Welcome to Litsy!

This was a short but powerful story about a young male realizing that he is gay but his conservative, strict Nigerian parents are not accepting. Niru struggles with his feelings & having no one to talk to. His older brother is in med school, he had a falling out with his best friend. He meets someone but he‘s so paralyzed by his parents overbearing pressure to be perfect & not be gay that he really struggles. The writing is beautiful even dealing

February #bookspinbingo board, I started reading the tagged book & halfway done. #Bookspin book is The Hate U Give & my #doublespin book is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Looking forward to some interesting reads this month for #blackhistorymonth

Excellent, vivid writing by Uzodinma Iweala in this slim but memorable novel. It's a powerful coming of age story that explores topics of sexual identity, homophobia, immigration, and racial injustice.

Heartbreaking read.

(I loved the use of the Nigerian-English "You tried" which reminds me of kind people listening to my doomed attempts at learning a new language.)

I saw in another review someone comparing this to The Hate U Give and while there is some similarities... this was mostly about Niru, a Nigerian American boy coming to terms with his sexuality. The sections in his POV were tense and heartbreaking. And then Meredith 😠 mostly, this book was about suffering, lots of different kinds and I'm really sad now, so excuse me.

I finished Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala last night. I didn‘t know anything about the story going into it and I was totally blown away. Now I notice the blurb on the front cover, “Iweala is a writer so adept that the book‘s climax feels both surprising and wholly inevitable.”
Book 3/4 #JoysOfJuneReadathon

This is fantastic fiction to do with US race relations, police brutality, and LGBT issues in Nigerian immigrant communities. Great reading for both #BLM and #pridemonth!

#blackvoices @ShyBookOwl

Thanks for the tags @Reviewsbylola and @Emilymdxn 🤗🤗

Thanks for the tag @MoonWitch94 and @JoyBlue ! 💖 Sorry it took all day!!

1. Niru‘s father and Meredith in the tagged book. I had such a strong negative response to these characters, I wanted to throw my phone across the room!!

2. There was this peach essential oil at The Body Shop in the 90s. I‘ve never liked anything as much!

3. Rodham, Hood Feminism, The Only Plane in the Sky. Idk after these!

#aprilwrapup Mixed bag! I read some great books, but like a lot of people, I have a bunch of books floating, half finished. It‘s a weird time. We‘re all just muddling through! 💕💕💕

I am FUMING over this book. So evocative! I feel very strongly about so many of these characters and situations. I hate Meredith with the fire of a thousand suns! My heart breaks for Niru. Such an aching, gorgeously real book. It will probably make my top ten of the year. 5⭐️ #audiobook

The narration is superb!

Totally packed for my holiday ;-)

Thank you @Hooked_on_books for sharing this slim but POWERFUL story with me. Did not see the ending coming at all🤯
Contemporary fiction revolving around an Nigerian American prized student & athlete from a very traditional/religious home. Niru is keeping a secret from his parents and best friend and when that secret is exposed an avalanche of consequences erupt.

Beach reads☺️

One of the ongoing assignments for my creative writing class is to bring in an index card each week with one sentence that we found striking in some way, whether read or heard, from some form of media.
This one reminds me so much of one root of dissonance between generations in the queer community, but it is reversed for me: pride in protection, frustration with complacency.

I finished this book, yay, not behind on book club reading (last month I didn‘t finish the book before we discussed it). I was enjoying the book but it was kind of like eh, and then suddenly it was like a rock just dropped out of the sky and smashed a car, kind of like this statue that I saw in DC. I had predicted a different ending and I didn‘t see it coming 🤷🏻‍♂️

What! I totally read almost half of this today, my quick flight ✈️. Damned if I don‘t finish the book before book club. Also damn, lots of memories and my own history coming up. But now, at the hotel pool...

“Adam is super practical about everything. He‘s the kind of person who always parks his car in the direction of his house, so he doesn‘t waste extra time when leaving for home.” #queerbookclub #audiobooking

I think I accidentally picked the book for book club this month, when I wasn‘t even there, LOL. But it came in the mail today, and I‘m not really upset a bit that I ordered the large print (which I think I did on accident but I may have just done on a whim). I think it will be much easier on my eyes for night reading. Oh being practical as an adult! Looking forward to the reading!

#AyUpAugust This book was gifted to me by the fabulous @Hooked_on_books and I can‘t wait to read it!! The cover made me think of a rainbow, and the subject matter made me think of #PRIDE 🏳️‍🌈which led me to today‘s prompt #ChasingRainbows 🌈🌈🌈

Niru realizes he is gay and is horrified—because his conservative, Nigerian-born parents think homosexuality is abomination. They inevitably find out and this book looks at the fallout. This book gutted me, but I do wonder if the author tried to do just a little too much in just over 200 pages.

Backdrop: the needed levity of dog yoga, pose 2 (#Bindi)

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Currently reading

A touching story, beautifully-written words and strong characters make this book a good pick for young adult reading. It explores the coming of age story of a gay boy with cultural background and context of America.

Amazing! Beautiful written story about teenagers dealing with school, love and family. Heart wrenching.

Speak No Evil is a phenomenal story that touches on class, race, religion and sex. It would seem that Niru is your perfect child — excelling in school, sports and even earned acceptance to Harvard. Niru‘s stressors increase as he deals with the aftermath of his father‘s anger at the discovery that he is gay. The novel is heartbreaking and the ending left me blown away and speechless.

PS. Fuck Meredith for reals. #FuckMeredithWithAHugeBlackDildo

Thought provoking story about a high-schooler named Niru. Niru goes to a prestigious private school in the D.C. area and is headed to Harvard. He comes from a wealthy, ultra-religious, Nigerian family who are in great conflict because Niru believes that he might be gay. The author gives fair treatment to the subject matter. Oh, the family drama — it‘s heart breaking.

The writing was good here, but the structure of the story needed work. The first part dealt with the son of successful immigrants coming to terms with his sexuality. The second part abruptly changed focus to race relations in the US. The stories were related, but the focus was different in each. Either story on its own would have been great, but I didn‘t like the abrupt switch between them. #Hoopla

Finally! Today the #ToB2019 starts with its play-in round. Which of these three should enter the Tournament do you think? I only read the tagged book and think it deserves a chance but I‘ve also heard good (and less good) things about the others. Exciting times ahead!

https://themorningnews.org/tob/

Uzodinma Iweala's book focuses on two protagonists: Niru, the son of a Nigerian immigrant who has just come out to his best friend, Meredith. Their friendship transforms as each deals with the aftermath of Niru's revelation. Niru's parents do not accept his homosexuality, and Meredith struggles with how best to be Niru's friend. (continued in comments)

#FebruaryStats #FebruaryWrapUp

In February I have read 12 books, 4 of which were almost 5 ⭐️ for me. These are the ones pictured above.

Also I‘m still on track with my challenges (#Booked2019, #Pop2019, #ATY2019 and #ReadingUSA2019) and I covered 14 books of the 18 shortlisted for the #ToB2019.

In short, a very good month for me!

As Niru navigates his last year of high school, his bright Harvard future, and his Nigerian parents‘ dismay over his sexuality, his best friend Meredith struggles with loving him and the thought of losing him.

Read February 17-24
Book 12/55

Almost at 9 hours for the #24B4Monday readathon. This #TournamentOfBooks #ToB2019 selection was a good fit for the #BlackHistoryMonth theme. It‘s a powerful coming-of-age and coming-out story.

@Andrew65 @TheReadingMermaid

This was an emotional read about a talented black student in Washington DC, on the verge of graduation, going to Harvard and coming out. Then everything changes. It‘s a short novel but one with a huge impact.

#ToB2019 14/18

I‘m starting with this one for the #24B4Monday Readathon!

#ToB2019 #TournamentOfBooks

@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

For the first part of this #audiobook set in contemporary, wealthy Washington DC, I was wondering if I needed to listen to another story about a white teen girl in love with her Black best friend, who then tells her that he‘s gay. That the guy‘s religious Nigerian immigrant father is not ok with his son‘s gayness is also a little old. A certain scene, however, snapped me to attention & then kept me riveted. This book begs bookclub discussion.

I'm late, the kind of late that suggests I have no regard for the emotional health of my Nigerian parents who probably think I've been kidnapped by the enemies of progress.

How do you rate a complex, original and well written book that you powerfully didn‘t want or need to read? This was incredible on every objective level, but I‘ve read so many novels about miserable queer people unable to come out and the repressive worlds they live in, I don‘t know if I need to read another book that‘s a pen portrait of a damaged queer person and their world as long as I live. But that‘s my personal needs, not the book‘s quality

“I ain‘t nobody‘s sickness.”

I‘ve dated girls too scared to tell anyone about me and I never knew how to put into words how horrible it made me feel. Even knowing someone couldn‘t come out for their own reasons, I didn‘t know how to put into words that I couldn‘t let myself be something someone was scared or ashamed of, even when they had their own good reasons for not coming out. This line came so suddenly in this book and made me feel so much

Truly horrible Monday today. It‘s pissing down and the wind is freezing, I‘ve got a full work day and a gig in Camden which will mean I get waaay less sleep than I‘d like tonight.

I‘m trying not to focus on the commute, I‘m making a proper start on Speak No Evil for #tob2019 and trying to imagine being anywhere else

What‘s with these colorful, but unimaginative covers, publishers? They say nothing of the story and don‘t even try to lure the reader in. The tagged book is too good to deserve this treatment. I‘m about to start the other.

😮

Several issues are covered in here. The coming out of a young man, religion as a “cure” for homosexuality, race relations, and the steering your own future away from your parents. Some of the writing is superb but the overall story could use some tweaking. #ToB #ToB2019

Currently reading the books that interest me that are included in the #TournamentOfBooks2019 #ToB2019 This one is up next!

#tob2019 #audiobook This is a new delivery method for me; need to figure out how to speed it up. #librarybook

TOURNAMENT OF BOOKS 2019 SHORTLIST IS OUT! So many books for me to read, though I have read some on the list already. It's March Madness for books! #tob #tournamentofbooks #tob2019
To see books, judges, or vote for what book should stay in the Zombie round (aka come back from the dead if knocked out), go to:
https://themorningnews.org/article/the-2019-tournament-of-books-shortlist-and-ju...

Wow wow wow wow wow. 5/5
If you liked this, you may like Under the Udala Trees or The Hate U Give (or vice versa)

Play hard, read hard, nap hard. #beachlife #dogsoflitsy

This book just socked me in the gut by chapter two, right at the start of my #beachreading. Have a feeling it‘s going to be heartbreaking...

A heartbreaking, difficult read. It was definitely flawed and I didn‘t love how it ended, but the writing was beautiful. I finished this last night and it made me even more depressed than I already was from the SCOTUS news. And now it‘s a dreary, rainy day, of course😒

‪Basically, Uzodinma Iweala owes me for the window i just had to fling this book through plus one million in emotional damages. #AmReading Speak No Evil. Just finished it and I‘m ⚰️‬