about her origins.
But, snooping around is never good. Because just as she was watching them, they were watching her. Florence always seemed to be placed in a position where she had to make a choice, after someone else’s choice was made.
The Library Thief is one that kept me on the edge of my seat. It made me wonder and of course the ending was unexpected. This novel explores race, gender, self - discovery and much “passing” in regards to race and physical appearance.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death
Ours by Phillip B. Williams
Throughout this novel we see the positives and negatives of conjure. We see the people of Ours forge a new life, time after time. We see community, friendship, love, and death. We experience the gifts of those that have them - healing hands, the ability to curse without touching, weather changes and time freezing, based on moods. We see the spirit of someone who has died and their journey to their next phase. Not only that but we get to learn individual stories of those that came to Ours so we can truly see and understand them.
.
Though we learn the characters here, past and their present days, the lesson for me after reading this was “Remember who you are”. Not only remembering, but accepting those that are to help you - in the right time.
.
Saint was the biggest mystery for me. Mostly because she was unable to recall any memory. And without memory it seemed that she was living day to day but also unable to remember who she was, where she came from and what started the movement that allowed Ours to exist.
Those stones took the cake though, especially the invisibility ones! And Saint’s companion’s story was heartfelt and touching!
.
As a multi - generational story, it definitely shows how the decisions we make will affect those that come from us down the line.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Throughout this novel we see the positives and negatives of conjure. We see the people of Ours forge a new life, time after time. We see community, friendship, love, and death. We experience the gifts of those that have them - healing hands, the ability to curse without touching, weather changes and time freezing, based on moods. We see the spirit of someone who has died and their journey to their next phase. Not only that but we get to learn individual stories of those that came to Ours so we can truly see and understand them.
.
Though we learn the characters here, past and their present days, the lesson for me after reading this was “Remember who you are”. Not only remembering, but accepting those that are to help you - in the right time.
.
Saint was the biggest mystery for me. Mostly because she was unable to recall any memory. And without memory it seemed that she was living day to day but also unable to remember who she was, where she came from and what started the movement that allowed Ours to exist.
Those stones took the cake though, especially the invisibility ones! And Saint’s companion’s story was heartfelt and touching!
.
As a multi - generational story, it definitely shows how the decisions we make will affect those that come from us down the line.
Single Black Female by Tracy Brown
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
As you know life happens and things change. Ivy decides to find a life outside of her baby daddy’s visitation schedule. Coco says to hell with the man she kept going back to. Deja gets a reality check and realizes she really doesn’t like the choices she made. And Nikki is there to lend a helping had to them all.
.
The biggest lesson learned for all of them, was that being Black in America is the same no matter where you go, what you drive, or how much money you make.
Though seeing the sisterhood still stand from beginning to end was a great thing.
I think Mikey sister Patsy was just mad she didn’t have what the others were able to achieve for themselves as individuals. Yes, she snitched to her brother about Ivy’s new life.
And Mikey himself pissed me off because he was controlling damn near everything from behind prison walls. 😭
.
The topics covered in this novel are a rare find in fiction - or at least for me. Self - Acceptance, Resilience, Setting Boundaries, Romantic Relationships, Sisterhood, Careers, and Racial Occurrences.
.
The biggest lesson learned for all of them, was that being Black in America is the same no matter where you go, what you drive, or how much money you make.
Though seeing the sisterhood still stand from beginning to end was a great thing.
I think Mikey sister Patsy was just mad she didn’t have what the others were able to achieve for themselves as individuals. Yes, she snitched to her brother about Ivy’s new life.
And Mikey himself pissed me off because he was controlling damn near everything from behind prison walls. 😭
.
The topics covered in this novel are a rare find in fiction - or at least for me. Self - Acceptance, Resilience, Setting Boundaries, Romantic Relationships, Sisterhood, Careers, and Racial Occurrences.
Gloria by Kerry Young
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gloria finds out the truth about who her parents are and has to gain an understanding of why life as she knows it isn’t everything she thought it to be.
.
Gloria really did the best she could during her time, with her limited resources and struggled keeping sight of who she truly is. The craziest thing is that they ended up moving into a house where prostitution was the name of the game.
Umongst that, they were able to still make a mark in their community. Gloria and her sister, later in life, led separate lives. Though they still found time for each other. Identity played a big part in this story because who you came from was important to know - though the biggest lesson was that your parents identity doesn’t always have to shape who you are.
Even in the whorehouse, Gloria still found a way to figure o out what she wanted out of life.
.
Gloria really did the best she could during her time, with her limited resources and struggled keeping sight of who she truly is. The craziest thing is that they ended up moving into a house where prostitution was the name of the game.
Umongst that, they were able to still make a mark in their community. Gloria and her sister, later in life, led separate lives. Though they still found time for each other. Identity played a big part in this story because who you came from was important to know - though the biggest lesson was that your parents identity doesn’t always have to shape who you are.
Even in the whorehouse, Gloria still found a way to figure o out what she wanted out of life.
Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
But people don’t always turn out to be what you decide they are when you’re younger. Even your closest friends. Loyalties can shift. Yours did.”
.
Billie took Cassie’s baby. That’s the highlight of this book, that’s the opening scene but we don’t know why or how until later in the story. Though that was very relevant, it wasn’t the real main focus of this story.
.
This story, for me at least, was mostly about Cassie and Billie’s friendship. We get multiple POV’s, a current timeline and one that covers their childhood. Interesting enough, we get to see what situations and circumstances made each of them who they are.
.
Honestly, I couldn’t really choose either of them to be a favorite here. I could say that their past and what happened back them allowed them to form a bond - however toxic, that kept them in a loop of not wanting to let go. Codependent in a sense, but not exactly relevant in their current lives - it was mostly by choice and out of obligation.
.
This one I couldn’t put down. I was shocked, mad and then I was like “what now”. Definitely a page turner. And the ending really gives a new meaning to “Bye, Baby”.
.
Billie took Cassie’s baby. That’s the highlight of this book, that’s the opening scene but we don’t know why or how until later in the story. Though that was very relevant, it wasn’t the real main focus of this story.
.
This story, for me at least, was mostly about Cassie and Billie’s friendship. We get multiple POV’s, a current timeline and one that covers their childhood. Interesting enough, we get to see what situations and circumstances made each of them who they are.
.
Honestly, I couldn’t really choose either of them to be a favorite here. I could say that their past and what happened back them allowed them to form a bond - however toxic, that kept them in a loop of not wanting to let go. Codependent in a sense, but not exactly relevant in their current lives - it was mostly by choice and out of obligation.
.
This one I couldn’t put down. I was shocked, mad and then I was like “what now”. Definitely a page turner. And the ending really gives a new meaning to “Bye, Baby”.