Written by Okorafor after a bad experience with the TSA, and after the Muslim ban was put in place, this graphic novel explores a world in which aliens have come to Nigeria and integrated into society, and in response the US puts a travel ban in place to block any immigration from Nigeria or other countries with alien citizens. As human and political xenophobia clash against protesters pleading for tolerance, a Nigerian-American doctor named Freedom is affected on a very personal level as she travels back to the US while smuggling a leafy alien refugee called Letme Live. None of the messaging is subtle, but the artwork and coloring are lush and beautiful and the story moves along nicely.
Day: September 29, 2022
Bitch: On the Female of the Species, by Lucy Cooke
This was such a delightful book, full of fascinating science and history. Ever since Charles Darwin cherrypicked his data to suit Victorian sensibilities about gender roles, schools teach that the female of any species is generally a meek, nurturing caretaker while the male gads about hunting, fighting, and flaunting bright plumage. Cooke goes into the field with many different scientists to observe the many ways that creatures in nature defy this theory, and also digs into the science to show that general assumptions made by observing limited species are far from universal. The content sounds dry, but Cooke’s writing style is super enjoyable. Really great read.
The Gilded Ones, by Namina Forna
I loved the cover art, and the book had glowing reviews, but unfortunately the cover was the best thing about the book… The society is a patriarchal nightmare where men are obsessed with keeping their girls pure, lest they mysteriously start bleeding the golden blood that marks them as demonic. Our heroine, already looked down on for her dark skin, of course bleeds gold and is promptly punished for it … But wait, she is then whisked away to an all-female martial academy and taught by other women warriors to fight monsters… It’s all supremely unlikely and internally inconsistent, the plot really feels like it’s being made up as the author goes along, the villains are cartoonishly evil, and the grimdark violence (near-constant references to rape, beatings, and murder) is jarringly inconsistent with the extremely YA internal voice of the naive teen narrator.