Month: May 2021

Tempests Shout the Dual Moons’ Presence: A Review of Son of the Storm (Book Tour)

by cephalopodiatry, posted in Books
Tour banner for the Nameless Republic Tour. At the top, it reads, "Son of the Storm" in bold white serif font. Underneath, it says, "By Suyi Dacies Okungbowa." The text is on a blue background. The top of the face of the person on the cover is in view.

Hey there, traveler!

What happens when ambition meets fate — when disparate paths intertwine and intersect so intricately that those who trace it come to realize that the path never branched off; it was always one winding road to begin with? Lives connect in trembling, shocking ways. Intentions become clear when the night falls. 

Welcome, dear traveler, to Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, a novel released on May 11, 2021, that stunned me as I completed it on a stormy night, crying out towards the final page as each thread of the plot converged into a complex point.  

I am honored and pleased to be part of the Nameless Republic Book Tour, hosted by Caffeine Book Tours! Ginormous thanks to Caffeine Book Tours and Son of the Storm’s publisher, Orbit Books, for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of the novel for my participation in this tour.

Feel free to peruse the launch post for the book tour here!

SYNOPSIS:

A young scholar’s ambition threatens to reshape an empire determined to retain its might in this epic tale of violent conquest, buried histories, and forbidden magic.

In the thriving city of Bassa, Danso is a clever but disillusioned scholar who longs for a life beyond the rigid family and political obligations expected of the city’s elite. A way out presents itself when Lilong, a skin-changing warrior, shows up wounded in his barn. She comes from the Nameless Islands–which, according to Bassa lore, don’t exist–and neither should the mythical magic of ibor she wields. Now swept into a conspiracy far beyond his understanding, Danso will have to set out on a journey that reveals histories violently suppressed and magic only found in lore.

Goodreads | Book Depository | IndieBound | Amazon

On-page Representation:

  • African/Black
  • Albinism
  • Disability
  • Nonbinary
  • Pan/polysexual

Content Warnings:

  • Ageism
  • Bones
  • Colorism/discrimination
  • Emotionally manipulative relationship
  • Fire
  • Misogyny
  • Pain
  • Pregnancy and miscarriage/abortion
  • Violence, blood and murder

tl;dr: Do I recommend this book?

MY RATING: ★★★★★

Traveler. This book is made of pure magic. 

We shall analyze it, spoiler-free, together!

Continue reading “Tempests Shout the Dual Moons’ Presence: A Review of Son of the Storm (Book Tour)” →

Wells That Draw Water: A Review of Transcendent Kingdom

by cephalopodiatry, posted in Books

Hello there, traveler! Happy Belated Mother’s Day! 💜

To all the moms and parents out there, thank you for your loveliness. Shout out to eldest siblings, aunts, grandparents, and guardians. And to everyone who isn’t with a loved one today, or haven’t had much to celebrate lately, here’s a colossal hug. 🤗 You deserve the world.

Let’s talk about one of my recent reads, Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, a short, surprising read about family life, immigrant experiences, religion alignments, and mental health that I absolutely adored.

The cover for Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.

SYNOPSIS:

Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.

But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family’s loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive. Transcendent Kingdom is a deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief — a novel about faith, science, religion, love. 

Goodreads | Book Depository | IndieBound

Rep:

  • Ghananaian cast, protagonist, and author
  • Bisexual main character
  • Depression
  • Mental health representation
  • Religious representation (Christianity)
  • BIPOC characters

Content Warnings:

  • Death
  • Depression
  • Drug abuse
  • Overdose
  • Parental neglect
  • Racial slurs
  • Racism
  • Suicidal ideation

tl;dr: Do I recommend this book?

"Yes," written in bold, black text.

MY RATING: ★★★★★

“We read the Bible how we want to read it. It doesn’t change, but we do.”

I read this book for a school assignment — to analyze, dissect, and interpret as required by my English teacher (who is amazing, by the way) and her Google-Doc dissertation prompt. I had no idea how profoundly Transcendent Kingdom would affect me.

Continue reading “Wells That Draw Water: A Review of Transcendent Kingdom” →