Some of the beliefs or creatures our readers may wish to research and/or incorporate into their fiction are still part of living traditions and religions for other worlds. Can you give advice about balancing respect for another culture while possibly needing to adapt their stories for a particular manuscript?
ST: I’d say first and foremost, do your research. Start by familiarizing yourself with the traditions in question. For example, if a culture or group prefers their mythology not be used outside their traditions, really consider if it’s necessary to your story. (Of course, this won’t always be the case, but you can never go wrong being respectful.) Remember that none of this exists in a vacuum. If you then draw upon the folklore or mythology, remember you are borrowing, and act accordingly.
Sometimes you’ll have to adapt things to fit your story, and that’s fine; just make sure you know the source material, and then tread carefully. Think about what you want to change and why. Don’t take lazy shortcuts and portray all dark-skinned peoples/beings as evil, etc.; instead, create nuanced, complex worlds and characters that honor the original.
The main thing is to write with respect and remember that we’re all people, and all our stories matter. I can’t stress that enough.
CP: I think with using elements that are current religions and traditions, one needs to especially be careful about how they are portraying and interpreting the story. But the fact of the matter is, no matter how much research you do and how respectfully you handle a topic, character, etc, you will probably offend someone. And this isn’t just in regards to the topics at hand (which one can see as being more sensitive) but happens for all authors in general, no matter what we write.
My advice from my own lessons learned with my debut publication is to write and send into the world what you can stand by. Know in your heart that this is the best you did in all ways for your novel — that you can believe in it and back it. Because once it’s out there, you can’t control the reader’s reaction to your story. They will often interpret it in ways you never intended — and that’s why reading is so personal for everyone.
Barbara Binns (author of Pull, which was reviewed here) reviews All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg
This book brought back the Viet Nam era in a way no other book I have ever read did for me. The wounded vets help Matt understand that his mother had to have loved him to give him away. His adopted fat
Share your own color me brown links. These can be links having to do with any issue regarding race and/or literature. Reviews, interviews, guest posts, podcasts, etc.
Zetta shared the press release about the Carl Brandon Society's fundraiser. Raffle tickets cost $1
The Carl Brandon Society, an organization dedicated to racial and
ethnic diversity in speculative fiction, will hold a prize drawing of
five eReaders to benefit the Butler Scholarship, a fund that sends two
emerging writers of color to the Clarion writers workshops annually.
In keeping with the Society’s support of literature from and about
people of color, the prizes include five eReaders: two Barnes & Noble
Nooks, two Kobo Readers, and one Alex eReader from Spring Design. Each
eReader will come pre-loaded with books, short stories and essays by
writers of color from the speculative fiction field. Writers include:
N. K. Jemisin, Nisi Shawl, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Terence Taylor, Ted
Chiang, Shweta Narayan, Chesya Burke, Moondancer Drake, Saladin Ahmed,
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz and more.
This is a about a weke old but the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana has compiled a
shortlist of Mock-Coretta Scott King Book Awards. I encourage everyone to check out the list and add their own suggestions in the comments.
Another older post (found courtesy of White Readers Meet Black Authors),
Five Young Black Writers You Should Be Reading Now"African-American Fiction." Wouldn't it make more sense for these titles to be divided by genre? Classics among classics, erotic fiction with erotic fiction, and "street lit" -- well, it should have a section all its own. Still, despite the preponderance of so-called urban fiction crowding the shelves at your local Borders, there is a vital canon of contemporary African-American literature, with writers like ZZ Packer, Colson Whitehead and Victor LaValle all releasing heralded titles in recent years. Coming up behind those darlings of the literary establishment is a new wave of young, gifted and black writers getting rave reviews, publishing deals and even a few national tours. Nick Burd, Danielle Evans, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Ernessa Carter and Gary Jackson are five writers who have all written accomplished debuts, penning stories and plays and poetry that are both literary and provocative. All have distinctive voices and write on myriad themes.
Doret interviewed MG/YA author Lisa Yee4. Its obivous a lot of care went into all the of the characters. Santat's illustrations are great. The facial expressions are always spot on perfect (even the gnome and the fish on the cover) Its not easy finding middle grade novels (fantasy not included) with male protagonist for ages 8 up. With the artwork, short chapters and stories less then 180 pages, this series is geared toward children beginning to read longer novels.
Did you know this middle grade void existed? Did you consciously set out to help fill it?
I had no idea there was a void in this category until after I had written the first book! I just wanted to write something tha
Color Me Brown is a feature here at Color Online in which we spotlight interesting links pertaining to literature and/or race. These links can range from interviews to discussion posts. We try and highlight links from the week, but sometimes we go further back.
Here we go....
In the book, Lissy is very shy and creates friends out of her imagination with origami. When her origami blows away and is discovered by other children, she is able to make real friends. The character of Lissy is actually based on my niece, who used to be extremely shy among strangers, often hiding when addressed by one. In fact, most of the characters in my books are based on myself and I was definitely more shy than outgoing as a child (and still am). And one of the books I have swimming in my mind for the future features a shy, Asian protagonist. Should I change her because of the fear of perpetuating a stereotype?
Not about literature but nevertheless interesting (OK I admit a part of why I'm posting this is because I love Harry Shum Jr./Glee and Daniel Dae Kim/Hawaii Five-O) and it is about race and the
slow rise of Asian actors and actresses
The actors also emphasized the importance of getting more Asian faces into not only the realms of directing and producing, but also the executive/studio ranks of major tv and film studios, so that actors have more minority voices fighting for accurate representation. Though the success of films like “Slumdog Millionaire” can open the door to more projects featuring Asian and South Asian actors, the truth is that racial barriers still exist and are a point of discussion. For example, Kim — who was awarded the festival’s “Influential Asian American Artist” award — told that audience that he was currently in the midst of discussing what race the love interest of his “Hawaii Five-O” character Detective Chin Ho Kelly should be — a conversation that was more difficult that he had initially thought. He noted that while he was excited that race was a topic of discussion, the decision was more difficult than he originally thought, because he realized that the ultimate choice would have cultural ramifications.
Wow! I managed to have tears rolling down my cheeks for the last 80 pages or so of this book. That isn't why I loved it so much, but that's to show you how into this book I was, how much I care about the characters and their lives.
There are a lot of characters in this book and the author manages to keep you connected to all of them as they relate to the main family, their lives interwoven in a way that only small villages, refugee status, and a shared history can do. Not only are the characters all closely related or connected, but they support one another, take care of each other as they suffer the injustices forced upon them by the Israeli government and army.
Let me take a political time-out. In the United States our government has sided with Israel throu
Color Me Brown is a feature in which we spotlight links relating to literature and multiculturalism. This ranges from reviews to discussions to interviews. Do leave your own CMB links in the comments so that we can stop by for a visit :)
One thing about this book is that from the very beginning, it keeps you wanting to know more. I can guarantee that anyone who reads the prologue will want to read the rest, if only to figure out "how did this happen?!" And if you aren't pulled in by the prologue, I know that the first couple of pages will definitely get your attention. This book doesn't waste time in getting to the point: it goes right into the story, and the action doesn't stop until the very end. Once you pick this up, you will not want to stop reading... there are very few points in the novel where you can set it aside without wanting to pick it right back up again. In fact, two nights in a row I stayed up much later than I should have, just because I had to know what happened right then... it couldn't wait.
Over at Mitali's Fire Escape, picture book author Gary Golio (Jimi: Sounds Like A Rainbow) talks about how race affected Jimi Hendrix
While he could listen to black radio stations (with music by black musicians) beginning only in 1958, Jimi had seen Elvis—the great White Wonder who fearlessly did his take on what was still considered Race music (gospel, jazz, blues)—in September of 1957, when he was 14, at a Seattle stadium. Before that, from the time he was very young, Jimi heard a wide variety of genres played (on record) and sung by his father right at home. As a teenager, he listened to Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra alongside Howlin’ Wolf, Lightnin’ Hopkins, B.B. King, and Chuck Berry. He had a place in his heart and mind for rock ‘n’ roll, the blues, jazz, pop, and gospel, and would later add Indian ragas, Flamenco guitar, Bach, and Handel to that heady mix. He even speculated about what “the blues scene” would be like on other planets, thoughts that arose from his love of science fiction and musings on extra-terrestrial life and intelligence.
Doret has an interview with award-winning author Francisco X. Stork (Marcelo in the Real World, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors)
2. Congratulations you are one of the chosen few. This year you were one of 16 Latino authors to write a MG/YA book. Why do you think this number still so small?
This is a very difficult question and I don’t know if I have the answer. Part of the answer lies in education and the need to encourage our children and young people to aspire to be writers and support them in the arduous training required to be a good one. Then there is the need for editors and publishers to accept meaningful works by Latino authors which do not fall under the category of “bestsellers.” Ultimately, I think it’s up to each one of us to do what we can to open up paths that will make it easier for other Latino authors to follow
Em gives a 5 star rating to the audio recording of
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok over at
Love YA LitThe audio recording features one of th
Yay Color Me Brown links! This is a feature in which we spotlight links pertaining to authors of color, literature about poc, race, books and anything else we think might be of interest. It usually has some literary and racial connection though :)
PLEASE share your links with us in the comments. We will try and visit each link left for us. We love to meet new-to-us bloggers/blogs so don't be shy to toot your horn and share a review/interview/rant/etc.
The Hunger Games trilogy, which depicts child soldiers in a dystopic future society, has proved widely popular with teen readers. Do you feel its popularity has made teens more receptive to books like yours? How can teachers and parents help young readers make the transition from a fantasy genre to reading about and getting involved in stopping similar atrocities in the here and now?
While reading Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, I couldn’t keep the situation in Burma out of my mind, which made the books all the more compelling to me. One of the nicest notes I’ve received from a teen said, “For me, Bamboo People was a meaningful, emotional, make-you-want-to-do-something type of novel. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if teachers and parents handed Bamboo People to eager Hunger Games readers, inspiring fantasy-lovers like me to affect change in the real world?”
Maggie at Maggie's Bookshelf-Bibliophilia interviews Marina Budhos (YA/MG author of Ask Me No Questions and Tell Us We're Home)
If you had one thing you hoped readers would take away from this book, what would it be? What has the reader response to this novel been like?
I like to write books that are slyly subversive; that turn things upside down a bit without you knowing it. In so many ways these girls are spies, anthropologists reading the cues, the casual privilege of the wealthy town they've been plunked down in. And so, for some readers, I hope this is a way of seeing your own life through fresh eyes. At the same time, I hope the novel also gives voice to a certain invisibleness that many can feel.
Reader response has been quite good and people are appreciative of the freshness of perspective and the timeliness of this story. I was thrilled to receive a great review in the New York Times, as a lot of people saw that. One of the interesting ways the book is being read is as a 'mother-daughter' book--I've had mothers who have read the book alongside their daughters, and they appreciate the conversation it opens up about privilege and 'outsideness' and seeing one's own town through the eyes of immigrants.
My favorite response was that of the son of a colleague--apparently he picked up the book and couldn't put it down and they would fight every night because he wasn't going
Color Me Brown is a weekly round-up of links that have to do with race and literature. They can range from discussion posts, rants, interviews with authors of color and book reviews.
The thoughts shared in these links may not be in exact agreement with the Color Online staff. BUT they do discuss issues we are devoted to discussing and fixing.
Bethany Hedgedus interviews author Sundee T. Frazier about her new book The Other Half of My Heart.
Today inside the Writer’s Studio we welcome an esteemed guest, Sundee T Frazier. When looking at her honors and awards one could swoon: Al Rocker’s Kids’ Book Club Selection, Oprah’s Book Club for Kids, and of course, the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award top the list. Yes, Sundee is esteemed, she is gifted, but she also is down to earth.
The Senate reviews The Dream Act, a bill concerning citizenship - The Washington Post
The Senate will consider Tuesday whether hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children should be placed on a path to citizenship.
Michele Norris talks about her new memior - The Grace of Silence at NPR
Last year I set out to write a book about America’s hidden conversation about race. However, I changed course after listening to the hidden conversation in my own family. I discovered that my parents withheld profound secrets because they didn’t want to gunk up the engine of upward mobility.
They wanted their children to soar, so they chose not to weigh down their pockets with personal tales of woe. That is why I decided to call my book — my accidental family memoir — The Grace of Silence. But I am hoping that it will encourage readers and listeners to break past the silence in their own families
VivirLatino shares a music video (also there's much more on the Dream Act here)
During this Latino Heritage Month, we are marketed to, studied, talked about and analyzed. During this month many of our homelands, ancestral and actual celebrate their independence days but also within these countries we struggle onward seeking true freedom.
The following video comes from us gracias a Rebel Diaz. Filmed on the streets of Santiago de Chile and produced Chilean team, Artefacto Visual, the video features Villa Grimaldi, which was a concentration camp site during the Pinochet dictatorship ushered in by the United States and where two of the Rebel Diaz crew members, RodStarz and G1′s, parents were tortured.
For me, this video is what this month and every other month of the year is about.
A review of Where the Streets had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah at School library journal
Needless to say, if a person writes a book about Palestinians for kids, be it a picture book or a novel, it’s going to be considered a contentious subject. It’s easy to avoid such subjects. Most middle grade does. Abdel-Fattah is to be commended for her guts then. Though her critics will try to find fault with her depictions of Israel, Abdel-Fattah’s restraint is remarkable
Author Sarah Okler
Color Me Brown are weekly roundups of links of interests. We link to reviews, interviews, articles/discussion posts, anything that has to do with literature and PoC. Usually we include five links. Please leave a link to a note-worthy post you came across in the comments!
And feel free to email any member of the staff with a link you find interesting. We can't read everything (no matter how hard we try!) so we appreciate the tips.
First up we have at Love YA Lit an interview with author Zetta Elliott (have you read A Wish After Midnight yet? A must read for every.single.person.)
Love YA Lit: It seems like you had several goals with A Wish After Midnight – to create characters that urban youth of color could connect with, to make transparent the connection between what is generally considered terrorism today and the history of racial violence in this country, to introduce readers to aspects of history often left untouched by textbooks, and to create a magical tale set not in some fancy manor in England, but in a garden in Brooklyn. Was there a certain starting point for the story or a primary goal? How did this all come together in one novel?
Zetta Elliott: One of my female students asked me that recently. I’m lucky in that I’ve been able to design a life that allows me to focus on my interests—ALL the time! I teach black feminist cultural criticism, I studied representations of racial violence in graduate school, I’m interested in the symptoms and responses to trauma, and I grew up believing in magic. Add to that my love for Brooklyn, and I couldn’t have written anything BUT A Wish After Midnight! I write the books I wish I’d had as a child, and I try to honor my varied experiences. It took me a long time to let go of the shame I was made to feel as a teen simply because I was a black girl who liked Jane Austen, New Edition, and Duran Duran. James Baldwin said to “trust your experience,” and that’s what I try to do.
Then at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy we have a review of The Aristobrats.
Ikea (“pronounced I-kay-a, like the exotic African lodge where she was conceived, not I-kee-ya, like the un-exotic Swedish furniture store“), is one of the few children of color at Wallingford and the only African American girl in her class. She’s Miss Preppy and under tremendous pressure from her attorney father to go to Yale, just like he did. When Ikea is introduced, she has glossy straight hair and hazel eyes. She gets annoyed that people think she should date the only African American boy at Wally. A scene midway through the book shows Ikea sits in the bathroom straightening her hair with a hot comb and putting in contact lenses to hide her brown eyes. The Aristobrats raise questions abouts beauty and the under-representation of children of color at Wallingford, without being a heavy-handed message book.
This next link is a bit older but I adored Thomas Chatterton Williams' memoir, Losing My Cool, so I simply had to share this. From MyBrownBaby. It's about the author's fear of his very high SAT score. What will his friends say? Read the post, then buy his memoir. An exc
Color Me Brown is a feature in which links are showcased that deal with posts of interest.
It's well worth reading. Here's a tidbit
Perhaps one might argue that being Asian is not quite as "difficult" as being a member of another race or ethnicity. Asians are considered to be in a similar position as Jews in many ways in American society. We have light skin, generally perform well in school, and obey rules; a large percentage of Asians live in comfortable socioeconomic brackets. To many, Asians do not come to mind when the word "minority" and its stereotypical implications arise. In fact, Asians were held up as the "model minority" back in the fifties and sixties, as an example of what minorities can accomplish if only they put themselves into it and stopped blaming society and situation for their troubles. [Edited to fix ambiguous statements that could've been misconstrued. Thank you, Linda!]
But what we, over many other racial and ethnic groups, have acquired is a passive acceptance of the beliefs and treatment others subject us to. Many Asians do not have that much of a problem being considered the nerd-smart, obedient, socially awkward race. Better than being considered the hoodlum, or the troublemaker, or the good-for-nothing...right? It is, however, our own quiet acceptance of others' assumptions of what our race is like that ensures our position as a racial doormat.
The lack of Asians on book covers enforces the idea that Asians should be the quiet race. Because we are not the proud stars of our own stories, but rather the spectators and secondary characters to others'. We are always the best friend, never the protagonist. When I look at book covers featuring white models representing protagonists that I end up loving and relating to, I subconsciously associate myself with these white characters. It is my "Twinkie-ness" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside) that allows me to enjoy YA books. Reading YA lit the way it's currently jacketed takes away from my Asian identity, because both white society and my own Asian one do not allow for Asians to take a starring role
I am a college student and an avid reader. I can spend hours in a book store looking at the different titles and stories available for reading. However, as I continue to peruse the store, especially in the Young Adult section, I found that there are an overwhelming number of books that do not reflect the multicultural world that we all live in. Many of these books include white characters and white authors and while there is nothing wrong with these books, I find it increasingly hard to find books that have characters that look like me and my friends. I am African-American and my friends are from many different nationalities. Even though we may have different cultures, we all share one thing in common. We all love to read. More importantly, we all love to recommend each other books that we enjoyed and when we have the money, we typically buy these books. There are a number of talented authors and books that feature characters of various ethnic backgrounds, cultures, colors, races, socioeconomic status and more. The publishers believe in these books, but if the book sellers are not supplying them to store an
Color Me Brown links are links of interest relating to literature and people of color, whether it's reviews, discussions, author interviews, etc.
An absolute must read is The Elephant in the Room by Elizabeth Bluemle not only does it talk about the need for more diversity in books, it lists ways that we can all fix the problem (readers, editors, publishers, etc.) It also includes links to resources on the Internet (Color Online got a shout out, yay!) Below is an excerpt from the article
The truth: we in the book trade have fallen shamefully behind our own culture, and our own times. We can remedy that with open dialogue, new paradigms, and concerted effort. And—we have to remedy it. When adults shout racial epithets at our country’s elected leaders, when bullied children are hanging themselves out of despair and shame, when children’s faces in art murals on the sides of schools are criticized for being “too dark,” when racism is still alive and vicious in this country, we can’t politely avert our eyes.
It is our responsibility—as people who create, produce, and distribute the lion’s share of books that reach and teach and entertain children—it is our highest calling to provide written, illustrated worlds that embrace and prioritize all children, books that resemble the playgrounds and classrooms and homes of this country and the rest of the world. And in order to do that, we must open the gates of our publishing houses to a greater variety of voices and cast aside outdated assumptions of what people will or won’t want to read, will or won’t want to edit or publish or sell.
Neesha Meminger had a thoughtful response (or continuation) to the Elephant article in More on Race
This is the same discussion feminists were having years ago when men ran and owned all publishing houses, and women's writing was not taken seriously. It was too "emotional", it was too "flowery", women didn't write about "serious" things, and women weren't getting published. Men were viewing women's writing through a very male lens and never had to bend or shift their perspective. It was out of this that feminist presses and women's presses began sprouting and taking root. They showed that women could write and there was a market for that work and that it sold. Eventually, these small presses began dying out because the larger publishers began publishing more work by women. AND because there were now spaces for women to write, to nurture and cultivate their careers, there were grants and financial support for women who wanted to take writing seriously. In other words, there were larger, societal changes *in addition to* well-meaning editors. AND, here's the key, there were more women editors.
The children's/teen publishing biz has a whole LOT of women editors now. And two of them are women of colour. Ha, just kidding. It might be five. But the same needs to happen now. This is a subjective business. Editors and booksellers can like whatever they like. Let's just get more - including those who understand and value different aesthetics and traditions, and those who aren't necessarily looking for a polished, refined, brown version of Twilight or Harry Potter or Gossip Girl. Let's think outside of the publishing box we've all been shoved into. Let's get representation of ALL children and their histories/stories. Even if it means taking a little more time to nurture a new writer
Every week you will find Color Me Brown Links. Happy to be home and happy to be bringing you links to great books. Hope you check these out. If you read a review of book you think is slipping under the radar, drop me an email.
First up is The World Unseen by Shamim Sarif. Niranjana at Brown Paper always has great reviews of very interesting books. I confess, I might cheat and look for the movie first on this one.
A queer brown mixed-race woman in apartheid-era South Africa befriends an oppressed Indian housewife.
Yes, no cause is left unturned in Shamim Sarif’s The World Unseen. But Sarif has a lightness of touch that has the story chugging along briskly;
Next is Monkfish Moon: short stories. Review by Mrs. Burns at Gig Harbor High School. New blog for me. Will be going back for more.
All of the stories deal with the conflict between the peaceful beauty of the place juxtaposed with the reality of the warring factions in the country.
Last is The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin. The author is no stranger here. Mary at Beach Reading is a new blogger for me. Another place I plan to visit again as well.
This book was amazing in so many ways. I'll start with the cover. It exudes the anger and power of Yeine, and the palace of Sky is beautifully portrayed. I also appreciate that it shows Yeine's dark skin is shown on the cover.
The story is perfectly convoluted and complex, with a number of surprises throughout the book. I tend the figure out stories quickly, and this one definitely had surprises for me all of the way though.
Tell us what you're reading. D
Friday
is the last day to donate books during Guys Lit Wire's Operation Teen Book Drop. The goal is to get as many books as possible in the hands of Native American teens on the Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache Reservation. It started earlier this month and already more than
700 books have been bought off of the group's
wish lists. There are many books on the lists that are less than $10 and groups have no problem receiving used books. If you haven't already, please consider donating to this worthy cause.
A few days ago Tricia from
The Miss Rumphius Effect interviewed author Charles R. Smith Jr. Smith wrote the wonderful MG novel,
Chameleon and also illustrated he children's book,
My People, based on the Langston Hughes poem.
Over at Browngirl Speaks, you'll find a great review of Sherman Alexie's
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian.
Author Isabel Allende's newest novel is out and according to Kristen over at
Books for Breaksfast,
The Island under the Sea is "a fascinating look at history in both Haiti and New Orleans".
At Lost in Books, Rebecca has started a
special blog series on diversity. She's been interviewing different people about their native culture. One of my favorite posts is with blogger Aarti from
Booklust. Aarti talks about being Indian American and the stereotypes that people have about Indian culture.
It's not too late to participate in
POC's April mini-challenge to read a poet of color.
Speaking of poets,
A Few More Pages dedicated a blog post to poet Lucille Clifton.
Push by Sapphire has been reviewed by Laura at
Reading and Rooibos.
At
Raising Readers and Writers, Julie's posted information about the Columbus Young Author's Summer Writing Camp that's being hosted this summer for students in grades four through eleven. So if you know any budding young authors who are in or near the Columbus, Ohio area, this may be for them.
Every week you will find Color Me Brown Links. We all have a story. This week's round up is fantastic (well, every week is) and I hope you'll check them out. If you read a review of book you think is slipping under the radar, drop me an email.
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama at The Reading Life
Reading a review by Mel rivals reading a well-written novel. If you haven't been by The Reading Life, get ther.
It is the story of the lives of two orphaned brothers living on The Street of a Thousand Blossoms. We see their lives develop from the horrible days of World War II, through the seven years of the occupation of Japan by the Americans up to the beginning of Japan's period of great prosperity. 
Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler at Tia's Book Musings. I read a lot of Butler and my first experience with her work was Kindred. That book left me exhausted and wanting more of Butler. Her collection of short stories gave me more of her brilliance in snapshots. Tia sees her the collection differently and I find value in hearing others' perspectives.
It's an interesting collection of works: three traditional high science fiction stories, one story in the "real world," one story that falls in between, an autobiographical essay, and an essay on writing. I prefer books of short stories that are intended as a cohesive unit, so although some parts of Bloodchild were interesting, I felt less affected by the book as a whole.
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani at Arch Thinking. I like Lorin. I admire her work and her take on world issues. I like that we have things in common and there are other areas that I know nothing or little about that I can discover when I visit
Reviews
Laura over at
Reading and Rooibos reviewed
Wild Seed by Octavia Butler. In her review Laura wrote, "
Butler’s prose is searing and direct, and her larger-than-life characters nearly leap off the pages."
Wendy over at Musing of a Bookish Kitty reviewed The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji. The main character is caught between two worlds, the American culture she grew up in and the culture of her family. Wendy called this novel "rich; while at times tragic, it is also full of redemption and heart".
Over at Notorious Spinks Talks, Uptown by Virginia DeBarry and Donna Grant was reviewed. Uptown is being described as an "authentic and heart-wrenching novel filled with truth, lies, demons, secrets and family". This book sounds great! There's also a giveaway on the blog for Uptown so go read the review and enter for a chance to win this. Events around the BlogisphereNominations for Nerds Heart YA are now open. If you don't already know, Nerds Heart YA is a tournament of books. This year's rules are different. The judges want more diversity this year so want more books by and about people of color, with mental illness, GLBT, or disabled. Only nominate books that were published in 2009 and have been reviewed less than 15 times in the blogisphere. Hurry and nominate the YA books you love because nominations will close on March 15th.
Tanabata at
In Spring it is the Dawn is the host of the Japanese Literature Book Group. This month's reads feature three books by Haruki Murakami. Tanabata wants more people to experience Murakami's work and has included a list of suggested reads.
Over at Regular Rumination, Lu is doing a new feature entitled
Exploring American Authors. She's focusing on authors who " either speak Spanish or are of Mexican, Central, or South American descent". This month's author is Octavio Paz.
Remember to add your reviews throughout the month to the
POC Reading Challenge's links. Last month 93 reviews were linked. Let's beat that this month.
Color Me Brown is a weekly event that grew out of last summer's Color Me Brown Challenge.
As a reader, I'm forever looking for reviews of great books that I should be reading. This week I've found a lot of great links to share with Color Online readers.
I just finished reading a great post about YA books, whitewashing, and diversity by Colleen Mondor over at
BookSlut. The article features quotes by authors Kekla Magnoon, Zetta Elliot, Tanita Davis, and more. I enjoyed the mentions of great books Mondor felt more people should read.
Swapna over at
S. Krishna's Books reviewed Bombay Time by Thrity Umrigar. Swapna is also the host of the
South Asian Authors Challenge.
Rebecca over at Rebecca Reid is the host of The Classics Circuit blog. Every month bloggers all over the blogisphere read a book by a particular author or theme and post their thoughts. This month's theme is the
Harlem Renaissance. There are nine posts going up this week about books by authors from Nella Parson to Ethel Waters, Langston Hughes to Zora Neale Hurston. Make sure to visit the blog every week to stay informed on new reviews.
Jodie at Book Gazing posted her thoughts on
The Mariposa Club by Rigoberto Gonzalez. From Jodie's review this sounds like a great book. There's also the case of
whitewashing with this book. The Mariposa Club is about four gay teenage boys. On the cover is only three really light boys when the characters are described as two being light and two are dark-skinned. There's also the issue of the last character being missing from the cover. The missing character is a boy who wear's missing clothing and identifies with being a woman. Jodie wrote two great posts reviewing the book and also her issues with the cover. Think of the two posts as this week's must-read.
So we get a new cover from Bloomsbury. Do we get an end to an ugly practice? We need to demonstrate that POC titles have wide appeal so blog brown, people. Several months ago we began a challenge to champion reading and blogging brown.
This year, I'm participating in Women Unbound, South Asian Authors, GLBT: The Challenge that Dare Not Speak It's Name, Social Justice and Young Adult Challenge. And thanks to Pam, we have the POC Challenge.
Now for our featured reviews:
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. I reviewed this title at Black-Eyed Susan's.
Zetta questions why women willingly embrace restrictions placed on them by their religion and culture. Like Zetta, I’m very interested to learn how teen girls would interpret this story. There are great comments and observations at Fledgling. Do check them out.
I read this and like Doret, I see Jameela in the context of her circumstances and culture. I think the writer gives an honest and realistic, and in a modern setting by the way a view of how some Muslim women see themselves.
Ali writes "Best Kept Secrets" at Worducopia. In anticipation of first-time readers here, I'm cheating a bit and featuring links to posts that highlight multiple books. I want to take away the excuse that you don't know how to find good multicultural lit.
When the Black Girl Sings, by Bil Wr
Every week you will find Color Me Brown Links. This feature grew out of our Color Me Brown Challenge.
I'm back with more reviews from participants in the Women Unbound Challenge. Color Online is supporting this challenge with a monthly book giveaway. You know my mantra: Books 
are to be shared not hoarded. I take on every opportunity to promote woc writers. I'm hoping CO members will be joining this challenge. I'm enjoying my own reading selections and you can expect reviews. Today's selections:
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros at Leaning Towards The Sun. Danielle is participating in the Women Unbound Challenge. If you haven't signed on, join us.
The Skin Between Us by Kym Regusa. Eva never disappoints, and I'm always tickled when she reads a book I've listed or talked about. Check out her review and two other titles for Women Unbound at A Striped Armchair.
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi. Check out Amy's review at Steele Entertainment. Amy's blog is new on my radar. Looking forward to reading future reviews.
Normally Color Me Brown Links run Thursday. Well, my life outside of the wonderful virtual one I love demands I attend to real life responsibilities. Nonetheless, a chica has to do what she has to do to maintain her sanity so I'm posting now for me as much as I am for you.
Please feel free to help me out by forwarding me links to great reviews you think we should showcase. This evening I have:
Circle of Souls at Teens Read and Write. Alyssa is a very cool teen reviewer who regularly reads here and supports what we do. No long after a lament about finding mysteries with poc characters, I found this at Alyssa's blog. Thanks, Alyssa.
This books opens with a grisly murder of a 10 year old girl and sets the reader off on a journey to find out who-dun-it. Shortly after the killing, child psychologist Dr. Peter Gram meets Naya, a 7 year old whose parents bring her in because they found her sleepwalking...almost right off their balcony.
The Boy Next Door at Genre Reviews. I met Debbie and discovered her blog during our original Color Me Brown Challenge. Debbie has continued to read and be a supportive member here since. Thanks D for sending me a link to your review.
The Boy Next Door is an engrossing novel that starts out as a mystery of sorts (did Ian really do it?) in which curiosity about her neighbor leads to friendship and then love. But it's not an easy love.
Testing the Ice at Great Kid Books. Mary Ann provides a wonderful review.
Sharon Robinson, daughter of famed baseball player Jackie Robinson, wrote this book to teach kids about her father, but she focuses on a personal memory of her childhood to illustrate her father's strength and courage.
It's has been too long since I've read women's literature, a genre that dominated my reading before I began running my group for girls. Some readers have commented that we focus on YA. Well, I need to address that. I love YA but I'm grown woman who enjoys women's stories as well. We do cover adult literature here and I will work on creating greater balance.
With that said, today's Color Me Brown Links focus on strong women in adult situations. I haven't read Bless Me Ultima but it is included as a closing to our month long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Hope you find a good read here.
You might recall Bless Me Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya is one of our recommended titles for Hispanic Heritage Month. We can thank the voracious reader, Eva for a great review at A Striped Armchair.
I knew that it was a coming-of-age story set in New Mexico during the 40s. I vaguely imagined some kind of The Outsiders only with Hispanic teens. But I was so wrong! Antonio, the protagonist, is only 6 when the story begins (and 7 when it ends). And the book is about religion and belief; it’s Antonio’s religious coming-of-age tale. Ultima is a wisewoman, or curandera, who comes to live with his family in her old age.
Lotus Reads reads some amazing works. Most times the novels are set in places I've never been and her reviews are as brilliant as the stories written. Here's a collection of reviews starting with a Woman at Point Zero.Firdaus was born into a peasant home in Egypt. From a young age she realized that being born a girl was a curse. Women were just property that men owned....chattel. Even their bodies didn't belong to them, but to the men that "kept" them. She was only a little girl when her Uncle's hands would steal to her thighs as she worked on kneading dough for the family meal, and then, when she was not much older she was given in marriage to a grotesquely-ugly man in his '60's who used her for his pleasure...
If you enjoy the more heady, academic reviews do check out Asian American Literature Fans. I don't spend enough time there. If you're nerdy and enjoyed lectures, go here. Stephen Hongsohn reviews The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar.
Thrity Umrigar’s The Weight of Heaven is perhaps one of my favorite novels I have read in the past couple of years. It’s a hefty book as the title suggests, especially as is routed through the ethics of globalization. What makes this book a success is the absolute conviction with which we believe the bereavement of the main characters, Frank and Ellie Benton, who lose their son, Benny, to a tragic bout with meningitis.
Have you read or written a review that you think we should feature for CMB? Send me a link. Happy reading.
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I've been MIA for the past week and a half, I apologize! It's been a bit overwhelming trying to catch up on all the blog posts and I admit, I sort-of gave up. Definitely leave links for me this week because I'm sure I missed lots of good posts. Links can be about anything literary, specifically literary that deals with people of color. Interviews, guest posts, reviews, discussion posts, videos. It's important that we support people who contribute to the important discussion of race in literature. We certainly don't need to agree on everything, but we should discuss and act. 
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I love your round-ups, Ari! Thanks for linking to my essay. Here's a link that's worth checking out:
http://www.yabookshelf.com/2011/04/how-does-ya-lit-inspire-you-nora-olsen-discusses-writing-characters-who-happen-to-be-lgbtq/
z
Thank you Doret for finishing this up!
And thank you Zetta for that link, so cool that she was in part inspired by the Diary of Anne Frank and that her main characters are GLBT but superheroes (to me anoyne who saves the world deserves that term) first.