Black Country Music, Māori Poetry, and Mariachi Boo Things
Plus: short stories and a story of freedom in 1800s Philly
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When you have a moment, make sure to check out the latest winner of the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the best nonfiction of 2024 so far (I know), and this article on Read With Jenna, Jenna Bush Hager’s book club.
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For today’s new books, there’s a writer’s love story, a queer romance and ode to Mexican culture, New Zealander poetry, and more.
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Yulin Kuang wrote the screenplay for the adaptation of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and directed the upcoming Beach Read adaptation. Suffice it to say, she’s knee-deep in her contemporary romance bag. Here, she gets a little meta with the story of Helen Zhang, a bestselling author who’s earned the position of writer for an adaptation of a popular YA novel. Everything is going well until she finds out Grant is a screenwriter on the show as well. Now, the two will have to confront the horrible accident that connected them 13 years ago, even as they’re reminded of why they liked each other in the first place.
Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa
In this contemporary YA romance, we meet high schooler Rafael Alvarez at his lowest point. His grandfather just passed away, and he still has to lead his school’s mariachi band in a big competition. They win first place — and he makes out with a cute guy at a party to relieve some stress — but a few months later, Rafie is forced to move with his family to a whole different city, which means leaving his band behind. He just knows that because of his track record as mariachi lead, he’ll be assigned the lead of his new school’s mariachi band — except he isn’t. Instead, the lead is none other than the cute trans boy he made out with months ago. Rafie’s ego sees to it that the hottest of rivalries develops between the two boys, but they will have to find a way to work together if they’re to win any competitions. Let me just say that this had some legit funny moments, and what I felt like were some pretty realistic characters.
Rangikura: Poems by Tayi Tibble
Tibble’s newest collection wrestles with colonization and exploitation, vulnerability, and loss. With a unique and fresh perspective, she looks at the damage done to her Māori community, just as she looks at pop culture, politics, and beauty.
All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore
It’s 1837 when Charlotte escapes from the dilapidated White Oaks plantation and finds what she hopes to be freedom in Philadelphia. But the new city holds its own threats, and she’s forced to act as a servant to her white-passing father, locked away in a house, lest the slave catchers find them both. When she meets Nell, a young abolitionist from one of the city’s wealthiest Black families, it feels like a cure to her isolation. But, as the two work together to free Evie, Charlotte’s friend from the old plantation, they realize that to save her, they’ll both have to risk their own freedom.
My Black Country by Alice Randall
Award-winning professor and songwriter Alice Randall documents her search for thee Black family of country music in My Black Country. Throughout her life, country music was a consistent source of inspiration, even bringing her closer to her activist mother. And, she’s made her own mark on the genre by becoming the first Black woman to cowrite a country song that went number one (“XXX’s and OOO’s”). With this memoir, which mixes personal and collective music history, Randall highlights artists like DeFord Bailey, Lil Hardin, Ray Charles, Charley Pride, and others who fostered a community of beautiful music and authentic uniqueness. I actually included this as a pick in my roundup of books that match the songs of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter for our Deep Dive newsletter (which can be read with a membership).
More BIPOC Releases
I’ll Give You a Reason by Annell López (Short Stories)
Bones Worth Breaking by David Martínez (Memoir)
Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier (YA, Fantasy, Mythology)
And Then There Was Us by Kern Carter (YA Contemporary)
The Smoke That Thunders by Erhu Kome (YA, Fantasy, Mythology)
Against the Darkness (In Every Generation #3) by Kandare Blake (YA, Fantasy, Paranormal)
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
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-E
I’m always interested in new fiction and book award winners. Also, books that I can suggest for my book club! Love your newsletter💜