Showing results by narrator "Adenrele Ojo" in All Categories

This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who "shares the blood" by two women there, Gilda spends the next 200 years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.

It is the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, 17-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother's recent suicide, she takes up with the local pastor's son. Luke Sheppard is 21, a former football star whose injury has reduced him to waiting tables at a diner. They are young; it's not serious. But the pregnancy that results from this teen romance—and the subsequent cover-up—will have an impact that goes far beyond their youth.

The Conjuring of America tells the epic story of conjure women, who, through a mix of spiritual beliefs, herbal rituals, and therapeutic remedies gave rise to the rich tapestry of American culture we see today. Feminist philosopher, Lindsey Stewart, tells the stories of Negro Mammies of slavery; the Voodoo Queens and Blues Women of Reconstruction; and the Granny Midwives and textile weavers of the Jim Crow era. These women, in secrecy and subterfuge, courageously and devotedly continued their practices and worship for centuries and passed down their traditions.

What does it mean to call a place home? Who is allowed to become a member of a community? When can we say that we truly belong? These are some of the questions of place and belonging that renowned cultural critic Bell Hooks examines in Belonging: A Culture of Place. Traversing past and present, Belonging charts a cyclical journey in which Hooks moves from place to place, only to end where she began—her old Kentucky home.

Trying to put past hurts behind you is hard when your ex is a fool, but buoyed by child support and alimony, Jo Walker is moving forward with her life, pursuing a career, raising her little girl, and trying to live in peace. She believes she has all the bases covered in her world. But what about her heart? Rap legend Everett "Big South" McClain is divorced, too, knows all about failed relationships, and has relegated his love life to casual connections rather than pursuing something real. That is, until he lays eyes on Jo.

Sharp claws keep you safe. That’s the brutal lesson Thorne learned as a young wolf-shifter. Abandoned as a child, singled out by an evil uncle, and then forced to work for the ruthless Order of the Well, Thorne’s anger was a weapon as much as his claws. Now a vicious Fae Guardian, he hunts monsters, the human enemy, and anything that gets in his way. On a mission to find his missing mentor, Thorne finds himself suddenly mated to Laurel, a beautiful, driven, but damaged human awoken from a time long since past.

Nolan McClain is the smart one, the driven one, the one who goes for what he wants, meticulously plans his steps, and thinks he has his life all mapped out...until he lays eyes on Bridgette Turner. Bridgette Turner is just as driven and focused as Nolan, but when her past comes back to haunt her, she finds herself knocked off balance and all her hard work in jeopardy. What Nolan feels for her is real, but Bridgette is skeptical. Will she let him show her his heart?

Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back, trying to get her feet on solid ground after unravelling an international conspiracy. But as the sparks of Congressional hearings and political skirmishes swirl around her, Avery is approached at a legal conference by Preston Davies, an unassuming young man and fellow law clerk to a federal judge in Idaho. Davies believes his boss, Judge Francesca Whitner, was being blackmailed in the days before she died. Desperate to understand what happened, he gives Avery a file, a burner phone, and a fearful warning that there are highly dangerous people involved.

It’s Me They Follow is an allegorical love story set in a not so distant past. It follows The Shopkeeper, a bookseller and reluctant matchmaker. Helping others find love through books comes easily for The Shopkeeper, until it is time for her to find love for herself. She secretly yearns for her first customer, ME, who took both her most prized book and a piece of her heart when he left. But just when she begins to lose hope, she discovers that she may hold the key to her own happily ever after as well.

In What Can I Do? Fonda’s deeply personal journey as an activist is weaved alongside interviews with leading climate scientists and discussions of issues such as water, migration and human rights to emphasise what is at stake. Throughout, Fonda provides concrete solutions and actions that everybody can take in order to combat the climate crisis in their community. As Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace US and Fonda's partner in developing FDF, has declared, 'Change is inevitable; by design, or by disaster'.

Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Author Denise Alvarado explores Marie Laveau's life and work - the fascinating history and mystery. This book gives an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, its origins, history, and practices. It contains spells, prayers, rituals, recipes, and more.

From her pygmy goat farm in Vermont, a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel wonders: Can she pull humanity out of its death spiral by writing a scathing memoir about her own greed and privilege? But how can she just sit around writing a book when the world is hanging on a thread? In this hilariously skewering comic novel, Alison is existentially pained by a climate-challenged world and a country on the brink of civil war.

For three thousand years, an ancient dragon god has protected the borders of the Sheltered Lands. In return, he makes only one demand: every one hundred years, the mortal ruler must send their heir to serve as his consort…for as long as they can survive. Sachielle of House Roquebarre is the thirty-first consort to be sacrificed to the monster who guards the mountain passes. She is young, beautiful—and she has three secrets.

Etta comes from Nowhere, a village of survivors of the great plague that wiped away the world that was. In the world that is, women are scarce and childbearing is dangerous...yet desperately necessary for humankind's future. Mothers and midwives are sacred, but Etta has a different calling.

Meet Odder, the queen of play. Nobody has her moves. She doesn’t just swim to the bottom, she dive-bombs. She doesn’t just somersault, she triple-doughnuts. She doesn’t just ride the waves, she makes them. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself.

Blues singer Ursa is consumed by her hatred of Corregidora, the 19th-century slave master who fathered both her mother and grandmother. Charged with 'making generations' to bear witness to the abuse embodied in the family name, Ursa Corregidora finds herself unable to keep alive this legacy when she is made sterile in a violent fight with her husband. Haunted by the ghosts of a Brazilian plantation, pained by a present of lovelessness and despair, Ursa slowly and firmly strikes her own terms with womanhood.

In an awesome meeting of minds, cultural theorists Stuart Hall and bell hooks met for a series of wide-ranging conversations on what Hall sums up as "life, love, death, sex." From the trivial to the profound, across boundaries of age, sexualities and genders, hooks and Hall dissect topics and themes of continual contemporary relevance, including feminism, home and homecoming, class, black masculinity, family, politics, relationships, and teaching.

Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care - and that of the galactic diaspora - are in danger.

She's the only sister in a family of alpha males. Loved, treasured, and sheltered by her brothers, Kat McClain is working to heal the pain of a failed marriage to a man she loved from her teenage years and move on with her life, but she's a woman; she has needs, and she's understandably lonely. Tommy Kirby has protected her brother since he was barely a man and has been a silent staple in the McClain family for just as long. He loves his job, his life, and is loyal to his employer. More than anything, he wants a family of his own. Perhaps these two are exactly what the other desires.

'Sublime short stories of race, grief, and belonging . . . an extraordinary new collection' New Yorker 'Evans’s new stories present rich plots reflecting on race relations, grief, and love' New York Times, Editor’s Choice ‘Brilliant . . . These stories are sly and prescient, a nuanced...