Anyway, first up is The Downstairs Girl Stacey Lee. This book is for fans of historical fiction, taking place in the late 19th century. Centered around Jo Kuan, a Chinese-American girl born in Atlanta, this book explores the powerful and horrific systems of oppression faced by so many Chinese-Americans in the South at the turn of the previous century. Jo, for example, cannot become a citizen of the US, even though she was born on US soil, and is relegated to living in a secret tunnel beneath a newspaper office. Jo is a clever and sometimes opinionated girl, whose wit and charm make a story about such dark topics relatively light to read. Her circumstances, however, require her to be nearly invisible, inside and out. As the story goes on, Jo takes on the role of an advice columnist and begins to outpour her strong opinions, especially on race and gender, under the guise of giving suggestions to other Atlanta residents. It's a wonderful plot device, especially the complications it leads to as the plot develops. A great read, full of character, and just enough intrigue, you'll come for the cool late 1800s aesthetic (horseback rides and sweet hats) and stay for the wonderful writing and clever plot twists.
Second, on this week's list is a second Chinese-American with whom no doubt most of you are familiar! I strongly recommend Marie Lu's Kingdom of Back to take up a week of your summer reading schedule. While this is technically another work of historical fiction, this story leans much more heavily on the 'fiction' part, taking place in both 1700s Austria and...well, elsewhere. The book follows the path of the musical genius Wolfgang Mozart and his older sister, Nannerl, who has the same (or perhaps better!) remarkable genius for music as her brother. However, the setting of the book is against Nannerl, who at the onset of the story, wants nothing more than to be remembered for her talent and genius. Lu's beautiful, poetic style writes a quickly-paced story full of equal measures of 1700s drama and magic. The stunning power of music as magic becomes a shifting point of focus through the course of the book, and its conclusion, well...you'll be thinking about it for days. If you enjoy music, or magic, or any kind of history, this book will have something wonderful to offer.
Next up, a book series for my shippers out there - as these books are so full of possible romantic pairings and intense, intense intrigue you cannot help but speculate! I refer to the excellent Shatter Me series, written by Tahereh Mafi, an Iranian-American. I admit to having only read the first couple of books, but this series of stories is excellent dystopian books. Craftily written about Juliette Ferrars, a girl in a post-apocalyptic North America who has the unfortunate power to kill whomever she touches, and a powerful organization called The Reestablishment, who are seeking to rebuild the shattered world. A tense and emotional thriller, with a great deal that centers around the importance of touch (and all the romance that comes along with it!), Shatter Me turns pages and leaves readers guessing, and Juliette is an incredibly written protagonist, avoiding a common trap in these sorts of books of having the main character be empty vessels for readers to put themselves into. She is cunning and full of personality, both for good and, well, not. If you enjoy guessing what's going to happen next, seasoned with the crackling energy of potential romance, these books are must-reads.
Speaking of must-reads, if I were to pull the magic out of Kingdom of Back, mash it into the intrigue of Shatter Me, and set it in a magical version of South America, I might get something half as good as the incredible Woven in Moonlight by Bolivian-American author Isabel Ibañez. A high, somewhat dark fantasy centered around Ximena, who serves as a decoy to the Illustrian royal princess Condesa. However, like all of her people, Ximena has been forced into exile by a brutal usurper, Atoc. As Ximena serves as a decoy, and Condesa starts the book seemingly weak-willed, Ximena sees it as her duty to keep her people strong while planning her revenge. But, when Atoc contacts Condesa, asking for her hand in marriage, things get turned on end! Ximena knows it is her duty to go instead, but she is torn by her conflicting emotions and sense of duties. Her choices open a whirlwind of events dealing with vengeance, magic, and all the wonderful twists and turns that are hallmarks of a real page-turner. Oh, and did I mention that Ximena has rare and powerful magic at her disposal? That she can weave power from the moon into tapestries? This book is an adventurous tale of swashbuckling rogues, dark magics, and a compelling and even empathic villain. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Finally this week we examine a personal favorite of mine from the last year or so, the incredible The Poet X, written by the rising star of literature that is Elizabeth Acevedo, who also happens to be Dominican-American. A book written in verse, The Poet X tells the story of Xiomara Batista, who struggles with growing up as a Dominican girl in Harlem, and addresses the unwanted attention her changing body creates by letting her fists and tough exterior do the talking for her. The Poet X is an incredible read about the power of self-worth and the essential importance of learning to use once's voice. It hums with an energy of change, and the writing flows so smoothly off the page that it is almost better to read this book aloud. And, while I am normally a fan of reading books on one's own, if the thought of poetry is scary, this is one book for which the audiobook does real justice! I cannot think of a better book that so well provokes thought on the problems of objectification we cannot seem to deal with as a society, and the scars it leaves on girls - who have to learn to face it and rise above it. Painful but ultimately uplifting, it is highly, highly recommended.
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