GIRL,
INTERRUPTED
Sisters Maika and
Maritza Moulite
deliver a delight-
ful novel in Dear
Haiti, Love
Alaine (Inkyard
Press, $18.99)
about a 17-year-old Haitian-American
who discovers a tangled family his-
tory during a summer on the island.MODERN-DAY
HAUNTED HOUSE
In Pet (Make Me
a World, $17.99),
Nigerian author
Akwaeke Emezi
pens a unique
science fiction
tale in which Jam
and her best friend, Redemption, find
out that monsters are real when they
meet a colorful creature named Pet.BOOKSher to the slavery era. Butler called
Kindred “a long, depressing write”
when we talked because of her im-
mersion in the research on slavery.
But she said it is her most taught
and most popular book. And it’s
often the first book I recommend
to readers who have never read
Butler’s work.
Kindred reached one reader like
a thunderclap. “The discovery was
like a love letter from my ances-
tors,” says Thomas, who is also the
author of Sleeping Under the Tree
of Life.
“As a history major, reading
Kindred opened new portals of
thinking for me, new ways of see-
ing myself, the role of history and the
ways the stories we tell ourselves,
within f a milie s o r as a n atio n , sh a p e
and reshape us,” she says. “The
experience was life-changing Octa-
via once said that she did not need
to see a Black role model to create
her work. The desire, her imagi-
nation and determination were
always present, but I can truly say
that I needed to see Octavia’s gifts
on the page before my own paths
became clear to me.”
My husband knew Octavia for
about 25 years—and for ten of
those years in Los Angeles, where
they lived within walking distance
of each other. He and his previ-
ous wife traded dinner invitations
with her. Octavia didn’t drive, so
he often drove her on errands or to
book events.
We both believe that Octavia,
had she lived, might have been
astonished at how many Black
women speculative writers are
thriving in her wake: N.K. Jemisin,
Nnedi Okorafor, Nisi Shawl, Nalo
Hopkinson, Tomi Adeyemi, Andrea
Hairston, Ibi Zoboi, Chesya Burke,
Jewelle Gomez, Karen Lord and
more. Steve says, “I would hope
that her spirit understands that she
made a tremendous difference.”Fall’s Finest
HEAD TRIP
Black girls go
to therapy too,
is perhaps the
biggest take-
away of Who
Put This Song
On? (Delacorte
Press, $18.99) by
Morgan Parker. She normalizes con-
versations around mental health in a
way that is poignant yet humorous.A TALE OF
TWO FAMILIES
New York Times
best-selling
author Jacque-
line Woodson
returns with
Red at the Bone
(Riverhead,
$26), a lively novel centered on two
Brooklyn families who are linked by
an unexpected pregnancy.BY BRIDGETTE BARTLETT ROYALLJust in time for back to school, we’ve rounded up
exceptional books for readers of all agesTRUTH SEEKER
One of the most prolific writers
of our time, Ta-Nehisi Coates is
known for his nonfiction books,
including 2015’s Between the
World and Me. His first novel, The
Water Dancer (One World, $28),
focuses on Hiram Walker, who
was born into slavery and lost
all memory of his mother when
he was still a child. Hiram almost
drowns when his carriage crashes
into a river, but he’s saved by a
mysterious force. He then embarks
on a journey throughout the
Deep South in search of his truth.
Driven by brilliant characters
and a masterful way with words,
Coates’s novel artfully balances
imagination with realism. ºTananarive Due is an award-winning
novelist and educator. To read
more of Due’s powerful essay, head
CO to ESSENCE.com.
UR
TE
SY
O
F^ P
UB
LIS
HE
RS
ESSENCE.COM I 75 I SEPTEMBER 2019