By Anya Shukla I’ve seen this book described as “‘Pretty in Pink’ meets the Bronx.” I don’t really see it. (One party scene that mimics Andie and Blane’s first date aside.) This book doesn’t start like “Pretty in Pink,” it doesn’t end like “Pretty in Pink,” and there is NO pink prom dress makeover. False advertising :( Also, I felt a lot of secondhand embarrassment for Margot... which led me to read some chapters (including the aforementioned party scene) backwards to make sure she ended up okay. This decision might have impacted my understanding of the book.
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By Anya Shukla MORE THAN HALFWAY DONE WITH THE BIPOC BOOK LIST! YIPPEE YAY YAY! I did not realize how long this challenge would take… or how excruciatingly slowly I read when I have to take notes/write a review afterward. Thankfully, we are now at the other side of the 52-book peak. (Of course, all the survival books I’ve read say that the descent is the hardest part. So.) Looking back at the books I’ve reviewed so far, I’ve realized that I’m exceedingly nice: I’ve given many books 5 stars. What’s the point of a grading system if I’m just passing everyone?
By Anya Shukla All I have to say is that this was the first book on this list that I actually did not want to finish. Yet I powered through it. And here we are. Review: The main character of Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s “Call Me Zebra,” Bibi Hosseini grows up immersed in a familial literary tradition. She spends much of her childhood memorizing books, ingesting knowledge the way other kids her age might consume dessert. When she and her family must flee from Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, literature is what keeps her going—even after her mother’s death.
By Anya Shukla A social-justice-theory-loving friend of mine recommended “Sister Outsider” to me, and I was instantly on my guard. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s entering a super-dense theoretical rabbit hole of a book and never coming out again. (See: “Between the World and Me” by Ta Nehisi-Coates. Or actually don’t, because it was so difficult for me to get through.) I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared to read something. Luckily, “Sister Outsider” wasn’t dense at all, but SO accessible. So BRILLIANT. I honestly feel different after reading it—enlightened, almost? What a great book.
By Anya Shukla In 2020, Alka Joshi—at 62 years old—published her debut novel, “The Henna Artist.” Set in 1950s India, her book caught the world’s attention, becoming a bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick. Joshi currently has several projects in the works: she received a Netflix deal for a TV adaptation of “The Henna Artist,” published her second book, “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur,” to acclaim in 2021, and is researching a third. That being said, Joshi’s path to this success has been circuitous. She spent the majority of her career in advertising and public relations before getting her MFA in 2008, then took 10 years to perfect her first novel. I spoke with Joshi to learn how her career path impacted her writing and what her first book meant to her.
By Anya Shukla In his poem “Talented Human Beings,” Chen Chen confronts the reader: “Pop Quiz: Who was / Vincent Chin? Theresa Hak Kyung Cha? / Group Project: Name one book by Maxine Hong Kingston / not titled The Woman Warrior” (pg. 98). I am proud to say that I knew two out of the three! I feel very cultured. Obviously, I get Chen’s larger point with this poem: we don’t learn about or appreciate the history of Asian Americans. (And it just so happened that he chose examples of Asian Americans that I knew about.) But I’m still pretty proud of myself.
By Anya Shukla Silvia Moreno-Garcia wrote her Masters thesis on “Women and Eugenic Thought In the Work of H.P. Lovecraft,” in which she discusses the intersections between science fiction, feminism, and scientific racism. It’s an interesting read, especially because bits and pieces of that early work crop up in “Mexican Gothic.” (Plus, it’s pretty accessible, as academic works go. I’m looking at you, “Algorithms of Oppression.”) Review: A young socialite in 1950s Mexico, Noemí Taboada leaves her high-society lifestyle behind in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Mexican Gothic.” After receiving a strange letter from her recently-married cousin, Catalina Doyle, Noemí travels to the Doyle family mansion to check up on her relative. Noemí finds Catalina sick and muttering about voices in walls… and soon begins to experience strange dreams herself. To make matters worse, the locals tell her that the Doyles—Virgil, Catalina’s husband; Howard, Virgil’s father; Florence, Virgil’s aunt; and Francis, Florence’s son—are cursed.
By Anya Shukla It’s Olllllllll-ympic season! I have gotten so fantastically into the Olympics that it’s getting a little ridiculous. Ice hockey, speed skating, alpine skiing, that sport where they go headfirst down a super-slick ice track at 70 miles per hour, I’m watching it all. Plus, powering through five hours of NBC coverage a day leaves me almost no time to read books! Almost.
By Anya Shukla Loyal readers may know that one of my pet peeves is when a YA book attempts to cross over to the adult section (and vice versa). Today, I discovered a very relevant article in The New York Times—coincidentally featuring a BIPOC author, Jason Reynolds. If you want to know what YA literature should look like, I’d recommend checking it out. Not really related to “Flame in the Mist,” but just something interesting. Anyways…
By Dilinna Ugochukwu With eye-catching color contrasts and intricate detailing, Patteera Sudsok’s work is beautiful, brilliant, and focused on character design. They first started posting their art online in 2016 when they were in middle school, and have since grown a following on social media. When Sudsok first started posting, they were inspired by their love of cartoons. They like to draw fanart inspired by some of their favorite animated shows like “Adventure Time,” “Steven Universe,” “Attack on Titan,” and “Jujutsu Kaisen”; as well as the work of other online artists—with similarly cartoon-esque styles—like Gunzbie and CutiiCosmo. Sudsok’s work employs saturated colors, and can accurately be described as bright and eye-catching. Additionally, perhaps because of their love of animated shows, Sudsok is drawn towards creating character art over environments or backgrounds.
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