Book Review: Grits: A Cultural and Culinary Journey Through the South by Erin Byers Murray

Grits: A Cultural and Culinary Journey Through the South by Erin Byers Murray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going back to finish a few books that I started some time back and set aside for various reasons (grad school, devouring other books in the meantime). Erin Byers Murray's exploration of grits is a book I picked up at the Decatur Book Festival a few years ago after hearing her speak on the topic. I enjoyed her talk and grabbed the book.

I have to say that I love grits. They are quite probably my favorite food. I grew up on instant grits in packets but now love making pots of locally grown grits from Riverview Farms. I also love food in general, and I always appreciate learning about the history of various foods and preparations and people's views on food.

Murray covers both the historical roots of grits as well as modern approaches to cooking grits that have resulted in their being found (still not easily but found nonetheless) outside the deep South. I particularly enjoyed her conversations with current farmers and millers (and loved that my own personal favorite - Riverview Farms - gets a shout-out in the book). Recipes are scattered throughout, and I look forward to trying some of them. (Even, shudder, making a sweet preparation with grits. I'll try it.)

The only criticism I have is that the chapter exploring the politics of grits didn't quite gel. Lots of great information there, but the theme under exploration wasn't fully developed. Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading and learning from Murray.

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Book Review: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think everyone knows that I love thrillers, but what I really love are well-written thrillers. Angeline Boulley's first novel is a must-read. I liked everything about it from the eye-catching cover illustration to the tight plot to the well-crafted lead character, Daunis.

Set in Sault Ste. Marie in 2004, the novel is firmly grounded in a specific time and place and with Daunis's dual heritage, an upper crust white family on her maternal side and a large extended Ojibwe family on her paternal side, it is also firmly grounded in a specific culture. Boulley is also a member of the Ojibwe nation, and I loved how she brought their culture to life. I think people often think of Native American nations and people as something belonging to the past, but Boulley deftly provides a nuanced, knowledgeable reminder that Native nations and people exist in the here and now and are not historical artifacts. While not glossing over issues of violence against women and substance abuse (which are, in fact, key factors in the plot), Boulley shows us the "love, joy, connection, friendship, hope, laughter, and the beauty and strength in my Ojibwe community" (p. 490). I appreciated the use of the Ojibwe language, Anishinaabemowin, throughout, as that helped me get immersed in the story.

As a mystery/thriller, Firekeeper's Daughter holds up very well. There are no crazy plot twists, just a solid story that keeps you reading. I suspected some of the reveals (which I won't give away here), and I really appreciated how Boulley kept the plot clean and let us learn things along with Daunis.

I'll be recommending this to my YA readers - from my middle school students to my fellow adults who enjoy a good YA thriller. Check it out!

P.S. Check out this great interview with Angeline Boulley, too: https://diversebooks.org/qa-with-ange...

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Book Review: Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Raw and real and loud, Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout takes readers on a poetic tour of the personal experiences that gave rise to Anderson's powerful writing in her novels for young people. Set in three sections, the book explores her childhood and young adulthood in the first with an unflinching look at the real people she, her mother, and her father were and examines the choices they made within their realities. As she says in the introduction, her father "gave me these guidelines: we must be gentle with the living, but the dead own their truth and are fearless. So I've written honestly about the challenges my parents faced and how their struggles affected me." This freedom gives rise to some intense, beautiful, and beautifully gut-wrenching poetry, especially moving to me as a parent reflecting on how the choices I make play out for my own children.

In the middle section, Anderson writes about her writing, her journey to becoming a writer, and her readers. Fans of her work will no doubt enjoy reading about her process and the development of some of her storylines. Personally, I loved the poem "anatomy," which takes Ken doll to task for his flawed anatomical presentation. I also appreciated where Anderson takes time to offer advice to her readers, as in "ignore stupid advice" for young people, and to criticize the efforts of adults who "help" young people by ignoring the realities of life and the need of young people to hear the truth (specifically "emergency, in three acts," "librarian on the cusp of courage," and "inappropriate dictators").

In part three, Anderson returns to her family and reflects on the power names, of story, of shared experience. I most liked her "reminder" that:

the spines of books connect
page to page
writer to reader
teacher to student
page to page
past to future
pain to power
page to page
rage to peace (p. 289)

May we all find such peace by shouting our own truths to the world.

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Book Review: Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This novella is intense and 100% a story for the now. Told from the perspective of Kev, a young black man born during the Rodney King riots, over a series of years spanning from his childhood through his incarceration and beyond to his (potential) liberation, the story is a raw, real, and unflinching look at the violence done to Black bodies. While Kev's mystical, powerful sister Ella is a key figure in the novella, this is fully Kev's story and Onyebuchi tells it in a way that keeps the listener rapt. The story hops through time in a way that is disorienting but no more so for the reader than for Kev, and the not-too-far-off dystopian future depicted is one that feels a little to "at home" with current events related to police violence against Black people, the excessive policing of Black bodies in general, the use of technology to track citizens and predict activities through algorithms, and the continued failure to recognize White Supremacist culture as an act of terror. And yet... I could help but feel that this book - with all its scary trappings - is wrapped around a kernel of hope.

I enjoyed this book as an audiobook, and, as always, it was incredible to hear the author interpret his own words for the recording. I do plan to revisit it in print because I am curious to see how the text is laid out on the page and how space is used to tell the story.

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#2021BookChallenge: The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had the pleasure of hearing Ebony Elizabeth Thomas speak at the inaugural Augusta Baker Lecture presented by the University of South Carolina in 2020. At that time, I had already purchased her book after reading an article by her in one of my SLIS classes. After the lecture, I was excited to read it, but I took my time getting around to it!

Thomas provides a clear, thoughtful, and thought-provoking look at race in speculative fiction, particularly in the world of YA publishing and film. I appreciated how she sets out the role of "the dark other" in speculative fiction and then explains, using the depictions of four popular speculative fiction characters, how our commonly accepted spec fiction canon limits and diminishes the roles of black characters (and specifically black girls and women) and subjects them to a violence that mirrors the violence we see around us. These depictions can be harmful to readers whose experiences are marginalized and alienate such readers from further engaging with speculative fiction.

Thomas's discussion of the role of fan fiction throughout the book and most intently in the final chapter provided me with a whole new perspective on the value of fan fiction. I was already interested in exploring fan fiction with my middle school readers, but after reading this book, I am even more excited about it.

Definitely a must-read for anyone who works with children and young adult readers. (And, wow, how lovely is the cover art??)

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Book Reviews: Spring Break Reads

The Kingdom by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A riveting read from Jo Nesbo that leaves the world of Harry Hole to examine the powerful role that siblings play in each other's lives. This stand-alone thriller follows brothers Roy and Carl through the twists and turns and traumas of their childhoods into their adulthoods, where Carl has left Norway for Minnesota and apparent success as a real estate developer while Roy remains behind, living a solitary life running the gas station in their home town. Neither Roy nor Carl are fully likeable but both are still simultaneously sympathetic, and the book was hard to put down.

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Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent work of middle grades realistic fiction, I got totally sucked into seventh-grade Mila's life. The depictions of middle school friendships are strong, and I appreciated the depiction of Mila's perception of the adults in her life, some of whom are more reliable than she thinks. This is a great discussion starter for issues of sexual harassment in middle school (and in to high school), and I look forward to discussing it with middle grades readers at a Project LIT book club meeting.

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The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great book! Lovers of the Westing Game will definitely want to check out this fun read, which ties together historical fiction, modern-day realistic fiction, and a mystery! Readers will root for Candice as she and her new friend Brandon decipher the clues in a letter Candice's grandmother left behind for her in a box in the attic. The novel ties in issues of family, friendship, bullying, acceptance, and the importance of acknowledging painful truths about the past in a way that is fun and engaging.

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Knife by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this most recent Harry Hole novel. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm glad I'm not in Harry's inner circle!! I liked the ending that wrapped up some loose ends but also left me wondering what comes next for Harry.

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Book Review: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This novel for middle grades readers is a beautifully written tale that combines magical realism with a strong grounding in the power of family and friendship. I think readers will connect with Lily and Sam, sisters whose bond is strong in spite of (maybe even because of) their differences. Tae Keller adds to the growing #OurOwnVoices movement that brings the stories of children from non-white backgrounds to the foreground. I loved reading the tales that Lily and Sam's Halmoni (Korean for grandmother) shares with them, and I appreciated the personal story that Keller shares in her author's note. Sensitive, lyrical, and magical - well worthy of the Newbery.

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