Woman of Light

By Kali Fajardo-Anstine

This cover is amazingly beautiful! Another great book from the author of Sabrina & Corina (if you haven’t read yet, get on it ASAP!)

This book is a historical fiction (my favorite genre) of the Indigenous people of late 1800’s to 1930’s Denver. How as a people they flourished, but still had to succumb to and survive the colonization and devastation of their homeland (the Lost Territory).

The continual racism they have to endure and yet still able find joy and to celebrate family and loved ones.

This story is about survival, family, and the love that keeps them together.

BLACK CAKE

Charmaine Wilkerson

First, I absolutely LOVE this cover!!

This story takes place in the West Indies, UK, and then ends in the States. The story is told in the narrative of the main character after she has died. She leaves her two children a voice recording explaining her REAL life story.

This is an amazing story of young girl who has to be strong and resilient while escaping one part of her life to start a new one in a new country with no family or friends. As soon as you think you've figured out what is going to happen next, another turn of events takes place, leaving you wanting to keep reading!

Throughout the main character's life she has had to sacrifice her entire being to make sure her family would be safe and her never knowing the real woman she was. Such a great story of resilience, perseverance, love, family, and redemption. Oh and don't forget about the black cake!

Stef’s #1 PICK for April 2022

** SOON TO BE HULU SERIES **

Nightcrawling

By: Leila Mottley

A fictional story based on a real life headline in Oakland, CA. The story of the exploitation and violent abuse by the Oakland Police Dept. of young Black women walking the streets and not receiving any justice for it.

The story is told from the point of view of a 17yr old Black girl and her struggle to just "survive" and the decisions she makes while trying to do just that. While continuously being abused and exploited, she is still constantly putting her needs and wants last in order take care of & protect the people in her life.

The last few pages of this book is what really made me love this story! The author shows how victims are able to "survive" and still find love & joy in life.

@penguinrandomhouse

Four Treasures of the Sky

By: Jenny Tinghui Zhang

May 5

Written By Stefanie Corbin

This book was a bit of a world wind. The main character is kidnapped from China at age 12, brought to San Franscisco to a brothel, then flees to Idaho (while pretending to be a man).

The story is set in the 1880's during the Chinese Exclusion Act (which I just learned about by reading this book).

I found this book fascinating because of the time period when Chinese immigrants were massacred, lynched, whole towns burned down, just for being Chinese (sound familiar?).

The author herself wasn't aware of the Chinese Exlucion Act, and she is a Chinese-American (once again, US History class leaving out important details).

After extensive research, she found out about young Chinese girls being kidnapped and shipped in barrels of coal to be sold to brothels in California. She also came upon a story of 5 Chinese men being lynched in a town named Pierce, Idaho. There is currently a memorial of the event in the town.

I highly recommend this book if you like historical fiction like me 😊 and it's a great way to start off the month celebrating Asian-American & Pacific Islanders Heritage Month!!

What the Fireflies Knew

By: Kai Harris

This was a great coming of age story!

The story is told through the eyes of an 11 year old girl as she watches her mom, a strong black woman, trying to keep her family together while dealing with the loss of her drug addicted husband. Her mom realizes she has reached her breaking point and checks into a mental health facility.

This story is especially poignant now, as we focus on the black community's health and wellness, during Black history month.

Black woman are "supposed to be " STRONG, at all times and with this their mental health is neglected and/or deemed unnecessary.

This story shows you can be a STRONG black woman AND know when you need help. When taking care of your mental health is necessary to being the best mom, person you can be and being able to put the pieces of your life back together.

OLGA DIES DREAMING By XOCHITL GONZALEZ

I LOVED this book! (First time reading an ebook ..hate it 😩) but the book was sooo good sucked it up! 😂

There's Puerto Rican revolutionists, hurricane Maria, political corruption, romance, family drama, abandonment issues. What's not to love!

My first time learning about the Puerto Rican version of the Black Panthers! (time for some history books on the matter 😜) If I'm going to read fiction, I need some history sprinkled in there!

Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream--all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.

WHOA! What a whirlwind of a ride! A roller coaster of emotions! This is a love story filled with perseverance , war, sacrifices , loss, endurance, anger, sadness, and above all...what it means to call someplace "home".

Absolutely LOVED this book!

➡️Hadi and Sama are a young Syrian couple flying high on a whirlwind love, dreaming up a life in the country that brought them together. She had come to Boston years before chasing dreams of a bigger life; he'd landed there as a sponsored refugee from a bloody civil war. Now, they are giddily awaiting the birth of their son, a boy whose native language would be freedom and belonging.

➡️When Sama is five months pregnant, Hadi's father dies suddenly in Jordan, the night before his visa appointment at the embassy. Hadi flies back for the funeral, promising his wife that he'll only be gone for a few days. On the day his flight is due to arrive in Boston, Sama is waiting for him at the airport, eager to bring him back home. But as the minutes and then hours pass, she continues to wait, unaware that Hadi has been stopped at the border and detained for questioning, and deported back to war-torn Syria due to the new muslim ban.