LAST. NOW. NEXT.
NUMBER THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR
TIDBITS
TELL ME TUESDAY is a floating feature, depending on your reading style, where you tell us what you read last, what you are reading now, what you will be reading next from your tbr pile, and why. I am curious why people read what they read, so tell me!
2022 A YEAR OF BLACK AND NATIVE AMERICAN AUTHORS
(not yet rated)
MIDDLE GRADE? YOUNG ADULT?
STANDALONE
FANTASY
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE
FAMILY
FRIENDSHIP
Published 2020 - Own Ebook
I really liked this book in the beginning (as YA), but for some reason it began to bore me, so I set it aside for a short while. I picked it back up after finishing my next book and it was a long slow slog for me to get to the end. I had so many problems with this story. The author did a lot of telling but very little showing. Her descriptors were repetitive and boring. The monsters were either "large" or "huge," but how large? And also not very exciting to read. Things were also "gross" and "gruesome" a lot, but why were they gross and gruesome? No one knows... *yawn* I mentioned before that much of the content was a bit teenagerish for MG, so I checked on Edelweiss and it was originally published as Middle Grade (ages 8-12), but then the publisher did one of those hybrid, noncommittal age brackets, and the later editions say ten years old plus (+), grades five and up. They must have gotten some slap back about it. The way it's written in my opinion it would be boring for both YA and MG readers. I feel even more confident in this thought since starting Elatsoe; which is wonderfully written. I have not yet rated or reviewed this on Goodreads.
(not yet rated)
YOUNG ADULT? NEW ADULT?
STANDALONE
URBAN FANTASY
PETER PAN RETELLING
LGBTQ
Published June 2021 - Hoopla Borrow
I'm saying this is New Adult 18+ (college/first job) because the MC is almost eighteen and close to graduating, and there was a description of a sex act in the first few pages; which I didn't understand why because it didn't add anything to the story. There was also a lot of graphic violence. This is okay for 16+ but YA includes 12-15 year olds. I went to Edelweiss to see how it was published and it is YA. I was pretty disappointed because it's well written, entertaining, and has a great message.
(not yet rated)
MG? YA?
STANDALONE
REALISTIC CONTEMPORARY
MYSTERY
HISTORICAL ELEMENTS
BLACK CULTURE
Published 2018 - Overdrive Borrow
This was published as MG, but the main character is thirteen and she, and her twelve year old sidekick think like 40 year olds. There is so much adult thinking, and college age ROMANCE, ugh. The story was also too long for Middle Grade because the author tried to cram in too many subjects: divorce, bullying, racism, and Civil Rights history; plus the mystery. It, in reality, read like adult fiction in my opinion. The MC should have been the mother, and the thirteen year old her mystery solving partner.
And look at this naked hardcover! I will certainly be buying it for my bookshelves!
DARLING by K. AncrumELATSOE by Darcie Little BadgerTHE PARKER INHERITANCE by Varian Johnson
I had intended to go back to Things We Couldn't Say, but the writing is annoying. All the characters except for the main character act and talk like cartoon characters. The narrator makes it even worse by making them sound like cartoon characters. I am going to read an interview or two, to see if there is a reason for this. Also, To Kill a Mockingbird was described as being a book about a "bunch of White people being complicit about racism," and a White teacher asking if everything was okay at home when the MC's grades started falling as, "... a White savior." Does he change his mind by the end of the story? I promise I'll finish reading it by the end of the year and tell you.
GOODREADS
GOODREADS SHELF
Dr. Debbie Reese speaks about why White authors shouldn't write books about Native American main characters: HERE.
YOUNG ADULT
STANDALONE? COMPANION BOOK?
FANTASY
MURDER MYSTERY
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE
NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY
LGBTQ
Published 2020 - Hoopla Borrow
This might well become my favorite book of 2022! The writing is exquisite! There is another book, A Snake Falls to Earth, that I think might be set in the same world(s).
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The Elatsoe ebook is only $2.99 right now
MY APRIL TBR
LGBTQ
(set aside) THINGS WE COULDN'T SAY by Jay Coles
STORMSONG by C.L. Polk
THE CITY WE BECAME by N.K. Jemisin
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MONTHLY MIDDLE GRADE
YOUNG ADULT
COMPANION BOOK? STANDALONE?
FANTASY
NATIVE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY
Published November 2021 - Overdrive Borrow
I think this is set in the same world(s) as Elatsoe. I asked on Goodreads, but I haven't gotten an answer yet. It fits my Diversity Month theme of LGBTQ representation.
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I'll still be reading The City We Became in July for my Summer in the City blog theme: books set in NYC, and Stormsong in December because it will be snowy here, most likely.
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MY MAY TBR
May is Asian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, so I'll be reading books about Hawaii; following my Native American authors requirement. I know people don't usually consider the Polynesian first inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands when thinking about US indigenous peoples, so I decided to celebrate their heritage. Because all but four books on my Hawaiian authors list were not available as ebooks, I did tweak my challenge rules a little and added the two Molokai books, which are not written by a native Hawaiian. However, I made sure the author was supported by the native Hawaiian comunity.
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*tidbits*
What are you reading? Tell me!
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