Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice

Author:  Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo, Olivia Gatwood
Publisher: Roaring Brooke Press
Pages: 56
On Sale: March 10, 2020
Genre: Children’s, Poetry, Social Movement, Social Justice, Non Fiction
Stars: 4/5

From the Publisher:

Woke: A Young Poet’s Guide to Justice is a collection of poems to inspire kids to stay woke and become a new generation of activists.

Historically poets have been on the forefront of social movements. Woke is a collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

With Theodore Taylor’s bright, emotional art, and writing from Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood, kids will be inspired to create their own art and poems to express how they see justice and injustice.

With a foreword by best-selling author Jason Reynolds.

From Me:

I picked this book up on a whim and it was lovely and powerful. It is a collection of poetry by 3 authors aimed towards both children and adults and it focuses on important and moving topics like race and equality and kindness. Very touching and I think it would be easy for anyone of any age to follow and understand.

Would fit The 52 Book Club’s 2021 prompts:
1 – Set in a School
24 – A Book You Think They Should Read In Schools
26 – An Author Of Colour
36 – A Nameless Narrator
37 – An Educational Read
38 – Recommended on Bookbub
40 – Found via #Bookstagram

Dark Tides

Author:  Philippa Gregory
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 464
On Sale: November 24, 2020
Genre: Historical, Historical Fiction, Adult, Fiction
Stars: 3/5

From the Publisher:

Midsummer Eve 1670. Two unexpected visitors arrive at a shabby warehouse on the south side of the River Thames. The first is a wealthy man hoping to find the lover he deserted twenty-one years before. James Avery has everything to offer, including the favour of the newly restored King Charles II, and he believes that the warehouse’s poor owner Alinor has the one thing his money cannot buy—his son and heir.

The second visitor is a beautiful widow from Venice in deepest mourning. She claims Alinor as her mother-in-law and has come to tell Alinor that her son Rob has drowned in the dark tides of the Venice lagoon.

Alinor writes to her brother Ned, newly arrived in faraway New England and trying to make a life between the worlds of the English newcomers and the American Indians as they move toward inevitable war. Alinor tells him that she knows—without doubt—that her son is alive and the widow is an imposter.

Set in the poverty and glamour of Restoration London, in the golden streets of Venice, and on the tensely contested frontier of early America, this is a novel of greed and desire: for love, for wealth, for a child, and for home

From Me:

I love Philippa Gregory, but this book was a bit of a miss for me. I didn’t like the American setting and I really didn’t like Livia. I know she was supposed to be a frustrating character, but she really took away from the story for me. I have not read the first book in the Fairmile series, Tidelands, but I’m not sure it would have helped. This book did alright as a stand-alone for me, it was just missing in other aspects.