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As the peak of spring nears, it is time to hit The Tidal Basin and grab a fun read while enjoying DC’s beautiful views. Are you looking for a read that features main characters who are people of color? Look no further. Here are four books to pick up at Kramer’s, Politics and Prose, or other bookstores in the DMV!
Let it Rain Coffee by Angie Cruz.
Featuring a young Dominican woman, Esperanza, on her journey to America along with her husband and two children. As she navigates the new world she has embarked on, she faces complications with her husband, her children, and her father-in-law, who stays with them following his wife’s passing. The novel embarks on themes of grief, loss, family, and trying to figure out what it truly means to live the “American Dream.” The author, Angie Cruz, is notoriously known for featuring young LatinX women as the main characters in her books, reflecting her identity and the women she was surrounded by growing up. The novel is a great read for learning about various Latine/X diasporas and how the “American Dream” is a myth.
Unpacking themes of love, community, and resilience, this novel encapsulates the chaotic world of motherhood while telling the story of sisterhood at the forefront. When Nadia Turner, a teenager, becomes pregnant with the community’s beloved former football star, Luke, she is forced to hide the pregnancy and eventual termination from everyone, including her religious best friend, Aubrey. Years pass, and each of them still calls back the events leading up to their present. Caught in a love triangle, each of them must decide whether they wish to live what could have been their past lives or find a future elsewhere. Britt Bennett writes about a complicated yet intricate dynamic between the three individuals that takes the reader on a rollercoaster of wanting to empathize with everyone involved.
For Arjie, a young boy living in Colombo, Sri Lanka, navigating a new path through discovering his sexuality is not an easy task. As Arjie grows up during a war between the army and the Tamil Tigers, the defining years of his youth are captured by war, racism, and homophobia. Told in several mini-stories that are in conversation with one another, Arjie follows his way to a sense of self while being true to who he has been all along. Shyam Selvadurai tells the story of a funny, complex boy throughout a couple of years. The insight into Arjie’s life is depicted through his quick wit and ability to command a room.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Sisters are meant to protect one another to the ends of the earth. For Korede, her sister Ayoola has taken it one too many times too far. Following the death of yet another one of Ayoola’s boyfriends, Korede is cleaning up her sister’s messes. However, they are much closer to getting caught this time than ever before. Even so, to protect Ayoola, Korede does everything in power, even though everyone in her family deems Ayoola much more worthy of praise than her. When Ayoola starts to date Korede’s work crush, Korede becomes fed up and takes matters into her own hands. Oyinkan Braithwaite tells a comedic story with nuances of domestic violence and familial abuse while spinning a new tale of female rage.
Whether it is reading under the cherry blossoms at Tidal Basin, or picking up a copy at Kramer’s, hopefully, these stories take you on a journey of exploration, adventures, but most of all, something new.