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Review: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple
Alice Walker
Penguin Books
Published December 10, 2019 (Orig. 1982)

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About The Color Purple

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker’s epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.

“Reading The Color Purple was the first time I had seen Southern, Black women’s literature as world literature. In writing us into the world—bravely, unapologetically, and honestly—Alice Walker has given us a gift we will never be able to repay.” —Tayari Jones

“The Color Purple was what church should have been, what honest familial reckoning could have been, and it is still the only art object in the world by which all three generations of Black artists in my family judge American art.” —Kiese Laymon

My Review

This is my first time reading The Color Purple. I went back and forth between an ebook version and the audiobook version read by Alice Walker. She’s an excellent reader– I really enjoyed listening to her bring her characters and the story to life.

As you can see from the content section below, The Color Purple is a pretty heavy story about a woman who is abused by her father and then her husband before she falls in love with a woman. Through it all, the closest relationship, and the one she cherishes most, is the one between her and her sister, who has moved to Africa with a missionary couple.

It’s also an epistolary novel. At first, the book is the letters Celie writes to God. Later, it’s filled with the letters exchanged between Celie and her sister, Nettie. If you know me, you know I love sister stories, so this one has been on my reading list because of that.

I loved the relationship between Celie and Nettie. They may be far apart, and they may not know whether their sister has received any of their letters, but they continue writing and sharing their lives with one another.

Reading The Color Purple made me think a lot about women’s relationships because, at its heart, that’s really what this story is about. It’s about the power of friendship and love between women and what it can do. It teaches a lonely woman to love and be loved. It gets a woman out of prison. Love inspires a woman to open her own business. It connects women across seas, continents, and decades.

Conclusion

I really liked this book. Between the sister bond and the way that the women in the story developed relationships and cared for one another and one another’s families, I really invested in the story. I kept thinking about Celie and the other characters when I wasn’t reading. I can see why this book remains so popular and beloved. It’s got some heavy content, so this won’t be a story for everyone, but I think it’s beautifully written, and I’m so glad I read it this year.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some explicit language used infrequently to describe sex. Some racist words used.

Romance/Sexual Content
The opening scene briefly (but graphically) describes a girl’s father raping her. She states that those attacks continue, but doesn’t further describe them. Later, she references sex with her husband in detached language, showing it’s not something she enjoys.

Another woman talks to Celie about her body and encourages her to explore her body on her own, which she later does. Two women kiss and touch each other (briefly described) and fall asleep together.

Another character reports that someone assaulted her.

Spiritual Content
Celie’s sister, Nettie, joins a Christian missionary group. Shug reminds Celie that the bible says not to kill anyone, and that Jesus faced his own trials and challenges.

Celie and Shug discuss God’s identity and how they imagine God. Shug rejects the idea that God is white or a man and instead thinks of all of creation as part of God and God being in all of creation. They discuss how the Bible describes Jesus’ hair as being like lamb’s wool.

Nettie describes the Olinka people’s worship of roofleaf, a plant they use to cover the tops of their homes.

Violent Content
Three scenes show brief but graphic descriptions of sexual assault or attempted assault. Brief descriptions of domestic abuse.

Two women briefly fight. A white man slaps a Black woman. She punches him in the face. The next time Celie sees her, she describes the horrific bruises and swelling left after the police brutally beat her.

References to FGM. References to colonialism, the history of slavery, and the abuse of plantation workers.

Drug Content
Adults drink alcohol and smoke. References to smoking marijuana as a habit or as part of a spiritual experience.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: Don’t Let It Break Your Heart by Maggie Horne

Don’t Let It Break Your Heart
Maggie Horne
Feiwel & Friends
Published August 27, 2024

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About Don’t Let It Break Your Heart

You only get one soulmate, and I’m not throwing mine away.

Alana and Gray have been the perfect pair all through high school, and neither of them think that should have to change just because Alana came out as a lesbian. Sure, their romantic relationship is over, but their best-friends-since-forever dynamic is stronger than ever. Really, the only difference is that instead of kissing Gray herself, Alana sets him up with other girls to do that.

Enter Talia: tall, confident, gorgeous. Gray’s master plan is simple: befriend Tal and charm her into being his girlfriend. With Alana’s help, of course.

But as Alana spends more time with Tal, she is introduced to a world of possibilities. A world outside her small town. A world in which Alana can fully embrace her queer identity. A world where Alana and Talia are . . . together.

As the two get closer, Alana must juggle her loyalty to Gray with her growing feelings for Tal. Can she stay true to herself and to her best friend? More importantly, does she want to?

My Review

I started to read this book with the back cover copy in mind. It left me with some pretty specific expectations of what Alana and Gray’s relationship would be like, and I was a little confused when it played out differently. I didn’t really see Alana setting Gray up with other girls. It seemed more like she endured his prowling and did her best not to roll her eyes about it because she felt guilty about breaking up with him.

There’s something about Don’t Let It Break Your Heart that feels like a train wreck you can’t look away from. The writing is good—consistently insightful and full of compelling, realistic characters. The relationships between Alana and her friend group have this ticking-time-bomb feel to them. Some of that comes from the group’s toxic patterns and the undercurrent of homophobic feelings among some characters.

I liked that Tal’s addition to the crew altered the dynamics of the group a bit and brought a fresh perspective to relationships that Alana had been in so long that she never stopped to question. She voiced some of the things I’d been thinking, which felt validating as a reader, too.

Alana’s journey of self-discovery is frank and vulnerable. She recalls the slow demise of her romantic relationship with Gray and her growing inability to deny her identity, as well as her deep feelings of guilt and inadequacy at some points in her experience. I felt like those feelings were pretty real and Horne explored them in a way that I haven’t seen done in young adult literature before and adds some important notes to the conversations about identity.

Readers who enjoy upper young adult stories exploring messy relationships and first love will find a lot to love about this bold story. Perfect for fans of Marisa Kanter and Robin Talley.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Alana is a lesbian. She meets other queer characters, including a nonbinary person.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Pretty liberal use of profanity and f-bombs.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Veiled homophobic comments and manipulative behavior.

Drug Content
Several scenes show teens drinking alcohol and getting drunk. References to smoking pot.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen

A Bánh Mì for Two
Trinity Nguyen
Henry Holt & Co.
Published

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About A Bánh Mì for Two

In this sweet sapphic romance about two foodies in love, Vivi meets Lan while studying abroad in Vietnam and they spend the semester unraveling their families’ histories—and eating all the street food in Sài Gòn.

In Sài Gòn, Lan is always trying to be the perfect daughter, dependable and willing to care for her widowed mother and their bánh mì stall. Her secret passion, however, is A Bánh Mì for Two, the food blog she started with her father but has stopped updating since his passing.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese American Vivi Huynh, has never been to Việt Nam. Her parents rarely talk about the homeland that clearly haunts them. So Vivi secretly goes to Vietnam for a study abroad program her freshman year of college. She’s determined to figure out why her parents left, and to try everything she’s seen on her favorite food blog, A Bánh Mì for Two.

When Vivi and Lan meet in Sài Gòn, they strike a deal. Lan will show Vivi around the city, helping her piece together her mother’s story through crumbling photographs and old memories. Vivi will help Lan start writing again so she can enter a food blogging contest. And slowly, as they explore the city and their pasts, Vivi and Lan fall in love.

My Review

If you’re looking for a sweet romance set in a beautiful city and packed with tantalizing descriptions of food, you will not want to miss this book. It’s also a super quick read at a little over 200 pages.

I love the descriptions of the city of Sài Gòn. The author describes the book as partly her love letter to the city, and that affection comes through on every page of this novel. I felt like I could hear the noise of the city and smell the food made by the street vendors.

Lan and Vivi’s relationship is really sweet. Spending time together and showing an actual person the things she loves about Sài Gòn reinvigorates Lan. The fog of writer’s block that surrounded her begins to dissipate, and she begins writing again. Lan also helps Vivi find her family through her connections with people and her knowledge of the city.

The only thing that seemed a little odd was that we never really see anything about the educational part of Vivi’s study abroad program. I don’t remember there being descriptions of the university or even her traveling to and from classes. It wasn’t a major part of the story, so it wasn’t a big deal. Just something I noticed.

The story alternates between Lan and Vivi’s points of view. Both share complicated relationships with their moms. After losing her dad unexpectedly, Lan wants to protect her mom and support her so much that she’s closed off other parts of her life. Vivi desperately wants to know about her mom’s past in Việt Nam, something her mom refuses to talk about despite their closeness in other ways. I like that the book explores different mother-daughter relationships and the roles of parents and children.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book for its sweet romance (it does get a bit sappy in a scene or two, but I didn’t mind) and fabulous descriptions of the city of Sài Gòn.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Most characters are Vietnamese. Cindy is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs. Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Lan’s family lights incense on an alter for her dad as part of celebrating the anniversary of his death. References to other holidays.

Violent Content
References to war and torture. References to hard times after the war in Việt Nam.

Drug Content
Vivi drinks a beer with her peers. (The legal drinking age in Việt Nam is 18.)

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Blessing by Lyla Stone

The Blessing
Lyla Stone
And She Was Publishing
Published May 24, 2024

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About The Blessing

It’s a fine line between a blessing and a curse.

When ancient Water Spirits seek revenge against the Forest Witch who imprisoned them thousands of years earlier for the crime of blessing one ancestral line while cursing another, they each enlist modern-day descendants as their champions in a fight to the death.

Margot comes from the blessed line. Jessica from the cursed one. Neither wants to fight someone else’s war.

As their town is pulled into a battle between land and sea, the distinction between good and evil becomes as indistinguishable as the line between love and hate. Margot and Jessica are forced to choose between saving their love or saving themselves.

My Review

The story alternates between Margot and Jessica’s perspectives. I think Jessica is my favorite character. She’s spunky and has great exit lines. I liked the way she uses sarcasm and snark as armor even though underneath that prickly exterior, she does care about people and feels incredibly lonely.

Margot is a great character, too. She wrestles with guilt over her best friends’ deaths in a car accident. She also wants desperately to protect her little sister, who will be next in line as the three spirits’ conduit if Margot refuses to do their bidding.

The whole book is set in a small Maine town, which I also enjoyed. I liked the vibe of the town and the way it felt hemmed in by the power of nature and the natural disasters that the supernatural battle spawned.

The beginning was a little bit slow as the story introduces the history of the blessing and curse, but once Jessica and Margot meet, the pacing picks up considerably. I flew through the last half of the book, really eager to see how things resolved and what the girls would have to do in order to free themselves from the battle between spiritual forces.

The cover notes that this is a new adult fantasy, and the writing does fit that age group and genre. I think the main characters are in high school, so the book will appeal to some young adult readers as well. Another reviewer recommended the book for Amanda Hocking fans, which is a great comparison. If you liked Watersong, you will want to check this book out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
The Blessing is a retelling of a Yiddish fairytale. Margot and Jessica are both Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some f-bombs and other strong profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to a one-night stand. Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
References to Jewish faith and practice. Three sister spirits blessed one family and cursed another. A Forest Witch imprisoned the sisters in ice when they cursed a family line she protects. Now the sisters are free and want vengeance on the Forest Witch and the girl from the cursed line. Some supernatural things happen in the form of weather and other strange events. A character gives Jessica tarot readings to try to figure out what she should do next.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Waterspouts, flash flooding, and other natural disasters occur.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol at a party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

We Deserve Monuments
Jas Hammonds
Roaring Brook Press
Published November 29, 2022

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About We Deserve Monuments

Family secrets, a swoon-worthy romance, and a slow-burn mystery collide in WE DESERVE MONUMENTS, a YA debut from Jas Hammonds that explores how racial violence can ripple down through generations.

What’s more important: Knowing the truth or keeping the peace?

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she’s uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.

While tempers flare in her avoidant family, Avery finds friendship in unexpected places: in Simone Cole, her captivating next-door neighbor, and Jade Oliver, daughter of the town’s most prominent family—whose mother’s murder remains unsolved.

As the three girls grow closer—Avery and Simone’s friendship blossoming into romance—the sharp-edged opinions of their small southern town begin to hint at something insidious underneath. The racist history of Bardell, Georgia is rooted in Avery’s family in ways she can’t even imagine. With Mama Letty’s health dwindling every day, Avery must decide if digging for the truth is worth toppling the delicate relationships she’s built in Bardell—or if some things are better left buried.

My Review

I love intergenerational family stories, and at its core, that’s what this story truly is. In reconnecting with the grandmother she barely knows, Avery learns of her family’s painful history. That history impacts others in the small town of Bardell as well, including her two new best friends, Simone and Jade. The threads connecting each girl to her family’s past weave together to form a tapestry that’s both beautiful and terrible.

The story unflinchingly faces the complicated grief of thwarted justice. Jade’s mother’s murderer was never held to account. Neither were the men who murdered Avery’s grandfather. That grief binds the girls together and drives a wedge between them at the same time.

WE DESERVE MONUMENTS is also a love story. It celebrates the connection between grandmothers and granddaughters, even when they only have a short time together. Avery’s relationship with her grandmother anchors her in her history in a way that no other relationship in her family does. The book also celebrates romantic love—perhaps even second-chance love—as Simone and Avery fall for one another and learn to embrace the hope that the previous generation could not.

I wouldn’t call this book an easy read, but I loved the way it explored family history and relationships and the hopefulness that it leaves with its readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Avery is biracial (Black mom and white dad) and a lesbian. Her friend Simone is also Black and queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between girls.

Spiritual Content
Simone gives Avery a tarot reading. She pulls tarot cards to help her set expectations for the day. She also believes in astrological signs. Simone’s mom attends church often, and when she feels Simone has done something wrong, she makes her attend church several times per week and prays over her repeatedly.

Violent Content
References to a woman’s murder and the racist history of the South and the town of Bardell.

Drug Content
Avery and her friends smoke pot together. They get drunk one night.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Pale Queen by Ethan M. Aldridge

The Pale Queen
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Press
Published June 25, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Pale Queen

From the acclaimed creator of Estranged and The Legend of Brightblade comes a lush fantasy graphic novel about an aspiring astronomer who attracts the attention of a mysterious being known as the Lady. Perfect for fans of Anya’s Ghost and Snapdragon!

Agatha has always dreamed of the stars. But when a chance encounter introduces her to the Lady of the Hills, Agatha is shocked to learn that a secret magical world lays hidden in the mist-shrouded land next to her village. She finds herself quickly captivated by the Lady, but is the Lady who she appears to be?

As Agatha forms a new friendship with a girl in town, she learns that the Lady is far older and more powerful than she could’ve guessed and that her plans aren’t as innocent as they appear. Will Agatha be able to protect the people she loves from the Lady’s sinister agenda?

My Review

This is another one of those books that I read at just the right time. (I’m not sure there could be a bad time to read a book by Ethan Aldridge, honestly.)

It’s been a hard week, so when I started this book, the first thing I appreciated was the soothing color palette. It’s got greens and yellows in softer tones. The woods have deep shadows, which makes them feel old and untouched, just like I’d imagine woods hiding magical creatures at the edge of a small town would be.

I loved Agatha’s character from the first page. She’s smart. Kind. Frustrated by the way her life has boxed her in, but still good to the people around her as much as she can be.

Heather, the girl who comes to stay with the family Agatha works for, also won me over. She constantly quotes authors and is pretty unapologetically nerdy, which is fabulous.

The Lady who makes a bargain with Agatha is also a fascinating character. I love the way her appearance changes depending on what’s happening and how Agatha reacts to her in certain scenes.

There were a couple of places where a chapter or scene ending felt a little abrupt, leaving me wanting a few more panels to really finish the scene. However, I’m now wondering if that was done on purpose to add to the eerie, slightly off-balance feeling the author created in those moments. Either way, it ultimately worked well.

Readers who’ve experienced Aldridge’s work before won’t need me to tell them this one is worth reading. It’s got the same powerful fantasy artwork and immersive storytelling that his fans have come to expect from his books.

Fans of K. O’Neill or Tim Probert will want to check this one out, for sure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Some characters have brown skin. Two girls have romantic feelings for one another.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can perform magic. A special stone leads one character to another person through a bond.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A boy doesn’t respect a girl’s boundaries. She wants him to leave her alone. He treats her roughly, making her cry.

Someone turns a person into a pig. Someone freezes a group of people.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.