Book Review
Be Not Afraid of My Body
by Meg Nola
Darius Stewart’s memoir "Be Not Afraid of My Body" is a searing account of life as a gay Black man, along with struggles with substance abuse and HIV. Born in 1979, Stewart first realized that he was gay when he was eleven. With quiet...
Book Review
Besaydoo
by Meg Nola
Yalie Saweda Kamara’s lucent poetry collection "Besaydoo" encircles matters of race, heritage, boundaries, and exchanging “worry for hope.” California-born poet Kamara challenges the description of Oakland as a “killing field.”...
Book Review
Womb City
by Meg Nola
In Tlotlo Tsamaase’s fearsome futuristic novel "Womb City", a woman struggles to escape the dystopian horror of her AI-controlled existence. Twenty-eight-year-old Nelah lives in Botswana with her police officer husband, Elifasi....
Book Review
Familia
by Meg Nola
In Lauren E. Rico’s emotive novel "Familia", two distant sisters receive life-changing results from a genetic DNA test. Gabby is an aspiring writer who lives in Brooklyn and works for the feature magazine Flux, where she and other...
Book Review
The Unique Women of the Venetian Republic
by Meg Nola
Diverse women throughout history are celebrated in the intimate profiles collected in "The Unique Women of the Venetian Republic". Connie Spenuzza’s "The Unique Women of the Venetian Republic" is a sumptuous historical review that...
Book Review
Annabel Karmel's My First Cookbook
by Meg Nola
Annabel Karmel’s My First Cookbook encourages children to learn about cooking and find delight in both food and food preparation. Karmel is a celebrated United Kingdom children’s cookbook author who was awarded an MBE for her...
Book Review
Alice B. Toklas Is Missing
by Meg Nola
In Robert Archambeau’s inventive novel "Alice B. Toklas Is Missing", a bizarre kidnapping mystifies the artistic circles of 1920s Paris. Ida Caine is an aspiring American painter living in Paris with her husband, Teddy. Though Teddy...
Book Review
A Tale of Two Maidens
by Meg Nola
The historical novel "A Tale of Two Maidens" covers the last days of Joan of Arc’s campaign with spirited flourishes. In Anne Echols’s rousing historical novel "A Tale of Two Maidens", a girl escapes an arranged marriage by joining...