Review: "Nobody's Magic", by Destiny O. Birdsong, 2022

Nobody's Magic by Destiny O. Birdsong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nobody owns you. Not even yourself sometimes.

"Nobody's Magic" by Destiny O. Birdsong, 2022

The book is a triptych of novellas loosely bound together by what the three women protagonists have in common and their different ways of approaching grief, joy, and violence. Each story centers around each woman— Suzette, Maple, and Agnes, all black women who have albinism and come from their own particular walks of life.

Suzette is a sheltered 20-year-old just trying to find her own way in life, despite her "older" parents' disapprobation. Maple is trying to make sense of her mother's unsolved murder. Agnes, highly educated and seemingly upwardly mobile, struggles and barely "make ends meet."

A common thread in each of the three women's stories is relationships with men. The circumstances of and how each is handled diverge differently and are probably beholden by their experience from family and childhood upbringing.

While I find the stories interesting, I can't say it was totally relatable to me— black womanhood, albinism, and the Deep South are as far from me as any life experience goes. I appreciated Suzette's story and found myself rooting for her in her strive for independence. I also learned a few things about albinism as it relates to optometry, which I think is cool. Maple's story was my least favorite, and I found myself speeding through to complete. At this point, I was considering abandoning the book because I did not want to start another story. I stuck it through and discovered Agnes's story, which I found very interesting and probably enjoyed the most. Agnes's approach to men as a way of her independence and coupled with her sibling rivalry was very interesting. I was glued to the explosive ending. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation she finds herself in, by her own making, wouldn't be so if not for her intelligence and education in the backdrop of her familial relationships.

None of the stories had definitive endings or deep connective tissues. Perhaps that was purposeful as it leaves the narratives open with enough story for us to imagine what may happen next for each of the women.

I rate this book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

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Review: "Work Like Any Other" by Virginia Reeves, 2016

Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Watch out! It packs a one-two punch at the end.

"Work Like Any Other" by Virginia Reeves, 2016

The story takes place in the 1920s about when electricity is just spreading throughout the country. The main character is Roscoe, who we see an electrician by trade, turn farmer, then convict.   Roscoe gave up his job with the power company in the city to live with his wife and son on the family farm she inherited from her father. The farm is failing, unproductive, and in disrepair but could be saved if electricity was brought onto the land. Roscoe decides to skim/steal power and wire it to his land. A utility worker from the power company is electrocuted by Roscoe's handiwork. The resulting death of the worker sent Roscoe to prison for 20 years.

Ultimately the story is about guilt and resentment tearing a family apart and the resilience of the human spirit. With the narrative taking place in the Deep South during the 1920s, the story wouldn't be complete if it was not repletely painted with racism and the violence that comes with it.

Here we find shattered dreams, moral failure, empathy, and compassion tied to a well-grounded story, with dialogue that seems reminiscent of the time and place.

"Work Like Any Other" is Virginia Reeves 2016 debut novel and Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2016).

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

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"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, 2017

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

T.H.U.G.Life = The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone

For her YA debut, Angie Thomas gives Starr a relatively stable home life – her father, “Big Mav”, is the proprietor of a downtown convenience store, and her mother is a nurse.She has two brothers, Seven and Sekani. The family own a pet dog, Brickz, and Starr gets to wear the expensive name-brand trainers of her choice. Starr’s parents have sent her to a school in the suburbs dominated by white middle-class students. Unbeknownst to her father, she is dating Chris, a white boy from school who can recite the lyrics to the opening credits of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. To further confuse things, Starr’s Uncle Carlos is a cop who acted as a father figure while Big Mav served a three-year prison term during her childhood – a point of tension between the two men.

What makes this novel so compelling is the way Starr negotiates the relatively safe world of school, where she assimilates despite the soft racism of one or two so-called friends, and how she navigates the dangers of her own neighbourhood, where it’s not uncommon to be caught in the crossfire of rival gangs. There is one chilling scene where Starr witnesses a police officer, in a revenge stop, force her father to lie on the ground as he searches him. “Face down,” the policeman yells, his hands never too far away from his gun, humiliating his victim even though Big Mav offers to show his ID and addresses the officer as “Sir”.

The first-person narrative is simply beautiful to read, and I felt I was observing the story unfold in 3D as the characters grew flesh and bones inside my mind. The Hate U Give is an outstanding debut novel and says more about the contemporary black experience in America than any book I have read for years, whether fiction or non-fiction. It’s a stark reminder that, instead of seeking enemies at its international airports, America should open its eyes and look within if it’s really serious about keeping all its citizens safe.

My rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars) - Wow. I loved it!





Book description from Wikipedia:

The Hate U Give is a young adult novel by Angie Thomas, that follows a protagonist drawn to activism after she witnesses the police shooting of her unarmed friend. Published February 28, 2017 by Balzer + Bray, The Hate U Give opened at number one on The New York Times young adult best-seller list. It is Thomas's debut novel.


Book description from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.