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A New York Tate of Mind
A New York Tate of Mind
In which this reader and explorer reviews books, muses on literary (and other) matters, and shares some of her adventures.

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My 1-5 rating system:
1 = I did not like it and would not recommend it.
2= It was fine. Read it if the subject matter interests you.
3 = I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
4 = I really liked it, and think you should read it!
5 = One of the best books I've read.
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Review: Kaikeyi
3/5 stars Kaikeyi, by Vaishnavi Patel (2022) In the Indian epic story, The Ramayana, Queen Kaikeyi is the villain. She is the third wife...
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Apr 18, 20232 min read


Review: Our Missing Hearts
3/5 stars Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng (2022) This book is set in a dystopian version of the US that pulls from many real-life...
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Apr 9, 20233 min read


Review: Black Cake
2/5 stars Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022) Very sad to be giving this 2 stars. It started out so well! A 5-star beginning, that...
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Mar 19, 20232 min read


Review: How High the Moon
3/5 stars How High the Moon, by Karyn Parsons (2019) It's 1943 and young Ella lives in South Carolina with her grandparents, and her...
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Sep 5, 20222 min read


Review: Patron Saints of Nothing
3/5 stars Patron Saints of Nothing, by Randy Ribay (2019) I liked this book as a YA novel - decent plot, relatable teenage characters,...
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Aug 16, 20222 min read


Review: What Strange Paradise
5/5 stars What Strange Paradise, by Omar El Akkad (2021) Beautiful and haunting and cinematic. The narrative follows Amir Utu, a 9-year...
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Jul 7, 20222 min read


Review: Clap When You Land
5/5 stars Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo (2020) Sixteen year old Camino Rios has grown up in the Dominican Republic (DR) with...
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Jul 1, 20221 min read


Review: What's Mine and Yours
3/5 stars What's Mine and Yours, by Naima Coster (2021) I enjoyed this story, though I don't think it's going to stick with me. It was a...
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May 24, 20222 min read


Review: The Other Black Girl
1/5 stars The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris (2021) Y I K E S. Huh. That was unexpected and not... umm... yeah, just not...
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Mar 20, 20223 min read


Review: Fifty Words for Rain
1/5 stars Fifty Words for Rain, by Asha Lemmie (2020) UGH. I'm so angry right now! Though it had it's flaws, I enjoyed this book... right...
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Feb 19, 20221 min read


Review: Redemptor
3/5 stars Redemptor (Raybearer Book #2), by Jordan Ifueko (2021) This is the second book in Ifueko's duology, and since I have a terrible...
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Feb 9, 20222 min read


Review: Call Us What We Carry
3/5 stars Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman (2021) Like everyone else, I was introduced to and blown away by Amanda Gorman when she...
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Jan 25, 20222 min read


Review: The Deep
5/5 stars The Deep, by Rivers Solomon (2019) Decades back, pregnant African slaves were thrown from slave ships into the ocean. Their...
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Dec 29, 20212 min read


Review: My Sister, the Serial Killer
4/5 stars My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018) I really enjoyed this dark, morbid, thriller/crime story - not...
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Dec 29, 20212 min read


Review: Pet
1/5 stars Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi (2019) UGH. I really didn't enjoy this book. I'm so confused by all the praise it has received (including...
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Dec 24, 20212 min read


Review: Firekeeper's Daughter
3/5 stars Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (2021) TW: grief, suicide, murder, drug addition, & rape Despite the heavy nature of...
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Dec 17, 20212 min read


Review: Tongues
4/5 stars Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language, edited by Eufemia Fantetti, Leonarda Carranza, & Ayelet Tsabari (2021) I...
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Dec 12, 20213 min read


In This Moment chapbooks
5/5 stars In This Moment: Revolution, Reckoning, Reparation, a chapbook series curated by Amanda Chestnut, coordinated by Jeanne...
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Nov 26, 20212 min read


Review: Mixed Feelings
4/5 stars Mixed feelings: Poems and Stories, by Avan Jogia (2019) This book may be slim, but it packs a punch, exploring the complicated...
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Nov 18, 20212 min read


Review: Where the Dead Sit Talking
2/5 stars Where the Dead Sit Talking, by Brandon Hobson (2018) TW: Drugs, suicide, sexual identity, violence against women This is a dark...
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Nov 17, 20212 min read

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