Reader's Place: February 1, 2021
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
This month we’re looking at recent fiction by African and African American writers
Riot baby, by Tochi Onyebuchi. (Print, eBCCLS, Hoopla)
Ella and Kev are brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella--through visits both mundane and supernatural--tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down.
At night all blood is black, by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis. (Print)
Alfa Ndaiye, a 20 year old Senegalese man conscripted to fight for France in WW I, spends hours squatting beside his mortally wounded best friend and fellow “Chocolat” who begs Ndaiye to show mercy and kill him. Ndaiye cannot bring himself to do so, and his aching regret jump-starts a monologue of Ndaiye’s dive into mania.
The boyfriend project , by Farrah Rochon. (Print, Hoopla)
Three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status. For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she's always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work.
A girl is a body of water , by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. (Print, eBCCLS)
12 year old Kirabo has been raised by women in the small village of Nattetta-her grandmother, her best friend, and her many aunts, but the absence of her mother follows her like a shadow. As she comes of age she feels the emergence of a mysterious second self, a headstrong and confusing force inside her at odds with her sweet and obedient nature. Kirabo begins spending afternoons with Nsuuta, a local witch, who explains that Kirabo has a streak of the "first woman"-an independent, original state that has been all but lost to women. Kirabo's journey to reconcile her rebellious origins, alongside her desire to reconnect with her mother and to honor her family's expectations, is rich in the folklore of Uganda and an arresting exploration of what it means to be a modern girl in a world that seems determined to silence women.
Party of two, by Jasmine Guillory. (Print, eBCCLS)
Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe's mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble-not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?
Compiled by Ina Rimpau.