March reads by Saleena

 

This cool, creepy cover DEMANDED to be read, and I'm so glad I grabbed it.  Jackson writes a creepy thriller about a young man who is given asylum from false charges (which no one believes are false) and offered a fresh start at an exclusive boarding school.  The catch?  Well, things are weird...like Douglas keeps hearing the forest talking to him, and things like that....but the tipping point is when someone dies, he sees them die...and suddenly no one remembers that the dead person ever existed.  Douglas teams up with the groundskeeper's son, Everett in an effort to figure out and stop whatever is happening....but the odds are stacked against them.

I love the way Jackson plays out the plot, seasoning it with little creepy bits of history, tiny acknowledgements of racism, classism, and homophobia to make things seem even more insurmountable, then showing how Douglas handles it and rises.  This is a really good horror/thriller story with terrible, warped creatures coming out of the forest and a determined protagonist who works hard to win despite incredibly difficult odds.  So good!




I love a good short story collection, so one featuring nerdy kids?  Definitely gonna try, and I'm so glad I did.  This collection is focused on the Black experience and how being cool/nerdy/awkward/gay/other ties into that cultural experience.  

While I can't speak on what it means to be an African American; I can say that the stories were well written and the nerdy ones hit me right in the feels (you know the ones, the "I know what that feels like" spot).  The first story of the collection really stuck with me, where a young man enters a cosplay competition and is told he isn't doing good cosplay because the character he worked on and loves so much, isn't black and so he has somehow tainted the contest.  His hurt and betrayed feelings just rang so true, as I have seen it happening at cons and it always angers me.  The addition of a teen party, and the nerves about attending or entering without his friend I think many will understand; but my favorite is just the sweet "date that wasn't a date" with another young man as they walk around a few blocks trying not to be nervous and waiting for their friends to arrive....just the sweet awkwardness of getting to know someone that you like romantically is so well done....I loved it.

If you like short stories, or want to experience some new authors (or identify as awkward), maybe give this collection a try!

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