Pao by Kerry Young. I loved this book. It incorporates some Chinese history in both China but primarily Jamaica. It is part of a trilogy with each book following different people. I have read the first two and saving the last because I don’t want to leave them. Yup, I am that kind of reader.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This book was the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. It is based on a real school in Florida, and it shines a light on the atrocities that occurred there. It is a hard book to read, but very important to read so we never forget.
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley. This was my first book by Vanessa Riley, and it won’t be my last. She has written contemporary books in the past but for several years now, she has been writing some amazing historical fictions based on real people in the Caribbean. This book is huge, but worth it as it immerses the reader into the time and place.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. I read this book a long time ago but I remember it stuck with me long after I closed the page. It is based on true people and the story pulls you in and won’t let you go.
The Sleeping Dictionary by Sujata Massey. This was such an amazing book that could be a movie. If you read the description, you will have to read it.
Honorary mentioned:
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. This book took me to an island off the coast of Korea that I knew nothing about and told me about these amazing women that do what seems impossible – dive without tanks into very deep sea depths. That’s the beauty of historical fiction is that can take you places and people that you never knew you needed to know. Excellent book.
