What an amazing life Eugene Bullard lived! This book is packed with so much history, and I learned a lot about how the American Legion started, about how Black Americans were treated in France vs in America, and about how crazy the times were between the two wars. There were also long lists of people who definitely deserve to be remembered for their bravery, like the pilots who located troops pinned down behind enemy lines and were able to limp home in a damaged plane and convey the details that saved so many even while they lost their own lives.

Honestly, my favorite parts were the years between the wars. Eugene must have been very charismatic and so talented to adapt and learn to ride horses, work on ships, box, manage boxers, fly planes, play the drums, manage night clubs, be fluent in multiple languages....the list goes on and on. You could definitely play six degrees of Eugene Bullard and make so many connections to people like Picasso, Langston Hughes, Bricktop and more. Having recently read Alice Randall's "Black Bottom Saints," I loved seeing a lot of the same characters in Eugene's circle.

Reading this is especially timely given the ongoing strike by Black creators on Tik Tok. Often I see people struggle to identify if something is cultural appropriation or appreciation, ie is it ok to wear moccasins or dress up like a character from Moana or Black Panther for Halloween. This book goes far more in-depth than that and examines many forms of cultural appropriation and how it impacts BIPOC whose culture is stolen (borrowed if you're being obtuse). The examples are mostly from pop culture--from Christina Aguilera to Kim Kardashian to Paula Dean to Kimberly "Sweet Brown" Wilkins--most of which I was at least somewhat familiar with, but this is still a great book even if you're not familiar with any of them.

Packed with information, this book is an examination of how racism has cobbled progress for this country and its citizens, both white and Black, since its inception. From unions to health care to schools to housing, I learned a lot about policy and how it was shaped, and I gained a better understanding of systematic racism and how it negatively affects white people as well as Black people. If only white people who support conservative Republican policies and politicians would read this book and realize how they are voting against their own best interest and see that when we all come together we all reap the benefits of progress.

A fun, quirky cross country adventure that made me ugly cry. I could easily see this being made into a movie, and Matthew McConaughey would probably do Rodeo justice.

4.5 stars

This is a book I wish I had earlier in the adoption process. There's little education provided to parents considering transracial adoption so I appreciate books like these and believe they should be required reading for all adoptive parents. What I like best about this book is that it's co-authored by a white adoptive mom and a Black woman. Unlike so many adoption books that are written by, for and center white adoptive parents who tend to just talk into an ignorant void and pat themselves on the back. I read those books in the beginning, but they are completely lacking in the education adoptive parents need.

Adoption books that cover transracial adoption tend to cover little ground: how to respond to rude questions about why your family doesn't match, how to care for Black hair and skin, and how you should have Black dolls and books in your home. Those three topics are just the tip of the iceberg, and this book hits hard on how important Black culture and identity are. That's the message white adoptive parents need to hear and listen to.

I only wish that they had included a transracial adoptee's voice since they are the true experts with lived experience. I also wish I'd had an e-version so that I could have highlighted some of the important messages shared.

If Stars Hollow was crime ridden, if Lorelei was the sheriff and not an inn manager, if Luke was slinging moonshine instead of coffee, if Sookie was a deputy sheriff instead of a chef....sound good? Then you'll love this book. It's a blend of comedy, mystery and romance with several layers of mysteries, some of which are solved within one book and some that carry through the series. Great summer read :)

This is a 4 star book, but I'm bumping it to 5 stars in an attempt to balance all the negative reviews. I'm not familiar with this author, but it sounds like she normally writes books very heavy on romance and sex. This book focuses on a Korean adoptee's journey meeting her birth family and embracing her birth culture with a side plot romance. It's still a romance, but apparently not what her fans were expecting. Although honestly, given the cover looking completely different from her other book covers, they should have had a clue.

As a white adoptive parent of a transracial adoptee, this book was great insight into how transracial adoptees struggle with their identity and with a connection to their birth families and cultures. The author, a Korean adoptee herself, covered a lot of the same struggles that transracial adoptees share. I really like that this is a fiction choice as most books about transracial adoptees are memoirs or nonfiction. Some reviews were annoyed by the angst and emotional rollercoaster, but I felt it was all appropriate given how Hara was hit over and over by new information that made her question everything she knew.

That ending though....I'm happy to hear there is a second book coming because there's a lot more left to explore. I want more for Yujun and Hara, who I thought had a really sweet romance, and I want to see how things shake out as Hara and her two families get to know each other. Also, I loved learning Korean culture and exploring Seoul alongside Hara and would love to learn more.

What an imaginative alternative history! This book looks at what could have happened if zombies rose during the Civil War. It was dark as you'd expect, but it was darker than a lot of YA. I kept picturing the scary-crazy Swede from 'Hell on Wheels.' My only dislike was the hint of a love triangle, in which an otherwise funny and smart Jane became a bit daft-headed.