A Book A Day Presents: Color Theory by Renita McKinney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If recent events have taught us nothing, then we weren't paying attention. The only thing that can rescue us from the hate that seems intent on suffocating the world is love. Love is the most powerful ally that we have and therein lies the beauty of Color Theory. McKinney has gotten together with some of the most prolific voices in romance to tell a story. A story that consists of many voices united in one inspiring song. Love is raw, real, light hearted, uplifting, sweet, but above all it is powerful. Color Theory is the sound of LOVE.



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Authors Included: Renita McKinney, A.M. Kusi, Anne Welch, Arden Aoide, Blair Babylon, Carmen Cook, C.A. Miconi, Danielle Pearl, Eden Butler, Elizabeth Marx, Janet A. Moto, Kenna Rey, Lori Ryan, M. Jane Colette, Piper Rayne, Shannon Bruno, Sierra Hill, Willow Aster

I've always shied away from resort holidays offering me the opportunity to 'experience' the 'real' local culture because it sounds like a con that disrespects the tourists and the locals and locks both into a Disney Land dynamic where 'the locals' are as authentic as Mickey Mouse.

This book gives me a view of how a resort works that re-inforces my prejudices:

Event Management at the resort curates the presentation of a fictional island and fictional islanders to the tourists, creating a narrative around 'Natives' welcoming Columbus when the islanders are all descendants of African slaves and the original islanders were long ago sent to die working in silver mines.

Here's how our main character, Myrna, describes her work at the resort: 

'My ID tag said nothing but "Maid" but it was also my job to be silent and visible only when the tourists wanted to see me. "At work2 meant not just a place or a time. A being. A not being.'

Really enjoyed these two short stories by Octavia E. Butler. They were wonderful and I was left wanting more.

Per usual, here are my reviews for the two stories.

A Necessary Being”(5 stars)-Butler creates a world in which the color of a person's skin means they are meant to be leaders. We find out that these "people" are able to change colors which shows what type of caste they belong to. We follow Tahneh who is a Hao. Hao are kidnapped and forced to govern "tribes". We get peeks into what was done to Taneh's father who was the Hao before her. Tahneh is not able to have a child which means her "tribe" is desperate for another Hao. When a Hao and two other "people" are found nearby, Tahneh can either go along with what her people want, or try to steer them to something new. This story really plays with race, class structure, and consent. You can see pieces of plots and narrative that will show up in Butler's Xenogenesis series.

Childfinder" (5 stars)-Way too short. Seriously. I wanted more. We are in a new world when those who have telepathic abilities are valued. An older woman has found a new child with these abilities. We find out that she is focusing on finding black children and trying to hide them from a larger organization who does not have their best interest at heart. We have Butler playing with the angry black woman trope a bit and how black people do their best at not showing their feelings, i.e. their hatred. Who better to go out and find children with special abilities and teach them to keep their feelings inside. This really did read like a start to a longer book and I really really wanted that longer book.

Childfinder was too short! I wanted more.

Just finished "A Necessary Being”. A story that follows peoples whose coloring decides who rules. This reminds me somewhat of Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy. She delves into race, consent, and class structures. I thought the story really worked. We follow Tahneh whose father was a Hao. The Hao are rare and are put forth as leaders for different tribes and are even crippled, kidnapped, etc in order for tribes to always have a Hao. When another Hao is found nearby, her tribe goes about trying to capture him and his companions. Tahneh is trapped doing what she has to in order to give her people a future, or doing something that can cause them all to die out.