Holler, Child by Latoya Watkins (A Book Review)

Eleven powerfully rich stories are the building blocks that compile this masterpiece.

In “Cutting Horse”, a story set against the backdrop of the recent police killings towards black citizens, introduces us to a former drug dealer/ horse breeder who gave up life as he knew it for his college educated wife. Although, he got a piece of the American dream for himself and his family as a homeowner in a HOA community, his free spirit is chained and stifled. When a horse breaks loose and stumbles onto his property, he and the horse connect, and he is reminded of the inner freedom he tucked away so long ago.

Highlighted quote: “Black boys need two things, a man to help form them and something they could look away to.”

In “Sweat”, a woman’s resentment of her husband’s existence grew to epic proportions one evening.

Highlighted quote: “He always choosing the wrong damn thing”.

In “Everything’s Fine”, a young pastor openly expresses his displeasure in his wife’s downward spiral. He ends his diatribe of disappointment in her by entertaining thoughts of a separation. She in turn blames him for ruining her life. She blames her biological daughter for her sudden hate of children. All this juxtaposed with the outward display of her seemingly gracious service of being a foster mother. She silently seeks retribution in the most sinister way.

Highlighted quote: “God make folks just the way he want them.”

Highlighted quote: “Makeup couldn’t cover the ruin of her life.”

This collection of stories blew me away. I often had to sit in a reflective state after reading. Judgement is turned inside out as the characters present the depths of their reality. Watkins knows how to get to the heart of a matter and arrest the reader and make us invested in what is being shared.

Watkins is a fearless writer who reached down in the crevices of the human experience to extract choices, pain, regret, sorrow, and trauma and fine-tuned it to create literary gold.

I am in awe of her stories and looking forward to reading more from her. She is a force to be reckoned with in the literary world for sure. Now, I must back track and check out her debut novel, Perish.

Rating: 10/10

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (A Book Review)

Daunis Fontaine feels like an outcast amongst her Native American community due to her mixed heritage and extremely pale skin.

She’s 18 and about to start her life’s journey by way of college. She meets an attractive young man named Jaime, who is a player on her brother Levi’s hockey team.  Two tragedies occur within her inner circle of family and friends that changes her path. She initially puts college on hold to face these personal setbacks in her life. Both tragedies brings Daunis  into an FBI investigation.

Jaime Johnson, a mysterious teenager who blows into town with his Uncle Ron, is not who he appears to be. He takes center stage in Daunis’ orbit. It’s a laborious yet delicate investigation for Daunis. She discovers so much hidden information in the investigation. This journey results in shocking discoveries that Daunis must face head on.

This book moved at an extremely slow pace for me. It did nothing to hold my interest. There were a lot of details in the book that I had difficulty understanding, like the Native American expressions. As a result I found myself lost when I came up on those in the book. This was especially disappointing because I knew the importance of that and was eager to learn.

I really wanted to connect to this story but was unable to. I do however, respect the tireless labor of love ( it took ten years) this author put in to tell this story and represent her culture. That is a huge feat and is to be appreciated. Unfortunately, it didn’t connect for me.

Rating: 6/10