Pleasant Nights

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I love a good dystopian book, especially young adult ones. And this book was amazing. I absolutely loved it. It’s hard not to compare this to Squid Games, which is high praise from me. All the teen characters in this book are criminals, simply trying to survive.

Emerson’s family lives in poverty, but when she steals money to buy food, she is caught and given an opportunity. She can compete in a televised game, and the last person standing receives a cash prize and will avoid prison. But when the show begins, the teens realize those who lose are actually killed rather than imprisoned, as promised.

This book is outstanding. It is so tense, and I had no idea what to expect from one game to the next. Emerson is a good person, and you definitely root for her against the self-centered social media influencer characters. Definitely recommend this one.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Twins Arc and Daffy grow up in an unstable house full of drugs and sex work. As adults, they find themselves in the same struggles. They have friends, but their mother and aunt are barely around. Women begin to go missing and are found facedown in the local river.

This story draws from the real-life events in Chillicothe, Ohio, of six women whose murders are still unsolved. The women also struggled with addiction and didn’t have much value placed on their lives. However, the author has done an excellent job bringing their story to the forefront, even if this is a work of fiction. The book is dedicated to the six actual women who were murdered.

The story is beautifully written and full of scenes and words and phrases that still stick with me. Tragic and wonderful and captivating. Really enjoyed this one.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Excellent YA book about a Black teen who can hear what people need. Pencil, hanger, toothbrush, nail file, paper clip, etc. She carries a bag full of things to hand out to people to quiet the needs in her head. At a music festival, her friend Deja “needed” pepper spray, so Sariyah helped her out, not knowing that Deja would go missing that night.

Sariyah is beside herself with terror, wondering why Deja needed the spray, so she and her friends dig into Deja’s life to see what secrets she was keeping. Did those secrets lead to her kidnapping? Sariyah’s home life is also a bit tenuous. Her dad lives far away just to help pay the bills, her mom works nights, and her little brother has medical needs. Sariyah tries to keep both her friends and family together while also helping others with their needs.

I loved this book. Sariyah is an excellent character who just wants to help those around her. The book also delves into systemic invisibility. Why do missing white girls go viral and hit the national news when Black ones don’t? It’s a tough question that needs to be addressed, and this book does it so well.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Fun story about two teen boys and their dad who travel to a luxury resort on a recently discovered island. However, the island has many secrets. Femi and his brother, Dapo, haven’t been getting along lately, so when their father takes them with him on a business trip, their proximity forces them to speak to one another.

But while wandering around, Femi sees amazing new plants and animals and crazy technology, but he starts to realize that the island isn’t quite what it seems. The animals begin attacking and aren’t leaving any survivors. Femi realizes that one action he took to help someone created this mess.

Femi has to decide who he can trust, aside from Dapo and his father, to help them out of the situation. This was a fun book. Not too gory but with just enough danger.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I love reading about internet sleuths. The dedication these people have is inspiring. This wonderful book captures a few of these people in short vignettes. Each person had their own motivation for their investigation, but the one thing they all have in common is persistence.

Each story follows either a person or an investigation, ranging from parents who are looking to bring justice to their child’s murder to groups of people on social media who work together to uncover the identity of a victim. Each story was fascinating in how the people utilized the internet to uncover the truth. Some people spend hours a day, every day, for years to provide a name to an unidentified person.

This book is inspiring because these people never do it for the publicity. It’s such a passion for them that they even shy away from the media. They just want to do right in the world. Excellently researched. Great read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

There is something magical and mellifluous about Wilkerson’s writing. First with Black Cake and now with Good Dirt. This book is about Black people, their statuses in society, family histories, and love and loss. We meet Ebby and her brother Baz in the beginning, and their stories unfold through the book.

Throughout their childhood, Ebby and Baz are taught the history of Old Mo, the jar that has been in their family’s lives for generations. Made by an enslaved man, it has been in the family homes since the 1800s. When a tragedy takes both Baz and breaks the jar, the family must figure out how to live without them both.

As an adult, Ebby still struggles with the losses. But through various travels, Ebby begins to see who she is without them both. The jar was just as much a member of the family as her brother was, and losing them was catastrophic. This story was beautiful, full of love and joy and loss. Cannot recommend this one enough.