As daughter of the mukarrib of Maryaba, Makeda's life could only ever be atypical. Her mother's status as a slave diluted the prestige Makeda's birthright possessed, but even that is irrevocably changed when raiders sweep through the fields of Maryaba, their presence and the destruction...

Jugend by Aalia Lanius is a historical fiction novel that is set in 1937 Europe juxtaposed with events unfolding in 2017 in the United States of America. Fourteen-year-old Ernst, an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth, is chosen to participate in what is made to...

Evening in the Yellow Wood is a paranormal coming of age novel written by Laura Kemp. Justine’s childhood essentially ended one afternoon when her mother came and dragged her out of the community swimming pool where she was hanging out with her friend, Sherry. As...

Having finally ventured to read this book with its irresistibly wacky sounding title, Plum Rains on Happy House by Michael A. Greco, I recommend that the reader start with understanding the author's short dedication, because that will be a taste of the flavor of the...

Besa Po by Hana Noka takes us readers back in time to the age of the Roman Empire. But, this book follows the life of Queen Teuta of fabled Illyria and recounts the love she has for King Agron. However, she is a warrior in...

Imagine having to change schools in your senior year of high school and move from a large city to the middle of nowhere. That’s exactly what Kee Lawson has to do in Surviving Doodahville by Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen. Even Kee’s mother is not...

The Stars May Rise and Fall is a modernization of a classic tale, reinvented and penned by author Estella Mirai. Focused on the glam-metal music scene of early 2000s Japan, Mirai retells the gothic love story of The Phantom of the Opera through introducing us...

Badoo’s girlfriend, Sade, has called him every night since they first started dating, the only exception being the period between her death and the day she was buried. At first, the Nigerian police officer thinks the calming herbs Pa Fakunle gave him are causing hallucinations,...

Nothing is More: A High Black Comedy in Verse with Music for Six Actors is a farcical attempt by author Dolly Gray Landon to lampoon and ridicule the elitism and pretension of both the art world and academia. Set in the fictional world of Pimpleton...

Although Adetola grew up in Chicago with her mother, Charlotte, and her stepfather, she was not your average young American woman. Her friends knew her as Tola, but before Charlotte died, she revealed Tola’s true lineage. Tola’s full name was Princess Naomi Adetola Adetoye, and...