The Next Book On My List

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova                 Alex comes from generations of Brujas and Brujos. Her mother and older sister, Lula are healers. Her younger sister, Rose, has the sight. Alex has powers too, powers she’s been trying to hide ever since her father left them. He saw what she could do and the next day he left and she has never said a word about what happened. Her sixteenth birthday is coming, and everyone has been waiting to see what her powers will be, when one day they explode out of her at school and Alex can know longer keep them under wraps. An encantrix, there hasn’t been one in the family for years. Now her Deathday celebration is coming and she makes the decision to try and stop her blessing. A decision that will cause her to lose her family in Los Lagos. Now she must travel there if she wants to save her family and the spirits of her ancestors.                 I read this book in a day and knew half way through that I would want to read the sequel

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick                 “The Essex disaster is not a tale of adventure. It is a tragedy that happens to be one of the greatest true stories ever told.”                 It’s been at least a decade since I’ve read Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I remember being in high school and being absolutely captivated by the story. For the life of me I can’t remember when I found out that it was based off of a true story, but the moment I saw the preview for the movie adaptation of In the Heart of the Sea, I knew I had to read it. Now finally, years later, I have. It’s a somber book and as the quote above states, it isn’t a tale of adventure even though that may have been how it began. It did end up a tragedy, a tale of survival with very little hope, where men resulted to eating their crew members to survive.                 Philbrick does an incredible job telling the story of the whaleship Essex ,   t

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli I’m so glad I didn’t slip and see this movie before reading this book because I would have been so mad for not letting this plot develop the way it did in this book. No movie captures the book perfectly and this is definitely the details I craved. Simon is gay but no one knows that yet. No one but Blue. And now Martin because Simon forgot to logout of the school computer and Martin just happened to see them. Now he knows his secret and wants Simon's help or everyone will know. We call that blackmail. But in the midst of all that there is Blue. And the relationship that’s blooming even though neither of them have revealed who they truly are. High school can be tough, especially when you live in a family where everything is a big deal. And being gay in a small town like theirs outside of Atlanta could end up being the biggest deal yet. I enjoyed this book. It starts off slow but as the relationship between Simon a

From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon                  Twinkle wants to make films that change the world. But right now, she is a nobody in high school who is losing her best friend Maddie to the popular crowd. Those are the rich kids while Twinkle’s family can’t even afford to buy her a cell phone. She has a crush on Neil who she thinks will elevate her status higher than a groundling, but does he even notice her. Then Maddie suggest Twinkle make a movie for their high school’s end of the year Midsummer Night festival and who volunteers to help produce this movie? None other than Sahil, Neil’s twin brother. When the two start to work together Twinkle has to manage her feelings for the two brothers, especially since she’s been getting emails from a secret admirer under the name N.                 Cue the high school drama and angst! This novel is riddled with it. And the insecurity that comes along with being poor and not able to afford the things that others can. Along

The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World’s Longest Treasure Hun t by Randall Sullilvan         The first time I ever heard of Oak Island was during an episode of "Ancient Aliens." This had been years ago. But the idea of this island with a buried treasure no one had ever been able to reach stuck with me. I googled it a time or two after first hearing about it but didnt search too much into it. I didn’t even know it now had a reality show so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out about this book discussing the history of the island and the latest developments.         It’s a really interesting story. From the “discovery” of the what would be known as the money pit in 1795, to the search still taking place on the island now over 200 years later. Sullivan details what happened since the day a teenager canoed to the island until the reality show that exist now. There’s no denying in my opinion, especially after reading this book, that the structure i

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents and Five Black Lives by Kenneth C. Davis                 I have to start this review off by saying that this book is the type of U.S. History book that I gravitate towards, because it addresses the more problematic issues in the United States. This book in particular highlights slavery, but not just any slave story. This book looks at the lives of four presidents who were slave owners and discusses the lives of the slaves they owned. It’s sobering to read, especially when the presidents are men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, men of myth and legend who are the “framers” of the country. I was taught that these men could do no wrong. I’m glad to see that these myths are being ripped to shreds so we can see these men for who they truly are. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Andrew Jackson were all slave holders. Billy Lee, Ona Judge, Isaac Granger, Paul Jennings and Alf

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann                 I’m not sure where would be the perfect place to start with this review. The story is that of Alice, a young Black woman coming into her adulthood, while also navigating being a biromantic asexual. The only people who know her sexuality are her best friends Fennie and Ryan, who also happen to be a couple and her new roommates. But as her attraction to Tamuki, the new guy at her job grows, so does her insecurities around how to proceed in a relationship when she enjoys romance and but doesn’t care about sex. I am doing the best I can here with this blurb, knowing full well that I really enjoyed this book from a heterosexual standpoint and am hoping that I am describing this clearly and thoughtfully because this book was really good.                 Let’s take a second to talk about representation quickly. I loved the way Kann discusses asexuality and the way Alice processes and describes her feelings. This book left a