Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.
Pain is Dymitr’s calling. To slay the monsters he’s been raised to kill, he had to split his soul in half to make a sword from his own spine. Every time he draws it, he gets blood on his hands.
Pain is Ala’s inheritance. When her mother died, a family curse to witness horrors committed by the Holy Order was passed onto her. The curse will claim her life, as it did her mother’s, unless she can find a cure.
One fateful night in Chicago, Dymitr comes to Ala with a bargain: her help in finding the legendary witch Baba Jaga in exchange for an enchanted flower that just might cure her. Desperate, and unaware of what Dymitr really is, Ala agrees.
But they only have one day before the flower dies . . . and Ala’s hopes of breaking the curse along with it.
The Good
A. World building, lore, and history – it is set up well (and in a book that is less than 200 pages).
B. There are a lot of supernatural creatures.
C. Simple-ish quest.
D. Leaves unanswered questions and space for this to be the beginning of a series.
E. Good reveals.
The Bad
Does the story feel like a generic fantasy in places- ex: voice of characters, the story beats, romance?
The Meh
A. Story veered more towards urban than fantasy for me?
B. Does there feel like a big info dump at times? It seems like an intro to a larger series?
C. Eh about romance or at least how they are building up the romance
D. Everyone is a regular human with powers…?
Thoughts
A. Short stories vs longer stories- short stories need to trim their messaging or shift it in certain way to be short.
B. Is this story straightforward?
C. Cancelling/Cancelled authors: I just finished Dread Nation so some of the discourse around that book continued.
D. Kept thinking/comparing it to Crescent City or what I envision Crescent City to be.
The Ana or Ana- leatherbound book that has everything about palace and chosen royal
Gray glass – hectate see future helped linea
Couterie- companion and lover to a royal
Shadow- replacement if couterie gets sick, dies, or reneges on duty
Fallen-men touched by entente magic during the Burning
I. Info
Shadows undergo surgery to match their couterie
Queen Magrit taking down other queendoms
Queem Magrit wears black glass as outfit
Prince Mather wants to reform kingdom
Some think Mather caused his mother’s insanity because her struggle to produce a female heir then ending up with him
Farrow spent 5 years in orphanage and 5+ year being a couterie
I. Commentary
♚Event: The challenge♚
First (love ❤️): It was smart to not make it a choice of love or crown, it shouldn’t be. I can understand either point of view.
Crown is over a bunch of people thus should belong/represent people like a president. The crown choices like who they marry have an effect over an entire kingdom. Is it smart to marry for love looking at how queens & kings have been manipulated by it?
Second (influence 👑): I like neither one of their answers because it sides with the crown which makes sense if you are speaking with intent of working for the crown. It makes me think that Farrows revenge makes her selfish the opposite of what Entente are supposed to be. I do think Lavendras is clever tho.
Third (devotion🍎): Of course, Farrow choice made the most sense.
It is interesting we get to see Queen Magrit and Mathers reactions. Notice the queen is letting Mather have the deciding vote to test him alongside the shadow and couterie.
Love and Care that Queen Magrit is showing to Mather is surprising since usually queens be trying take out their sons & trying to live forever.
I get the sense that the queendom is more for the monarchy than people.
Is there nuance to the queen Margrit because she is up against queendoms that are not for a man being over a thrown or even the main throne (as queen Magrit is taking over thrones to make it so)?
I liked The Challenges they felt very fairy tale-esque.
Cage #2 -Iolanta aka the Present of Les Soeurs was tortured to find more entente
Present power is hard to quantify because it seems like it overlaps with being able to tell the future.
I like the future talk/present talk from Iolanta it gives foreshadowing.
Isolanta says love is what saves Farrow and Hinter.
Farrow was given a choice by Iolanta – a fork in the road:
A. Stay in palace/Revenge= never find Entente
B. Leave the palace/let go revenge= find Entente
She chose B.
I. Commentary & Questions
Themes in story: monarchy, freedom, choice, fate
🪄Similarities of Couteries & Entente: The story is aware that couteries and entente are all in service to someone else.
Entente = for betterment of kingdom, all subjects and maybe the world
Couteire = service to the crown.
The children born/chosen to be in either couterie or entente do not get a choice (neither does queendom).
🪄I feel a way about Entente continuing the horrible aspects of the kingdom =example: helping throne pick couteries and shadows
♚If the crown/kingdom is selfish what then? Is monarchy and someone being over everyone bad?
♚Part I is about the dynamics and setup of Entente while Part II is about the kingdom. This is a commentary on kingdoms, how so many aspects of it is just seen as normal like.
🪄Is Lavendra and Tork more than they appear?
🪄Is there a meaning behind Farrow losing her shadow? Being only one with a shadow? Are we going to see Lavendra again?
🪄Those turned by entente magic during the burning-I want to see more of them. 🪄Farrow will kill Mather along with the queen? ♚Queen Margit burning innocent human girls-parallels to Salem witch trials which was under a patriarchy
♚Queen Magrit couterie disappeared because they knew too much 🪄Fate & hectate -she knew this would happen & story still manages keep mystery
🪄Did the entente who are in hiding escape to the thirteenth kingdom?
♚What is Harkers motivation? To kill the queen?
🪄Hectate- what type of being is she?
🪄Is the father in woods daughter, Ella, Cinderella? Or an allusion/illuding to Cinderella?
🪄♚ Does black glass work against magic?
🪄Does Tork like Lavendra? Yes. 🪄Who turn coated the entente? Other magic users, older entente?
I. Predictions
🪄Bari is probably in thirteenth queendom or the Rooks amassing a following to take revenge for the Burning. They have mentioned both (Rook and thirteenth kingdom) too many times for the characters to not visit in the future. I am excited in general to explore outside of Hinter.
On Creating a glossary- This part covered chapters 9-31, a lot happened. The biggest challenge was organizing everything. If part III is as long as part II there will be a breakdown by chapters or events or something.
Current Recommendations 🪄The Ring & The Crown by Melissa De La Cruz 🪄The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna 🪄Damsel (movie)
Aina’s world is governed by Toranic Law, a force that segregates people into upper and lower realms. It’s said that if the sinful lowers commit themselves to kindness and charity, their souls will lighten, allowing them into the peaceful upper realms.
But Aina, one of the few lowers to ever ascend, just wants to go back home.
Aina is desperate to reunite with her mother, hoping she’s survived the beasts and wars of her homeland alone. After failing to weigh down her soul with petty crimes, Aina joins a rebel group defying the authorities and bringing aid to those condemned to a life of suffering in the lower realms. Alongside Aina are two new recruits: Meizan, a ruthless fighter trying to save his clan from extinction, and Aranel, a spoiled noble spying for the powers that be.
Before long, the rebels find themselves in the middle of a brewing war. On one side, a violent king of a lower realm is bent on destroying Toranic Law; on the other, the authorities of the upper realms will do anything to stay on top. Now the young rebels must face both sides head-on if they want to stop a conflict that could break not only Toranic Law—but the universe itself.
The Good
I. Discussions
This has one of the best if not the best discussions on privilege, religion, purity, caste system, and inequality that I have seen in a fantasy. Immediately, it stood out to me how privilege is not done in a way many other stories do aka put lower castes on some sort of moral high ground. Since they are not on the moral high ground, they are allowed to be a part of the critique.
The themes and fantasy mesh well.
II. World
World is well thought out and fits with themes it is talking about.
magic system – connecting magic system to morality, purity, and the critique that comes with that.
Creatures – I like all of them.
There is so much world to explore.
III. Miscellaneous
Good conflict at center of the story.
Map – there is an inscription that is clever, reader gets to see an interpretation how different creature look.
Glossary – things were explained well but did enjoy having glossary at end of book.
There is so much to explore, and questions left that I could see this being a meaty series.
The Meh
Is this book too long? On other hand I feel that to deal with all discussions it does it makes sense the length.
It spent a minute on the world building and messages (both I enjoyed) but that slowed down the action of the story.
Thoughts
I. Book length of young adult novels:
– Is this story too long?
-Meant for older ya? My cousin wanted to listen to this book after hearing me talk about it which got me thinking about how it probably would be too long and not actiony enough for him.
-What if there was longer series but shorter stories?
-Stories are written in a way that is in a way more issue driven than story driven (or at least the issues are what is interesting to me).
-Reading tie-ins and specifically novelizations really show you the difference between the pacing of regular novels and movies.
II. Seeing other people react to Spin of Fate has been fun:
Graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham join forces in this heartwarming rom-com about fate, family, and falling in love.
Val is ready to give up on love. It’s led to nothing but secrets and heartbreak, and she’s pretty sure she’s cursed—no one in her family, for generations, has ever had any luck with love.
But then a chance encounter with a pair of cute lion dancers sparks something in Val. Is it real love? Could this be her chance to break the family curse? Or is she destined to live with a broken heart forever?
The Pros
🐉This reads like a young adult novel – so there is crossover appeal for readers to get into ya from comics.
🐉Art- smooth, visuals, use of color in background (my favorite designs were probably St. Valentine and the dragons in motion)
🐉Twists (that first one A++)
🐉Fantasy/mythology of world
🐉Messages that did not feel heavy handed- love, forgiveness, trauma, optimism and the transition to cynicism from kid to teen, and etc
🐉Family representation- there were many different families present in the story.
🐉Asian community
🐉Characters- their different personalities and histories.
🐉Actually let blowouts happen
Thoughts
This would be perfect to read for Valentines Day since it is about love and centers St. Valentine.
I did not expect this to physically big as it is (almost 400 pgs) that might have crossover appeal to readers not used to larger books
Tourlais- ninth queendom, is a desert (Amantha conjured sand from there) Hiding Place- Entente birthing place & safe house, everything made of magic, glass coffin in middle
Reverie- place that Entente reside
I. Characters
Fates of Les Soeurs
Galatea- Past of Les Soeurs
Iolanta- Present of Les Soeurs
Hectate- Future of Les Soeurs, mother of Farrow
Sisters of Entente Farrow- main character, 6 or 7 years old
Effie – shapeshifter?
Sistine – power of music that effects mood
Selina – power of nature
Tere- controls weather
Odette- teleportation
Amantha- can teleport Bari – 7 1/2 years old, powerful beyond years, seemingly going go power crazy South – male, no powers, possible heir queendom/first male magic user, only guy raised in Entente
Royalty
Queen Meena- predecessor to queen Magrit
Her Roya Highness Queen Magrit- black hearted, lacks empathy and morality, she seems more defense/aggression minded like many monarchies in existence which is always/generally root of their downfall
Prince Mather- first prince born ever to queendoms, son of Queen Magrit
I. Magic
Abilities & Weaknesses
Past of Les Soeurs -see everything about someone
Present of Les Soeurs -feeling all people in present
Future of Les Soeurs -see all possible futures
Weakness of Les Seours- they can misinterpret their visions from too much information they receive and getting lost in gifts (getting lost in past/present/future)
I. Terms
Veil- magic hides Reverie from rest of world Rookery- rebels don’t support crown p. 70-71 , some rogue magical users
Entente – the enchanted sisterhood that are advisors, confidants, leaders to the queendoms
I. Information
🪄Queendom = women run world through throne.
🪄There are Thirteen queendoms
🪄The thirteenth queendom got into a fight with the Hinter
🪄Entente and all magic users are outlaws now
🪄Black glass- strongest metal known to man and Entente, only found in Hinter, behind supreme power of Hinter, reveals the entente true faces (of course going to be used later for war against Entente/magic users), being used on walls of Hinter for war against other 12 queendoms
I. Commentary& Questions
Gender Wars: There is a setup of a gender conversation looking at the disdain for South, first male heir (Mather) existing, and the fact that men cannot sit on the throne. Outside of Entente do male magic users exist?
Fates:
We are the Entente.
We have no fathers or mothers-only sisters and The Three-
We are defenders of destiny.
Our hearts have no function other than to serve.
Our hearts do not beat for ourselves-our hearts beat for the Hinter.
We are the Entente…now and Ever After.
Creed of Entente
🪄It is interesting looking at the Fate creed because all that – their altruism- is going to be tested. The fates could be rulers of all the queendoms, easily, with the amount of power that they possess. I could see a queen feeling threatened/not liking the amount of power they hold.
🪄Does entente have specific powers under their fate?
🪄 Is Bari going to be a villain or divide the fates community? Bari wants a wand that can bend fate itself, yikes.
🪄Why did Hectate separate Farrow from everyone else? Why her particularly? Looking at prologue quote from Galatea I assume the fates/Entente are going in dark direction that Hectate wanted Farrow to avoid.
🪄If Farrow spells lasts for a bit that means she is going to be a Fate eventually, right?
🪄Queen Magrit makes me think of Foundation ruler(s) having the same mans genetics being recycled over and over again causing the fall of the empire. There is a conversation to be had about the flaws of monarchy in general… but is there a flaw in women being the only ones in power? Isn’t there a flaw in men being the only ones in power?
🪄fate: what is fate when you can see the past, present, and future?
On creating a glossary- a glossary is mean to be created from a place of knowing everything, right? Creating a glossary can be fun it’s something I have wanted to do for a fantasy series for a minute, but it is a responsibility. I think it can feel like you are, for me, you are so on trying to keep up with all moving pieces that you are not sitting in the story. If I continue to do this, I wonder if I will continue to feel this way. I also think about projecting too much onto the story my expectations. coming up with elaborate ideas of what the story is setting up to do or could do while missing what it is/is doing.
🪄A Black castle could look cute. (insert different Black earth metals articles(s)
🪄Is South and/or Mather love interests?
🪄The structure of the story plays with the past, present, and future. We are already shown at the beginning that the queen is going to ban magic users/entente. There is also a lot of foreshadowing through the fates and characters.
🪄The most interesting thing is going to be everyone place in the future when we time jump to the present.
Current Recommendations🪄The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna 🪄 Cinderella Is dead by Kaylnn Bayron
Yellowjackets meets She Is a Haunting in this spine-tingling sapphic thriller that follows a disgraced teen idol who comes face-to-face with the demons of her past in a glittering, cutthroat K-pop competition.
THEN:
Sunny Lee is on the top of the world. She’s one third of Sweet Cadence, the hottest up-and-coming teen pop group, alongside her new BFFs, Candie and Mina. The three are inseparable as they ride their way to the top of the charts, even as Candie and Sunny fight to resist the growing spark between them. But when a shocking scandal breaks, the group is suddenly torn apart. Then the unthinkable – Mina dies tragically right before Sunny and Candie’s eyes. And Sunny suspects the dark and otherworldly secrets she and Candie were keeping may have had something to do with it . . .
NOW:
For the past two years, Sunny has spent her days longing for her former life and her nights wondering just what caused Mina’s death. So when she discovers that Candie is attending a new K-pop workshop right in her hometown, Sunny has no choice but to follow her there. Candie might be chasing stardom again, but Sunny is only after one thing: answers.
At the workshop, the lines between nightmare and reality start to blur as Sunny is haunted by ghostly visions and her competitors’ bodies turn up bizarrely maimed and mutilated. To survive the twisted carnage, Sunny will have to expose the ugly truth behind the workshop’s spotlights and the sinister forces swirling around Candie. Stitched with cutting commentary on the ugly side of stardom and impossible beauty standards, Linda Cheng’s mind-bending thriller will have readers screaming and swooning for more.
The Good
I. The horror: what is at the heart of the horror is good.
II. Overall good: Explains and wraps up everything while leaving space for more.
III. There are many good things sprinkled throughout the story but my favorite part of story is last 100 or so pages when we get to heart of story. There is a book that is similar to this that I came out this year. I feel like by reading that story so close to this one I am able to appreciate what this did. Also, it showed me the ways that story failed.
IV. Good setting and premise for a horror.
The Bad
I. Story drags a bit
II. I felt emotionally detached in ways.
III. Did the romance(s) take over the story at times?
IV. Could they have moved some things around so as to create a tighter darker story?
V. Was there enough time with the competition or characters?
Thoughts
I. Mismarketing vs My Lofty Expectations
A. Do I have elaborate expectations for books? Yes.
Do these synopses and marketing not fully represent these stories? Yes.
B. Possibilities (from reading up to chapter 2): Since this is horror we could get a darker k-pop story than that has been done in ya. The line between homophobia and queer baiting the industry/fans do.
Assumptions: I assumed it was going to be more focused on realistic contemporary horrors of Asian music industry.
C. How do you comp stories when some of the true comparisons are spoilers?
D. I don’t agree with the Yellowjackets comp. What way does it compare to Yellowjackets?
II. There needs to be more of: Asian entertainment industry + (insert genre).
Adult + horror = could really go darker than this.
A. Celestial maiden is explained & feels like a competent entity unlike Acheron who got beat up and people killed left and right. Celestial Maiden did get trapped and mutilated by humans but killed a bunch in end of story, so it levels out.
B. Gorgeous Gruesome Faces is more organized structurally.
C. You could study these stories next to each other.
(image and synopsis are from bookishfirst)
won from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group via bookishfirst
Keynan Masters doesn’t know the truth about Peerless Academy. He thinks it’s just a fancy art school that can’t teach him anything he doesn’t already know (how to write fire poems) and won’t solve his problems (the massive storms that threaten his home and family).
But Peerless is not what it seems…
Secret passageways. Unexplainable portals. Mysterious disappearances. Keynan and his new friends discover that the school is trying to contain a corrupt magic—a magic that gets churned up when Keynan starts putting his poetry to rhythm.
Can Keynan and his friends prevent the magic from destroying the school—and the world?
The Good
I. World – mix of science fiction and fantasy, the creatures, small town vibe at beginning, magic system/rules
Seeing cultural references made me feel like I am in the authors creativity.
II. Black voice in story
III. Ending
Left a lot to be explored, questions to be answered, and me wanting more
IV. Good themes for young readers – you need people/community.
The Bad
I. Pacing – story went on a while rehashing things and not progressing the story.
II. Could more have been done to make everything come together cohesively?
III. Not enough was done to let reader get a connection/feeling for individual characters.
IV. Did the story feel like it lacked whimsy at least in first third?
Thoughts
I. Ranking
A. How is Keynan Masters ranking amongst middle grade books I’ve read?
B. Type of magical systems and schools that Black authors are creating specifically with middle grade: Amari and Night Brothers, A Taste of Magic, Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky, etc.
II. Is a lot of the magical expression in this book on the quiet side because this is the first in a series? Are we really going to see the magic in its fullness in the second book in this series?
III. Amari – is a girl character in Children of Blood and Bone & Amari and the Night Brothers while in Keynan Masters Amari is a boy character (which did not keep getting me throughout the novel at all).
IV. Is the author of Keynan Masters a pantser?
V. Age range- Is this a good story for middle graders/target audience of this book? Does this read younger like a chapter book? Is this a good thing? Does it actually read young or is certain factors making it seem young to me (being an adult/reading so much ya/adults aging up certain age categories since adults read them)? Should this book have been shorter 50 or so pages?
VI. Mini-adults & magic rant: Adults be talking bad to these kids that they (the adults) expect (not need) to fix these broken worlds. If kids can band together and fix worlds why can’t the adults..? Then again adults are useless.
VII. Individualism/chosen one/token main character who is inherently all powerful & is going to be center of narrative vs missing the contribution of band/group fighters. There is a message in here about community and how being chosen one/main character can make you a bit selfish and arrogant. It is tough because it still felt like Keynan powers are more powerful than everyone else’s.
VIII. Spoiler comments?
Maybe we could fix the magic if we have more than 3 students practicing magic or the adults doing more
From debut author Jamison Shea comes a slow-burn horror that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.
Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an ax to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.
The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.
But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.
The Good
Appreciate Black authors exploring different types of horror & fantasy with a variety in settings.
Bringing up issues to ya audience that it brings up – (look at thoughts section)
The Meh
Mismarketing- Almost all of the reviews I saw mentioned that they think the story is misrepresented in the marketing and I agree.
The Bad
I. Beyond the mismarketing did this succeed at what it was? Did I like it for what it was? I could be wrong about its goal, but it did not go hard like it could have.
It did not go that far into the messed-up system of ballet (as much as it talked about it) or racism or many of the interesting themes. There was something there about ballet being their god & the applause is like worshiping I was waiting to hit the surface.
II. Poorly paced – to point I thought it held back just to make a sequel.
III. Repetitive – we were in a wheel of the same actions happening over and over.
(1) Laure finds out about something – sets up for something to move plot forward.
(2) Next chapter or scene we move past it like nothing really happened. No, I do not mean it happens offscreen it’s like they skip addressing reasonable conflict in the story.
IV. Time skips – so you don’t get to sit in moments, and it skips past interesting things.
V. Ballet felt like window dressing after a while because we were told so much about ballet this or that without us really doing much with it.
VI. Doesn’t sit with people so I felt no connection to them -friends, foes, etc.
VII. No, I do not want to spend pages on pages on this boy instead of…
~ exploring the fantasy of the story
~this entity you made a deal with
~ballet world beyond set piece
~who is killing people
~your family
~etc
Thoughts
I. Mismarketing
What subgenre(s) would you say this story falls under?
Fantasy, paranormal romance (unsure about this), slight bit of horror
II. Racism, validation
A. Spaces not build for Black people
~Ballet is feminine/soft/regal
~feminine = white
~Black women are considered the furthest from feminity /softness/regalness.
At the fundamental level ballet is not built (as many spaces) for Black people so of course there is opposition.
C. Using an outside force to circumnavigate the force of racism.
What is cheating or meritocracy when fundamentally things are built for you not to succeed/flourish? If you need help from the beast, were you good enough in first place? What is good enough when your race is on the judging table (you can’t out excel racism)?
~How desperation for equality/equity/notice/be on same playing field can be exploited.
~Validation & racism vs enjoyment of an activity such as ballet
III. Mini-rant
On the deity/entity: Acheron cannot get worship or seen as amazing entity/god when they got whooped and people killed multiple times. I am supposed to be impressed by them like lol.
Do they (characters) seriously not wonder what the entity they are sacrificing themselves to want? Like no one is going to look into it?
(cover and synopsis are from bookishfirst)
received from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group via bookishfirst
From the cartoonist behind Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales comes a wacky new graphic novel series!
What happens when a couple of prehistoric creatures want to become internet stars? Trilobite and Amber (a walking whale) dream of fame and fortune. They don’t realize that most of the world thinks that they’re extinct. When a wandering paleo-newscaster introduces them to the world of internet videos, they hop at the chance to get behind the camera. The competition for internet fame will be fierce—Trilobite and Amber will face off against ancient sea creatures, talking cacti, floating cat heads, and more! Friendships will be tested, allies will be made, and cameras will be smashed! Our heroes will have to use all of their newfound skills when they find themselves competing in an all out video-making battle royale!
With laugh-out-loud gags and outrageous, elaborate artwork, fans of Dog Man and InvestiGators have never seen anything like Nathan Hale’s The Mighty Bite!
The Good
I. Art – there is a lot of moments with art that felt like creator was having fun. Some of the most memorable visuals was with the gorilla.
II. I could see information/the real facts about characters (extinct ones) slipping through.
III. It has seat of pants style that will be good for kids.
IV. Portion at the end – the information, inspiration, and more from author
The Meh
I did not enjoy this as much as I thought/wanted to.
Three women uncover the secrets of a Georgia plantation that embodies the intertwined histories of Indigenous and enslaved Black communities—the fascinating debut novel, inspired by a true story, of the National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of All That She Carried , now featuring a new introduction.
“ The Cherokee Rose is a mic drop—an instant classic. An invitation to listen to the urgent, sweet choruses of past and present.”—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST
Conducting research for her weekly history column, Jinx, a free-spirited Muscogee (Creek) historian, travels to Hold House, a Georgia plantation originally owned by Cherokee chief James Hold, to uncover the mystery of what happened to a tribal member who stayed behind after Indian removal, when Native Americans were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homelands in the nineteenth century.
At Hold House, she meets Ruth, a magazine writer visiting on assignment, and Cheyenne, a Southern Black debutante seeking to purchase the estate. Hovering above them all is the spirit of Mary Ann Battis, the young Indigenous woman who remained in Georgia more than a century earlier. When they discover a diary left on the property that reveals even more about the house’s dark history, the three women’s connections to the place grow deeper. Over a long holiday weekend, Cheyenne is forced to reconsider the property’s rightful ownership, Jinx reexamines assumptions about her tribe’s racial history, and Ruth confronts her own family’s past traumas before surprising herself by falling into a new romance.
Imbued with a nuanced understanding of history, The Cherokee Rose brings the past to life as Jinx, Ruth, and Cheyenne unravel mysteries with powerful consequences for them all.
The Good
I. I appreciate the books and articles put at back of this book I want to read them. II. Historical fiction portions were my favorite parts of the novel (midkey think that this story would have been improved by being purely historical fiction) III. It did make me think about plantations, history between Native Americans & Black Americans & complexities, quiet activism, conceptualizing history, and more.
The Bad
I. Characterization lacking
A. Kept mistaking characters for each other because they do not have a strong voice as people.
B. Characters were mouthpieces for history, and it felt at times the history was random/not interesting/we already know this.
C. They felt like they were plucked out of 90s Black contemporary novels without change to accommodate this story.
II. Writing
A. Personally, felt that the story did not go hard as it could have looking at the premise: Why are we focusing on this? Why is the characterization like this?
I guess I just feel it was a missed opportunity with the story that this is.
B. Writing did not fit the story that was being told.
C. It felt like author was adding stuff as the story was going along instead of it feeling craftily done.
D. It retraced many of what other stories about Black American experiences did.
Thoughts
I. My Personal Recommendation of novels/nonfiction
Darkly by Leila Taylor – nonfiction
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora- historical fiction, adult
Deathless Divide – ya, historical fiction, fantasy/science fiction (did not read Dread Nation but it is not lost on me that I am recommending the second in a series that was critiqued for its portrayal of Native Americans)
II. Makes me want to research plantations, flowers, memory gardens, Vann plantation, all nonfiction Tiya Miles wrote, all books that the author mentioned.
III. Different relations/concepts of legacy with land between different races
IV. Is the message dated or too simple? Does the story improve by a discussion/class setting?
V. What should we do with a plantation? Is it offensive to turn it into a bed & breakfast? Should we destroy them all? Should/can we give them back to descendants of those who were enslaved on the land?
VI. It was published in 2015 but written (if I am not mistaken in 90s/early 2000s) I think that shaped many of things (good and bad) – Does the messages feel done before because this is from 2015 (when this could have been more progressive)? If this was written and published later what would the story look like? What is the reaction between those who read the story in 2015 vs 2023?
VII. How do folks feel about the Christian aspect?
VIII. Quiet Social justice
A. While reading this book I viewed a reading sprint where the two hosts talked about (starting at 1:34:39) Black folks looking back negatively on their ancestors. It made me conceptualize my thoughts alongside the book about how so much social justice by Black Americans was/is quiet out of survival. How much can we judge what our ancestors did when so much of what they did was/is lost to time because of it needing to be a secret?
C. All the quiet histories in a Black family line.
IX. Humanizing history -Need for heroes/villains in history without context to time or what a person was experiencing.
X. Ghosts
A. I really had it in my mind that this story was going to be a legit thriller/horror ghost haunting revenge novel vs historical fiction/contemporary slight ghost story. In my expectations the revenge was going to be towards Native Americans and white people who enslaved the Black folks which would bring discourse towards relations between these groups.
B. Ghost stories: Lovecraft Country, The Cherokee Rose, etc. Is the ghosts goal revenge? What is their motive? Why are they haunting/existing on the land still? Are they stuck? what is the authorial intent with the ghosts?
I won this in a giveaway from Random House Book Club via goodreads
themollyweather 