Viva la Feminista

Feminist Freedom Warriors by Chandra Talpede Mohanty My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the introduction, Monhanty and Carty quote Sara Ahmed, "It should not be possible to do feminist theory without being a feminist, which requires an active ongoing commitment to live one's life in a feminist way." What better way to learn how to live a feminist life than from a collection of conversations with women of color from the Global South? "Feminist Freedom Warriors" is a chocolate-covered feminist theory book. "Feminist Freedom Warriors" is engaging and you also get some solid feminist theory that will push you to question where you stand and if your brand of feminism is what the world needs right now. Through these conversations we learn from praxis - how these women's feminisms performed in the world and why we need to adjust in order to try again. Some of the women featured have been feminist activists longer than most of y...

An Authentic Experience by Kelly Wittmann My rating: 4 of 5 stars Kelly Wittmann's "An Authentic Experience" is a lovely peek at the GenX-GenZ generational conflict through parenting. Silver is a 15-year-old GenZer whose Riot Grrrl mom is recovering from brain cancer and punk rock father never learned to be a dad. She finds solace in her maternal grandparents, cousin-best friend, as well as her first boyfriend. I fell in love with the book because of Silver's constant eye-rolling over her parents' GenX references. I busted out laughing when her father calls her Frances Bean, because well, Silver is a bit of a punk rock-riot grrrl princess as her parents were (her father remains) famous in those circles. Her parents admonish her generation for caring too much about what people think and Silver constantly recalls her mother's famous bleeding out on stage moment or stunt that is legendary in the family. As with many great youn...

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao My rating: 5 of 5 stars It's been a long time since I've burned through a book so quickly and "Girls Burn Brighter" was the perfect one to reignite my furious reading skills. But I must warn you dear reader that Shobha Rao sculpted a violent tale of two young women determined to save each other with the most beautiful words. CW: Rape, violence against women, physical abuse Poornima and Savitha become fast friends. They are separated after a horrible incident. The remainder of the novel is their quest to save themselves and reunite. Reading this book is like learning about atrocities through stained glass. It is beautiful to look at, but the details are heart wrenching. In one scene Poornima, who has little education, discovers that her husband's esteemed career as an accountant is overblown math: "She saw that the first row on the topmost page did make sense. It was imply the numbers in the...

The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor My rating: 4 of 5 stars The mark of a genius writer is one who can wrap up a trilogy in a way that stays true to the spirit of the first book. Nnedi Okorafor has fulfilled this difficult task with "The Night Masquerade". I will admit that I had my doubts near the end. Binti’s journey in the last third of this book is one that made me frustrated. Frustrated at what was happening and the thought that Okorafor had jumped the shark. But somehow she recovered and landed an excellent and fitting ending for our hero. When I read “Binti” a few years ago, I saw it as a premiere novel for young adults ready to leave the safety of their parents’ homes to start their own journeys. The third book in her journey encapsulates the brutality that goes into forging one’s own path and the blow back that some have to manage when it comes to familial disappointments. At the same time it exhibits the loving and stumbling manner in which ...

How to Love the Empty Air by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz My rating: 5 of 5 stars In the 15 years since I lost my mother, I have yet to read something that so beautifully and tragically embodies what it means to lose your biggest supporter. I do not normally read poetry, but Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz's writing makes me want more. When her collection ended I did not want it to end. It was part because I wanted her to continue painting my own sorrow and because I wanted to read more of her art. It took me a few days to finish this book because the poem that is set at her mother's deathbed was so vivid, I wanted to sob...and well you don't do that when you are in the car. From there on out I read the book while holding my breath and tears streamed down my cheeks. And yet, also with a slight smile on my lips. The smile was because for once, finally, I felt like someone truly knew the path I have been walking. Even the dates seems to line u...

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin My rating: 5 of 5 stars Of all the books that I have read about motherhood, "The Fifth Season" is in my top five. It feels impossible to write this review without spoiling this magical journey N. K. Jemisin gifted the world. But I'm giving it a try! The world we find feels familiar to us, yet at the same time so far in the distant future. It is at once sometime long ago and just down the road. The women we meet along the way make up the bulk of the protagonists. Each are flawed in their own way - some are young enough we forgive them and hope they grow out of their weaknesses, others leave us wondering what led them to the place we meet them. Holding it all together is a race towards the end of the world and two characters wrestling with the role of motherhood. As I said earlier, the manner in which motherhood and mothering is tackled in "The Fifth Season" is contemporary and accessible, all th...

Home by Nnedi Okorafor My rating: 5 of 5 stars WOW...What a second chapter to Binti's story. It was a delicious mystery as to how a headstrong young woman would return home from her first year of university with her alien friend. She returns home a changed person (as we all are after being on our own for some time!) and faces the ramifications of her tight knit family and community. I said "Binti" would be great for someone heading off to college. Now I say get "Home" and place it on your child's bed to greet them when they come home for the summer. View all my reviews