Books and Sensibility

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Jess

The Loves and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

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Rating: unrated | 336 pages | Scholastic Press | Contemporary | Release Date: 1/29/2019

Rukhsana Ali lives two very different lives. With her friends and brother, she is a happily out and dating her girlfriend Arianna. But when she is among her traditional Muslim Bangladeshi community–which includes her marriage-minded mother–her sexual identity is a closely held secret. When Rukhsana is caught kissing her girlfriend, she finds herself fighting for her happiness and possibly her freedom.

Sabina Khan’s debut is a layered story that takes a close look at how family and identity can sometimes be at odds, but how there can also be a happy medium if you fight for it. Even though Rukhsana doesn’t understand all her family’s beliefs, she still has a lot of love for her culture and traditions that she does not want to lose because she is in love with a girl.

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We Are Here To Stay by Susan Kuklin

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Rating: Unrated  | 4 hrs and 12 mins |  Penguin Randomhouse | Non-Fiction 

We Are Here To Stay is a no-frills collection of interviews that gives voice to young immigrants affected by the precarious renewal of Deferred Action against Childhood Arrivals  (DACA). It’s not an easy read but it’s certainly an important one. We meet immigrants from Mexico, Samoa, Korea, and Ghana. We Are Here To Stay sheds light on the various reasons families come and stay in America, while also displaying the diversity of the immigrant experience. I think the one thing that stood out is despite all the hardships, many of the individuals in this book still believe that America is the best place for them.

Check out the audio review here!

AudioFile Magazine’s Picks of the Best New Young Adult Audiobooks for Spring Listening

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Spring is finally here and whether you are hitting the road for Spring break or hunkering down for  Spring cleaning you will want to check out AudioFile Magazine’s Picks of the Best New Young Adult Audiobooks for Spring to keep you company chosen by Aureila C. Scott !

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Black Enough edited by Ibi Zoboi

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I feel like there should be a category on this blog called “Books I Wish Existed When I Was A Teen” because this book would be first on this list.

Black Enough is a wonderful anthology that tells the varied experiences and stories of Black teens; from the suburbs to the hood to the country and even the inner sanctum of heavy metal rehearsals. It’s just a masterful blend of experiences. These are not struggles stories, they are funny, poignant and some of them are emotional but they never “gut” you. One of my favorites was Jay Coles’ Wild Horses, Wild Hearts which I felt was like “response” to Brokeback Mountain.

I think the book is best read straight through. I’m not a big contemporary reader, so I was glad to see there were two magical realism stories. The titular story, Black Enough, I think really sets the tone for the anthology and the last story is meant to be more reflective. I got snippets of black authors I’ve been meaning to read and right now Jay Cole is moving up on my TBR list.

I’m all in for these YA anthologies!

Audiobook Review

Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

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I don’t always read nonfiction, but when I do it’s for the  tea.

On the surface, Bad Blood is the sensational story of  Elizabeth Holmes, a young ambitious college-dropout turned  CEO who used her access to wealth, power, privilege and influence to cause the downfall of Theranos, a billion dollar company.

As someone who has worked in a lot of offices and seen tons of office politics gone awry, there is something fascinating about hearing someone else’s workplace gossip, drama and scandals; all while knowing those in power are eventually held accountable. I mean it’s maddening some of the things the employees of Theranos had to live with in silence.

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End of The Year/Christmas Book Haul

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It’s been a while since I’ve done a book haul so here are the newest books decking my shelves !

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