The Forbidden Wish - Jessica Khoury

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"When Aladdin discovers Zahra's jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn't seen in hundreds of years - a world where magic is forbidden and Zahra's very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive, using ancient shape-shifting magic, until her new master has selected his three wishes.

But when the King of the Jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity - only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

As time unravels and her enemies close in, Zahra finds herself suspended between danger and desire in this dazzling retelling of the Aladdin story from acclaimed author Jessica Khoury."

Have you ever had one of those moments where you're browsing for books and the stars align, guiding you to one you didn't know existed but that you have to have? That's how I found this book. Paperbacks & Frybread was having a sale, it happened to include a random, signed copy of this book, and as soon as I saw that it was an Aladdin retelling, I was sold. Now, in my perfect, idyllic dream world, it would be a queer Aladdin retelling...but aside from lacking that one aspect, this was pretty nice as far as retellings go.

For starters, I loved Zahra. How complicated she was, the way her history was woven into the story and revealed bit by bit, her tenacity and creativity...Zahra rocks. So does Caspida and her handmaidens. Aladdin was acceptable, but the women in this book were by far the best part. Honestly, the...I guess secondary conflict(?) with the vizier and his son was not super engaging to me, probably because it was alluded to but nothing was really done with it until it fully came to a head, but I would have read more of this book just to see Zahra, Caspida, and company be amazing some more. They were glorious. A revelation. Honestly, authors take note. Do we even need Aladdin? This could have been the queer retelling the world needs. (Joking, mostly. Sort of.)

Sorry, getting off track. In addition to the girl power, I enjoyed the world building that went into this book. We only got bits and pieces of it, but it was intriguing as hell! I would read so many more books about Zahra's history. And Caspida's rule. About how her handmaidens came to be her handmaidens. What I'm getting at, Jessica Khoury, is give me more books in this world. I will devour them like Cookie Monster. That's not to say this book is perfect - it definitely had some funky word choices at times and several pacing issues - but for me the good more than made up for the clunky. It was a delight. And now I want to watch Aladdin.

November Read Harder update

Y'all, this month is kind of getting away from me. The end of the year is always such a whirlwind, and yet I never see it coming. It's extra windy this year, too, because usually I start preparing for holiday stuff super early, like summer early, and this year I just sort of...didn't. So now here I am, scrambling away. Bright spot, I guess, is that instead of doing a winter book fair the last week of school before break, this year I did it right after fall break, so at least I don't have book fair stress on top of end-of-the-year-get-ready-for-the-holidays stress! Thanks for that, past me. You're a real one.

Enough complaining about how hectic the end of the year is, though. On to the update! I finished Hood Feminism, which was EXCELLENT, and I highly recommend anyone trying to be more intersectional read it and reflect on what they can do better. It definitely gave me a lot to think about - I feel like I underlined like half the book. It's one I'll be going back to.

Last two books...I haven't started yet. 😬 I need to set a reminder for myself to get them from the library, I keep forgetting. Once I get them, though...it's over for this year's challenge!

Root Magic - Eden Royce

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"It's 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won't stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven - and their uncle, Doc, tells them he's going to train them in rootwork.

Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations - especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family's true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs...and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it's going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through."

I knew when I picked it up that this book would be good, but I did not know HOW good. Wow, wow, wow. It's pretty clear from the synopsis, but in case you skipped that, know that this is not a light read. It tackles a lot - the impacts of the transatlantic slave trade and the ways it robbed some people of their traditions, racism, violence and lynching...and Eden Royce does not hold back. 

It doesn't focus solely on the bad, though. There's also joy, celebration, love. That's what makes it such an incredible story and something I think everyone should be reading. It showcases the full experience of Black families living in the 1960s, and the reader gets to share in their joy, their excitement, their challenges, and their fear. Following Jez as she skips a grade at school, tries to make a new friend, starts learning rootwork, and learns how to embrace her whole, authentic self even in the face of adversity brings the story to life and really helps the reader connect with the history being shared. 

Connecting to Jez's story and her family's experiences also made me reflect on how recently those experiences took place. People tend to talk about the Civil Rights era like it's long-past, ancient history, but my parents were alive in 1963. I'm one generation removed from the fight for civil rights. That is not long, and confronting that as you read about it helps highlight where we've made progress and where we still need to improve. This is a bit of a tangent, but it's something I thought about as I read.

Anyway, I don't really know what more to say about this book...the characters were beautifully crafted, the writing was excellent, the story is SO important. It's a beautiful book.

The Lost Library - Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"When a mysterious little free library (guarded by a large orange cat) appears overnight in the small town of Martinville, eleven-year-old Evan plucks two weathered books from its shelves, never suspecting that his life is about to change. Evan and his best friend, Rafe, quickly discover a link between one of the old books and a long-ago event that none of the grown-ups want to talk about. The two boys start asking questions whose answers will transform not only their own futures, but the town itself.

Told in turn by a ghost librarian named Al, an aging (but beautiful) cat named Mortimer, and Evan himself, The Lost Library is a timeless story from award-winning authors Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. It's about owning your truth, choosing the life you want, and the power of a good book (and, of course, the librarian who gave it to you)."

Do you want to know a secret? I have to look up the name for the Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree every time I put it in a post. It's still happening though, and today we're here with a book that it would basically have been impossible for me NOT to love. Just over 200 pages, yes please! A book about a library and books? I'm liiiistening... Lovely, positive, warm librarian rep? 🤤It's like they wrote it just for me.

So, yeah. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I mean...the entirety of chapter 13 alone. I would type the whole chapter here for you to read, but that seems unwieldy. Still, though, I'm tempted. It's such a beautiful chapter, highlighting how much the librarians at the burned-down library loved and cared for their patrons, and there's an exchange at the end between a young, shy patron and Al that just...makes me misty-eyed even thinking about it now. It highlights how deeply stories can touch us and how we can share our love of stories in different ways. And the cherry on top was this quote that I loved:

"I am not upset when others don't love the books I love. We each have our own book spaces inside us, and they do not match up perfectly, nor should they."

Such a lovely sentiment, and a great way to think about our experience with sharing stories and finding connection through them.

Anyway, chapter 13 was a particularly excellent chapter within an overall excellent book. The mystery hooked me right away, and I enjoyed the way it unfolded through the different perspectives. I loved watching Evan make connections and piece things together bit by bit, and I really enjoyed the way his exploration and investigation slowly revealed details about other characters. This is a short book, so I didn't expect the depth of character development it contained - it's good, y'all. 

And the TWISTS. There were some things I saw coming (even then, it was satisfying to find out I had guessed right), but others caught me completely off guard. I know I gasped out loud at least once at a reveal, and a couple moments straight-up made me cry. Just...a lovely, cozy mystery to curl up with.

X - Ilyasah Shabazz

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover: 

"Before Malcolm X shook the world with his words and actions, his parents told him that he could achieve anything. But at fifteen, with his father murdered and his mother taken away, he figures there's no point in trying and escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he's found is only an illusion - and that he can't run from his past forever."

This fictional version of "Malcolm before the X" written by Malcolm X's daughter takes a look at his experiences growing up, before converting to Islam and becoming a leader in the Civil Rights movement. While of course there is some conjecture and fictionalization, Ilyasah Shabazz based what she wrote on stories she was told about her father by family members and friends. We read about a young Malcolm and the rest of his family struggling to stay together after his father's murder when he was six, being constantly harassed by government officials determined to take him and his siblings away from his mother. 

After these officials successfully force his mom into an asylum and separate him from his siblings, he goes to live with his half sister in another state, where he quickly gets swept up in the fast-paced world down the hill. Even as he finds success for himself, he knows he is running - from memories of his father, from institutional and everyday racism determine to keep him down, and even from his own potential. It isn't until he's forced to stop moving that he finally has the opportunity to confront everything he's been trying to escape.

While admittedly I am no expert on Malcolm X's life, everything I have learned about him was after his name change and conversion to Islam. This insight into his experiences growing up and the things that put him onto that path was enlightening and emotional. He went through so much, from such a young age, to become the remarkable leader that he was. I'm glad that his daughter decided to write this book and share more about her father's life.

October Read Harder update

It's weird how time feels like it moves so slow and so fast at the same time. Time, you strange and fickle construct. Anyway, it's the end of October, only two months left in 2023, and here we are, once again, to talk about the books that I've been reading. Not only did I finish Scattered Showers, I reviewed it earlier this month! 'Twas good, in case you skipped that review. (It's fine if you did. My feelings aren't hurt.) Ghost Squad was also a solid read - a little bit spooky and a little bit magical, a perfect read for October. I also reviewed that one, and again, if you skipped it, that doesn't hurt my feelings...at all...

Moving on from my hurt feelings, at long last I have finished The 1619 Project, which I recommend all white people read, preferably with an open heart and open mind and any defensiveness left at the door. It provides a much-needed education for those of us (I would hazard to say most of us) who were taught a white-washed version of history and sold the illusion that the United States has made significant racial progress when, in fact, we have not. The book painstakingly demonstrates and documents how multiple disparate injustices and inequities weave together, illustrating that addressing only one piece of the puzzle is a band-aid over a mortal wound. We can't fix what's broken about the United States by slapping a little gauze over symptoms as they pop up, and we certainly can't fix things while pretending the root problems don't exist. (Psst. Write your representatives and push them to consider HR40 and HR414. You can also sign this petition and email the White House to request President Biden create a commission on reparations by executive order.)

Now, in addition to Hood Feminism, which I'm still working on, I've got two challenges left for the year, neither of which I'm feeling super enthused about. Maybe my tune will change when I actually look at options, let's see.

📚📚📚

#23: Read a social horror, mystery, or thriller novel: NOT MY JAM! I'm going to read White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson, because I've read her stuff before and I like her, so maybe I'll like this, even though I'm a big baby and don't like horror stuff.

#24: Pick a challenge from any of the previous years' challenges to repeat: I don't know, maybe some people like this as a challenge option, but I don't. Just give me a challenge, don't make me pick my own from a previous challenge. Y'all came up with twenty-three, you couldn't come up with one more? 💤 Boring.

Okay, after a lot of soul searching and a nap, I've landed on challenge #18 from 2017: Read a superhero comic with a female lead. I'm going to read La Borinqueña by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. It was generously donated to my school library my first year there, and every time I see it on the shelf I want to check it out, so this seems like a good opportunity to finally do so.

And that's that, the last two challenges for the year! 

Ghost Squad - Claribel A. Ortega

Initial Draw: ☆☆☆☆
Character Development: ☆☆☆☆☆
Plot/Writing Style: ☆☆☆☆
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout their hometown of St. Augustine, Florida. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late."

Middle Grade Mega Awesome Super Fantastic Massive Review Spree!

Clocking in at 237 pages, this book is blessedly on the short side for middle grade books with enticing storylines that I've come across. Hooray for telling a story that will capture the attention of kids who love ghost stories without making it 400+ pages! The blurb on the back compares it to "Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters," which is fairly apt. 

Ortega dives into the action almost immediately, so the story hooks you from the start, and the short timeline for when their town's ghost problem needs to be solved creates a sense of urgency that keeps you reading. I think that spooky story afficionados might find this one a bit tame, but for kids looking for something just a little on the scary side for Halloween it will be just right.