August 18, 2021
This is second book of the series. At this point, I’ve been introduced to all of the heroes (to my knowledge). I actually rated this book 3.75 but there is no such rating system in good reads.

I enjoyed this book but enjoyed the first one a little better. I think I wanted more of Nico in the book. This book felt more geared to the thoughts and feelings of Percy Jackson versus the other heroes that he was with. I like Percy Jackson but I like him in company of Grover, Annabelle, and Tyson. Percy Jackson on his own is too savior like for me.

I am ready to see how the heroes will band together or if they will moving forward in the other books in the series.

John was really something else! I couldn’t imagine being in a marriage like this!

I loved this poems. They were soft and sweet and most importantly raw. The Black Lives Matter one paid homage to the women who started the movement. Mermaids was magical and powerful. Tsunami!!!! The last line has me shooooook!

I make magic is something I wish I could recite to the little ones in my family in a weekly basis.

Sooo listening to Blue Ivy narrate this was soooo freaking good! She is so talented and this story is sooooo good and discuses black fathers engaging in hair care.

Have you ever read a book where the title is super fitting to the characters and the plot!?!? Well that’s riot baby! These siblings…their magic and what they can do was unbelievable. I was drawn to their fear and willingness to use or not use their powers. Also this book in my opinion touches base on how medical professional treat black women and how power black women are!

I have been taking my time to read through Zora Neale Hurston's work. I find her work and her depiction of Black Folks during her lifetime to be very calming, frustrating, and reflective. Often times, her work makes me feel like I am connecting with relics of the past and convening with my ancestors. I guess that's a gift that she possessed because she was an anthropologist.

While reading Barracoon, I couldn't help but to weep for Cudjo. To have the knowledge of two worlds (Africa and the slave trade) was difficult to read. Also, how those worlds affected him in more ways that the pages could express. There were so many sayings that really touched me. Especially when he was talking about the death of someone close to him and that "when the earth eats it doesn't give back." As I sit here I keep thinking of that quote. As a person who is immersed in different indigenous ways of knowing, I challenge that statement and say, "yes mother earth gives back, mother earth is reciprocal." But if I was use the saying in the context of the text, once your dead body is in the ground, you don't come back. On the other hand, as a person who believes in spirits, I believe in souls and the soul is here rather unseen and/or in our memories.

As the interviews with Cudjo continued, I kept thinking "wow, Zora is really asking a lot of this man." She asked a lot of him, specifically in regards to him reliving the most broken pieces of himself. He told her some hard truths and repeatedly talked about how "lonely" he was and how "everyone left him." His entire journey put some many things in perspective for me. This book was an African slave to America testament of survival and sheer will.

I could have definitely used this book as a child.

It’s a beautiful thing when a child feel seen!