“We Are All So Good at Smiling” Shows That Depression Doesn’t Have To Kill Your Magic

by | Mar 21, 2023 | Book Review, Identity, Racism, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

"We Are All So Good at Smiling" Shows That Depression Doesn't Have To Kill Your Magic

Following her 2021 debut novel in verse, Me (Moth), Amber McBride returns with her 2023 sequel novel, We Are All So Good at Smiling.

It stars Whimsy, a Black hoodoo conjurer girl with clinical depression who also loves fairy tales. Many years ago, she was touched by Sorrow when her brother Cole disappeared in a magic forest, and she vowed never to enter it again. 

One day, Whimsy meets Faerry, a Black fae boy who shares struggles and fears similar to Whimsy’s. As the two of them get to know each other, they discover that the forest and Sorrow that haunt them both must be faced head-on.

As a novel in verse, one of the things that this book does well is address the sensitive topics of depression, self-harm, and suicide in a lyrical and authentic way. This is partly due to the book’s having been inspired by the author’s own experiences with clinical depression, but it also builds on the theme of recovery first featured in Me (Moth). 

One of the best lines from this book reads, “We need to remember that a mind is still a mind / floating like a newborn cloud / or bird wings drowning in hardened chocolate… / People always forget / that a rough day, a bad year / doesn’t equal a bad life.” There are similar lines from the book that evoke not only the rawness of depression but also the tentative hope of healing.

Another notable feature of this book is how depression is metaphorically represented through a wide variety of fairy tales and folklore, ranging from Hansel and Gretel to Anansi. A personal favorite use of folklore is Mami Wata, the West African water spirit associated with fertility and life. I’ve seen one or two different interpretations of Mami Wata in a modern lens through literature and art, but McBride’s take on her is particularly poignant and empowering. 

Not only is the use of folklore and fairy tales skillfully done, but it takes the reader on a harrowing and epic adventure that makes Whimsy and Faerry the heroes of their own fairy tales. Both Whimsy and Faerry are wonderfully magical and flawed characters who show how depression varies depending on the person. For instance, Faerry puts up a happy-go-lucky front, whereas Whimsy is blunt and sullen. 

Both Whimsy and Faerry occasionally put on a mask of fake smiles to appease their families, who are dismissive and unaware of how much they are hurting. This is where the book’s title comes from, and it serves to highlight how stigmatized mental health is among the Black community. One line of dialogue said by Faerry’s dad also demonstrates this: “You have pills, you have therapy, get it together. Black boys don’t get to be sad and feel their feelings.”

Given how much is going on in this book, the story moves at a brisk pace, which isn’t a bad thing. It doesn’t waste time focusing too much on school life or romance, allowing the characters and story to shine in a satisfying manner.

Every fairy tale or folktale usually has a moral, and We Are All So Good at Smiling is no exception. For those with depression who have always wanted to be magical, this book shows that depression doesn’t have to stop you. You can rewrite your story and own your power, because you are so much more than your trauma. This is the book that I needed when I was younger, and now a new generation can experience this tale of mental health, magic, and recovery.

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.

Most Anticipated 2023 Reads

by | Jan 24, 2023 | Book Review, Identity, LGBTQIA+, Music, Poetry, Popular Culture, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

Most Anticipated 2023 Reads

2023 promises some fantastic YA reads by Black authors.

One of my most anticipated favorites comes from promising author Amber McBride, while another book has been on my TBR for ages.

With life being what it is, I can’t promise that I will get to all of these books. Nonetheless, I will do my best to write about 2023 Black YA reads, as well as some older books that I have been meaning to get to. Without further ado, here are my most anticipated Black YA reads for 2023. 

We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

This is a book I heard about through the Twitter grapevine last year. The premise alone had me sold—a novel in verse telling the story of a Black hoodoo-practicing, fairy-tale-loving girl named Whimsy as she navigates clinical depression and a mysterious garden from her past. However, my anticipation for this book increased once I read the author’s previous book, Me, Moth (briefly reviewed here), which featured clinical depression from a different perspective.

 

 

 

Cool. Awkward. Black., edited by Karen Strong

This YA short story anthology is dedicated to Black nerds and features all sorts of subgenres, such as fantasy, sci-fi, and slice-of-life. I found out about this anthology on Twitter the same day We Are All So Good at Smiling was released. Having been a Black teen nerd turned Black nerdy adult, this anthology is totally up my alley.

 

 

 

 

As You Walk on By by Julian Winters 

Y’all know that I have been a Julian Winters fan from the moment he debuted with the book How To Be Remy Cameron (reviewed here). Imagine my surprise when I found out on Twitter that he has a new book coming out this year. Described as “The Breakfast Club meets Can’t Hardly Wait,” the book tells the story of seventeen-year-old Theo Wright as he seeks refuge in an empty bedroom during a house party following a promposal gone wrong. While there, he meets other teens who are also avoiding the party and learns he is not as alone in his troubles as he thinks.

 

 

Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk

I will read almost any author if they do a novel-in-verse, and Ashley Woodfolk is no exception. Of course, it helps that I enjoyed one of her previous books, The Beauty That Remains (review here). This particular book came out last year, but I still want to try and get it if the publisher ever decides to support the worker’s union. Described as “an impassioned standalone tale of queer love, grief, and the complexity of female friendship,” the book tells the story of two girls troubled by a tumultuous history. 

 

 

 

Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley

This book has been on my TBR for so long. I bought it after I saw a Twitter post describing it as “Pacific Rim meets Sailor Moon.” Part of the official synopsis is as follows:

Phantoms, massive beasts of nightmare, began terrorizing the world. At the same time, four girls—the Effigies—appeared, each with a unique power to control a classical element. Since then, they have protected the world from the Phantoms. At the death of one Effigy, another is chosen, pulled from her normal life into the never-ending battle.

When Maia unexpectedly becomes the next Fire Effigy, she resists her new calling. A quiet girl with few friends and almost no family, she was much happier to admire the Effigies from afar. Never did she imagine having to master her ability to control fire, to protect innocent citizens from the Phantoms, or to try bringing together the other three Effigies.

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.

Best Books to Give Black Readers This Holiday Season, 2022

by | Dec 6, 2022 | Book Review, Identity, LGBTQIA+, Music, Poetry, Popular Culture, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

Best Books to Give Black Readers This Holiday Season, 2022

The year has been long and frightful, but the books I’ve read have been delightful.

I was especially surprised to enjoy books that I didn’t review for this column but enjoyed on my own time. I also can’t ignore the enchanting books that I have reviewed or written about, because they made my sporadic posts this year. At the same time, there are also promising books that I haven’t read but still want to promote.

Without further delay, here are the books I recommend to give as gifts to yourself or to your loved ones this holiday season.

 

All Signs Point To Yes: A Love Story For Every Star Sign by Cam Montgomery, g. haron davis, and Adrianne White

Released during summer 2022, this is a multicultural YA anthology inspired by love and astrology. A haunted Aquarius finds love behind the veil. An ambitious Aries will do anything to stay in the spotlight. A foodie Taurus discovers the best eats in town (with a side of romance). A witchy Cancer stumbles into a curious meet-cute.

Whether it’s romantic, platonic, familial, or something else you can’t quite define, love is the thing that connects us. All Signs Point to Yes will take you on a journey from your own backyard to the world beyond the living as it settles us among the stars for thirteen stories of love and life. These stories will touch your heart, speak to your soul, and have you reaching for your horoscope forevermore.

 

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Speaking of stars, this YA dystopian sci-fi book was one of my favorite reads this year. Two years after aliens known as the IIori invaded Earth and decimated a third of the population, a seventeen-year-old girl named Ellie Baker lives in an IIori-controlled center in New York City.

Although she is reduced to a state of surviving rather than living, she also quietly rebels against the IIori by hosting an illegal library of books. When her library is discovered by Morris, an IIori commander who loves banned pop music, the two gradually learn to trust each other and turn their mutual quiet rebellions into a louder one.

(full review)

 

 

Star Lion: Thieves of Red Night by Leon Langford 

When you combine anime-inspired artwork with superhero schools, you get this fun book. Ten years ago, several of these superheroes gave their lives to stop the disastrous events of the Green Night. In the aftermath, a new generation of heroes are trying to do their part to fill the space left behind. One of them is Jordan Harris, a young Black boy with the power to manipulate gravitons. 

When he is arrested one night while doing vigilante work, he must go undercover at the superhero training academy Fort Olympus. While there, he discovers a world-threatening conspiracy that forces Jordan to work together in a team to save the day.

(full review)

 

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

This powerful memoir-manifesto chronicles the author’s Black gay coming-of-age from his childhood to his teen and college years. It is a book about not only identity, but also family and community. This book had an unexpected personal impact on me as a thirty-one-year-old Black non-binary queer person, but I definitely could’ve used this book when I was a teen.

 

 

 

 

Right Where I Left You by Julian Winters

This queer and geeky YA read replaced Winters’s previous book as one of my favorite comfort reads. In fact, I called this book “the perfect summer vacation” in my review. It tells the story of Isaac Martin, an Afro-Mexican gay comic book geek who has been looking forward to spending one last summer with his best friend, Diego Santoyo.

The two of them were supposed to be attending Legends Con, the biggest pop culture convention in Georgia. When Isaac misses his chance to buy passes, he ends up gradually getting closer to his crush, Davi, and getting to know Diego’s gamer friends instead. However, as the day of the biggest teen Pride event approaches, Isaac finds himself drifting farther apart from his best friend.

(full review)

 

 

Me, Moth by Amber McBride 

Full disclosure: I’m still in the middle of reading this book. However, I am enjoying it too much not to recommend it.

This is a 2021 novel-in-verse about a young hoodoo-practicing, dance-loving Black girl named Moth and a Navajo boy named Sani. It is so lyrical, gorgeous, emotional, and nothing like any novel-in-verse I’ve read before. 

After losing her family in an accident, Moth goes to live with her aunt, but she still feels alone. Soon she meets Sani, a boy with depression who is trying to figure out where he comes from. Together, the two of them take a road trip in order to find themselves and understand how each of their families’ histories shapes who they are now.

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.

“Girl Vs the World” Shows a Black Autistic Girl Surviving and Thriving

by | Nov 9, 2022 | Book Review, Identity, Racism, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

"Girl Vs the World" Shows a Black Autistic Girl Surviving and Thriving

Kyla Alleyne’s Girl Vs the World begins with a sixteen-year-old Black girl named Lucy getting diagnosed with Asperger’s, a form of autism.

Not long after, Lucy transfers to a new school and must adjust to the change. From there, Lucy must navigate new friends, some bullying, her first crush, and an unexpected family development as she experiences her final year of high school.

One of the best parts of this book, while somewhat flawed, was Lucy, the protagonist. She is likable enough; she’s kind, friendly, and dreams of going to culinary arts school. She cooks a lot for her family and friends, and it was nice to see the kinds of foods she makes as the book develops. Sometimes, she is a little too perfect. Although she experiences hardship, she maneuvers through it easily, which can make it hard for readers who want a deeper character arc to connect to her.

In fact, the lack of conflict with Lucy extends to almost every character in the book. When Lucy befriends Becca and Ashley at her new school, I had expected them to bully her because they were popular and rich. Instead, they are friendly to Lucy right away. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and can be considered a pleasant subversion of the “mean girl” trope common in young adult books. It would’ve been interesting, however, for them to have a deeper friendship beyond Lucy confiding in them and Lucy baking for them, especially since Becca and Ashley seem to be neurotypical and Lucy isn’t. If Becca and Ashley had a conversation or two about Lucy’s Asperger’s that was supportive, or if they had joined Lucy in her baking, their friendship would’ve been more emotional and effective for the reader.

There is better characterization of Lucy’s love interest, Alex; Lucy’s dad, Nathan; and a minor character, Lucy’s counselor, Mrs. Barlowe. Lucy is friends with Alex before they start dating, though the reader doesn’t know much about him other than that he is a blond star athlete. As time passes, he is shown to be a bit judgmental of others and has some issues communicating honestly with Lucy. At one point, he calls a girl who Lucy befriends “weird,” and I wondered why he didn’t consider Lucy weird for her Asperger’s. It’s unclear whether she ever tells him about it, which I found strange, since she told her friends.

As for Lucy’s dad, he is a great father who is supportive of his daughter’s dreams and receptive to her feelings. One highlight of their bond is when Lucy’s mom gets angry at Lucy for telling her friends about her Asperger’s diagnosis and her dad listens to Lucy without invalidating her feelings or her mom’s concerns. While the pacing of an unexpected development with Lucy’s dad could’ve had better pacing, it resonated with me emotionally.

Lucy’s counselor, finally, provides guidance in a way that doesn’t discredit Lucy’s experiences and make her Asperger’s seem like something unnatural. Given how some people try to “cure” autistic people, this was really affirming to see as a neurodivergent person. In her first session, Lucy tells Ms. Barlowe about a party she wants to attend, and Ms. Barlowe advises her, “Don’t let anyone force you to do anything you don’t want to. If you don’t feel safe, you can leave.”

The characterization of Lucy and the other characters could’ve been stronger is if there were more showing and less telling. At many moments, I felt I was reading a summary of what happened to Lucy instead of experiencing what was happening to her. This might make it hard for some readers to emotionally connect to Lucy.

All in all, this was a quick and mostly sweet read. It fits well alongside Jaire Sims’s Getting By, another book with a Black autistic teen protagonist. While the character development and pacing could’ve been stronger, this story was pleasant in that it showed a Black autistic girl enjoying her life while enduring tough times. If you liked Getting By, then you’ll feel right at home with this book.

Girl Vs the World was released October 6, 2022.

 

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.

“The Sound of Stars” Shows the Power of Art in Dark Times

by | Aug 18, 2022 | Book Review, Identity, Racism, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

"The Sound of Stars" Shows the Power of Art in Dark Times

Two years after aliens known as the IIori invaded Earth and decimated a third of the population, a seventeen-year-old girl named Ellie Baker lives in an IIori-controlled center in New York City.

Although she is reduced to a state of surviving rather than living, she also quietly rebels against the IIori by hosting an illegal library of books. When her library is discovered by Morris, an IIori commander who loves banned pop music, the two gradually learn to trust each other and turn their mutual quiet rebellions into a louder one.

One of the strengths of this book is its compelling cast of characters. The main human protagonist, Elle Baker, is a Black bi demisexual with anxiety. She also loves books. Though she is very tired of the world that the IIori has forced her and her loved ones to live in, she is resilient, too. Before she meets Morris, the Ilori commander who is the book’s second protagonist, she is only surviving for the sake of her family and the chance to give people strength by loaning books from her illegal library.

Despite being a different species from Elle, Morris is also surviving more than living. Though he shares the DNA of the highest-born family in the IIori Empire and physically resembles a Latinx teen boy, he is treated badly due to being a lab-made IIori rather than a natural-born IIlori. He is also different from true IIori in that he feels emotions in a way similar to humans, has a strong appreciation of music from human music artists, and considers life to be sacred. Yet Morris is complicit in the destruction and subjugation of the human race, having following orders to maintain his own survival. There is also more to his role than initially meets the eye, a quiet rebellion similar to Elle’s that I can’t explain for spoiler reasons.

Not only does the book let the reader get to know Elle and Morris by alternating between each of their points of view, but Elle and Morris are also shaped by their experiences with certain secondary characters. Before and after the alien invasion occurred, Elle and her family had to deal with racism in their everyday lives from some white people who felt they were a threat. Mr. Hughes, landlord of the building that Elle and her family live in, is one example. To make matters worse, Elle’s mom is an alcoholic, while Elle’s dad is a shell of his former self after having been given the IIori vaccine that makes people obedient to them. Elle’s best friend is Alice, a blonde bi girl who was Elle’s first crush. Though Alice is loyal and a good listener, I wish Elle had been shown with Black girl friends, too.

Morris, on the other hand, has only his personal assistant, Avirola, as a loyal companion. His parents are far away, and his brother, Brixton, is loyal to the high-born IIori. Morris is engaged to Orsa, a cruel and vicious female IIori who he was arranged to marry and does not love at all. When asked by Elle why he loves music, he replies, “Music makes me feel. I like feeling.” For Morris, music is the only way he can feel like himself and not like someone unwanted.

Although Elle and Morris have their own artistic tastes, they gradually bond over music and stories. This is a poignant way for them to connect considering that all artistic forms of human expression are banned by the IIori. In addition to enjoying music and books from real-life authors and music artists, there is a fictional pop group known as The Starry-Eyed that the two gush over. The group’s thoughts and lyrics are featured throughout the book to give depth to Elle and Morris’ relationship and exemplify the importance of people using art to relate to each other.

In addition excellent characterization, Alechia Dow’s The Sound of Stars is a page-turner due to how it balances the bleakness of a postapocalyptic alien invasion with the hope of people connecting with each other through art. This is very true to life, because despite an ongoing pandemic, acts of racist violence, and the banning of books written by marginalized groups, people have still found strength and joy in books and music. The hope and despair that Elle and Morris feel is expressed in many quotable lines of dialogue such as, “If someone keeps stripping away our things, rights, freedoms, then we’ll hold on to what we know. That’s what we’ve always done.”

In fact, aside from Elle’s not having more Black friends, the only issue that I had with this book is that it ends on a cliffhanger. Although I didn’t go into the book expecting everything to be resolved at the end, finally reaching the ending made me want to read more.

All in all, The Sound of Stars is a beautiful book that shows the power of art in dark times.

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.

“Mental Health High” Is a Complicated Read with a Messy Protagonist

by | Jul 19, 2022 | Book Review, childhood, Identity, Popular Culture, Racism, Reading, Representation, The Afro YA

"Mental Health High" Is a Complicated Read with a Messy Protagonist

After receiving a pink slip to attend summer school, Krissa Mia Williams gets abducted and taken to a mental health facility where everyone has special abilities. After Krissa receives her diagnosis, she believes she is a monster until she gets the opportunity to prove herself.

One of the most notable aspects of D. N. Kris’s Mental Health High is how it shows the messier parts of mental health issues, especially for mental health diagnoses that aren’t widely talked about. At a certain point in the book, it is revealed that Krissa has a personality disorder that some people associate with abusive adults.

Yet Krissa is a teenager who comes off as angry, whiny, and selfish, and people write her off with their own preconceived notions even before she gets her diagnosis. Her family thinks she is a lazy rebel, while Roy, her initial guide to Mental Health High, thinks she’s stuck up. It is also mentioned that an unspecified childhood trauma resulted in her personality disorder. While Krissa may come off as unlikeable to some, her character and certain aspects of the plot show that other people’s low expectations of others can be just as damaging as more overt forms of trauma.

Another memorable feature of this book is its format. Novels in verse allow for a more poetic narrative, and this book is no exception. Certain lines display the author’s spoken word roots, such as these: “All alone / The tears finally break through / knowing my life sucks / nobody gives a fuck / and the contemptible family I was born into is just / my luck.”

Mental Health High blends poetry with urban fantasy themes, which is something I haven’t seen done before. Although the urban fantasy themes are rougher than the heartwarming feel-good magic school of other books, this doesn’t make this book unworthy of reading. With a little more development, the fantastical aspects of the book would have been even better.

One of the flaws of the book is that there are several things that go unexplained and are presented as if the reader should just go with the flow. The character Roy, for example, never formally introduces himself, and seeing Krissa suddenly mention his name despite never meeting him beforehand was confusing. There is also the fact that it is never really shown how the kids who attend Mental Health High get their special abilities, though there is an explanation of how “guiding” allows them to use mental illness as a literal power. Finally, a rival “school” that appears halfway through the book is a sinister version of Mental Health High, but we only get bare bones information about it and its goals.

Another issue of this book is the lack of female characters other than Krissa. There is one female supporting character who is an antagonist, but she is also a character who embodies the “mentally ill violent person” stereotype. Given that mental health issues are stigmatized among Black women and other women of color, it would have been nice to see Krissa bond with another Black girl with mental health issues instead of only commiserating with mentally ill male characters.

If this book had a sequel and maybe became a series, then subsequent books could address the flaws of this book and give Krissa a fuller character arc. Krissa could become more sympathetic and powerful, the supporting cast could be expanded, and this book’s unresolved plot points could be tied up. While this book does have its highlights, the lack of information and uninspired cast of characters other than the main protagonist made it a somewhat tedious read.

At the same time, this book is worth reading for Krissa alone. Krissa isn’t a quirky fun manic pixie dream girl with mental health issues — she’s bitter, tired, and angry. Krissa is basically what happens when you’re so used to hearing you’re a crappy person that you become a crappy person. Yet by the end of the book, she’s learned that even she has the potential to do the right thing. She’s not trying to be a hero, but to keep others from suffering like she has. She represents the messiness of mental health acceptance — someone who isn’t likable, but who still deserves to be given a chance to heal.

All in all, D. N. Kris’s Mental Health High is perfect for those who want a more complicated depiction of mental health issues. If you’re tired of the tormented and likable mental health lead, then give this book a try.

The Afro YA promotes black young adult authors and YA books with black characters, especially those that influence Pennington, an aspiring YA author who believes that black YA readers need diverse books, creators, and stories so that they don’t have to search for their experiences like she did.

Latonya Pennington is a poet and freelance pop culture critic. Their freelance work can also be found at PRIDE, Wear Your Voice magazine, and Black Sci-fi. As a poet, they have been published in Fiyah Lit magazine, Scribes of Nyota, and Argot magazine among others.