Never before has a book so completely spoken to my heart. I originally found this last year when I was looking around for around for women's memoirs to be put into my Diverse Books Tag focused on that genre (a book with a biracial protagonist). I recommended it to my library but got quickly absorbed in a number of other books while I waited for it to be available or for the right time to pop up. At last, my library purchased it and I was the first one to get it when it came out.

I have to say that waiting for the right time worked out fantastically. Some books just seem to know when you need them. As I said, this one just spoke right to my heart. That's not to suggest that I "know" what it was like for Rebecca Walker to navigate her life or what it's like to be black and white and Jewish all at the same time. What I do know is that I am quite familiar with that sense of not quite belonging to anyone, but maybe belonging enough to be claimed here and there for this or that trait. I have drifted from one home to another within my family or neighborhood or group of friends and felt that change that Walker describes as "switching radio stations". I've felt the sting of being in one group while people denigrate the other part of you, the part that they don't claim, while they insist that it's not you but you know that it is, even if only in part. I've felt it on both sides of me.

We've lived vastly different lives in different times within this country and I couldn't possibly relate to all of Walker's experiences, but I had never known anyone to describe this being and not being so well, so beautifully. The idea of being a "movement baby" sounds terrifying, like for too much to live up to. Later, I found it far easier to relate to what happened when the ideas of the movement were gone and she was treated like her existence was half-oppressor and half-oppressed, when people asked her navigate those waters and explain what it felt like. I was never able to explain what it was like to be fragmented this way and now I have someone to turn to for that.

I loved Walker's style of writing and relating everything back to memory and the way that memory shifts, that way that it can be wrong and right at the same time and the way it shapes us and perceptions of us without ever asking for permission. I loved the poetic feel that accompanies most of the book. I peaked at some other reviews and it's not the kind of book that everyone loves, but I still find it an important book to read and discuss. Perhaps it would make a great book club memoir because it does bring in questions of race on several fronts and it could open conversations about sex in adolescence, the effect of divorce and/or neglect on a child's upbringing and other important issues that Walker goes through that still plague us.

The downside to that, of course, is that using the book that way invites criticism of Walker and her parents as people who were theoretically doing the best they could. I don't mean to sound like I doubt that anyone was doing their best but I also don't want to make it sound like I'm making assumptions about what could/should have been done. The point is simply that getting judgey about someone's life and story like this would miss the point of reading the book.

Despite what others might think, I found this book engaging, even at it's lowest moments. I appreciated the way it was a little episodic, moving through periods in her life and only stopping to fit in the moments that best sums up the time-frame for her rather than dwelling on incidentals. As mentioned above, what I loved the most was the way she relates what it is like to not fit succinctly into any single category of race, to be a part of something and not a part of it at the same time, close and yet removed from it. I have felt these things so many times in life when I am in Hispanic or not Hispanic depending on the way whoever I'm talking to feels about it and it rarely seems up to me to let them know who I am and how I fit into these categories and whether or not I even want to.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme (or monthly in my case), hosted by the amazing Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Since I am a rebellious blogger, I am not following the traditional Waiting on Wednesday rules. Instead of posting the meme weekly, I am going to do it monthly (work smarter, not harder). Plus, my WOW will only include books that will be releasing (or have already been released) in the same month, so you don't have to wait forever to get these beauties. 

This month features a lot of diverse books, which could not have been timed better. This year, I vowed to read and blog about more diverse and inclusive novels. With such a suffocating atmosphere in the real world, I want to be able to spotlight books that offer a more diverse, accepting, and open-minded approach to the world. Books really do have power; the power to increase knowledge, open minds, and create understanding, but only if you pick up the right ones. So, I hope that I can guide you in the right direction with my picks this month.

Click the link to see my most anticipated reads of February!

Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of all the superheroes having to be from the US and of all the super-villain attacks being on the US? I love the idea of a story in a totally foreign location.

Loves: 2025 Lagoon City, villain/hero relationship, that there's more than one hero in this universe, the villain runs an extremist group. They actually call it an extremist group which is new for me and comics. Maybe I just missed it in others, but I feel like the word was specifically chosen here.

Most of the elements of the story are familiar in the way that there's isn't much that's new in the superhero landscape anymore. I think we've explored as many motivations, relationships, tragic backstories, and uses for minions as are possible but they get tweaked a bit here and there to provide the story with it's own uniqueness. This story does the same thing.

I look forward to finding out what happens next and finding out what the deal is with some of these women. If you read it, you'll understand what I mean by that. They intrigue me, as does Wale. I also want to see what else the suit can do.

This series is brought to us by Youneek Studios, which started with this comic but are expanding their universe. When I went back to check on their site, I even saw that pre-orders are available for the first volume of their new series Malika: Warrior Queen.  I can't wait to read that one! Take a look through their website and you'll see their amazing art. Their second volume of E.X.O. is also available there and on Amazon.

This is a good story that I think people should check out. It's fun and presents new and interesting characters for us. If you're a diversity reader, this should definitely go on your list of comics/graphic novels to read soon.

The Sunday Street Team is a group of bloggers led by the marvelous Nori @ ReadWriteLove28 who aim to bring well-deserved attention to new and upcoming books and their authors. 

This month's post is featuring Tara Sim and her steampunk debut novel, Timekeeper. 

I would recommend Timekeeper to fans of historical fiction and steampunk, especially if you are looking for a new take on the genre. I would also recommend Danny's story to anyone looking for a diverse novel that does not shy away from the tough questions. Even though the middle was a little bit slow, anyone who enjoys a good steampunk will enjoy Timekeeper.

If you want to hear more of my thoughts about the book and enter in the giveaway, then click on the original link.

This was an amazing comic! I loved the way the feeling of Spider-Man stayed the same and I loved all the details that were changed. For those who live and die by canon, this isn't a good idea to read but for the rest of us who enjoy having familiar stories retold or reimagined and given new perspectives, this is a must read!

Well, if you like superheroes and comics. I checked all the other reviews I could find of this comic in an effort to find out how well the changes played with Indian audiences, but I couldn't find anything. Goodreads had a non-Indian who studies Hindu and Indian cultures that said it was well done, but that was the best I got. That said, I loved it and was annoyed by most of the negative reviews.

It's not that people aren't entitled to not enjoy a book that I like, but most of the negative reviews reminded me of the negative reviews of Cinder. It's a retelling/reimagining based on a single big difference that changes some elements of the way the story progresses. Don't go into a book or comic knowing that it's a retelling and then be upset that it was essentially the same story. You knew it was the same going in! Now, for the people who thought the story was weak or something, I just respectfully disagree.

Nevertheless, I do enjoy reimagining the possibilities. One of the negative reviewers I saw on Amazon went on about "why not just move -" and continued listing other heroes to move to other countries and I loved just thinking about it, even though he (or she or ze or they, the tag didn't indicate gender) meant in a bad way. I think it's a great idea to imagine our heroes in other countries. For one, it points out that hero stories are universal, two it showcases culture  differences in positive ways, three it lets us vicariously visit other countries. Why not?

I did understand some issues that people had with the dialogue. It wasn't quite as witty as we're used to, but that was the only criticism I could really agree with. I wish I knew enough about Indian heritage and all the supernatural/spiritual things mentioned to safely speak on it but I don't. At the same time, the comic is rewritten by an Indian artist, so I think it's safe to say that he melded the story with his own culture in a way that is not offensive or insensitive to his own culture. At least, I hope so.

Meera Jain and Flash were so much better than the originals! The spiritual and supernatural elements, especially with the shift in where everyone got their powers was a lot of fun. It gave me that tingle like the first time I heard the Spider-Man origin way back in the day. I liked the new costume. I loved the two-paged spreads every time they happened. They changed enough for me to feel like the story was refreshed but not so much that it was a difference story. I even liked the choice at the end and the way he handles it all.

As  I said before, I really loved this comic and all the things that changed and all the things that remained the same, but it's time to get into the details and so here's you warning to get out now if you want to read it first.