Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans-- This is a collection of poetry. "Mans writes to call herself—and us—home. Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America—and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman. A love letter to the wandering Black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing."
May We Forever Stand by Imani Perry-- It’s the story of the Black National Anthem as it traveled from South to North, from civil rights to black power, and from countless family reunions to Carnegie Hall and the Oval Office. Drawing on a wide array of sources, Perry uses Lift Every Voice and Sing as a window on the powerful ways African Americans have used music and culture to organize, mourn, challenge, and celebrate for more than a century.
Martha Matilda Harper by Jane Plitt-- Martha Matilda Harper is responsible for the Hair Salon industry in Rochester, came from the poorest of poor in Canada, migrated to the USA as a house servant, only to leverage her ingenuity, perseverance and belief in herself to grow a business to 500 salons by the 1950s. This is a fast, fascinating read of an imported service industry that continues to exist throughout the world today.
In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin-- His prose is lyrical. This is a love song to romance and New York city. It takes place in the post war era, There are dirty deeds and mobsters and anti-semitism. But it is full of the hope of new beginnings and the energy of GIs beginning life again in a magical city, with obstacles thrown in to keep things interesting. For me, with Helprin, the plot is not the point, its the writing.
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern-- A duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who, unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, However, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved…
Kindreds by BB Russell-- A disappearing carnival is looking for ten new members but something seems off. No one is allowed to talk about the rules or what happens after you join. Will Lilah give up everything she’s ever known on a chance for a new life, with Sebastian, the head of the carnival, setting his sights on her, will she even have a choice?
A Door in the Earth by Amy Waldman -- Parveen Shamsa, a college senior in search of a calling discovers a bestselling book called Mother Afghanistan, a memoir by humanitarian Gideon Crane that has become a bible for American engagement in the country. Inspired, she travels to a remote village in the land of her birth to join the work of his charitable foundation. When she arrives, however, Crane's maternity clinic, while grandly equipped, is mostly unstaffed. And Crane's memoir appears to be littered with mistakes, or outright fabrications.
East of West by Johnathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta-- This graphic novel series, a science-fiction Western set in a dystopian America, casts the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as heroes. Death, War Famine, and Conquest play one side of this apocalyptic game, and the Chosen, a group of elites from the Seven Nations who are working to bring about the end of the world, play the other side.
Joytime Killbox by Brian W. Wood --The awkwardness of modern living takes center stage in these nine short stories by Brian Wood. Well-intentioned characters fumble through social situations: a man making small talk in line for a deadly thrill ride, a pet parrot arrested for murder, a seductive stranger on an airplane who just pulled out a handle of gin. With sparse prose and candid humor, these stories draw attention to the absurdities of our day-to-day interactions.
