BookOwl

    4/5 stars   *Spoiler alert!*   Fourth Wing is the first book in what promises to be a fantastic, action-packed epic. I mean, I was sold at dragon-riders, but we’re not all me. Naturally, Fourth Wing is about a lot more than dragon-riding. It’s about loyalty, character, and the many different types of strength brought to the table.   “A dragon without its rider is a tragedy.   A rider without their dragon is dead.”   Our protagonist, Violet Sorrengail , is a reluctant dragon-rider cadet. She has an unfair weight to carry, given her mother, Lilith, is a general and each one of her children have been dragon riders. Even if Violet is built a bit differently than others, prone to bruises and broken bones. She’s trained primarily as a scribe, but now she must survive her first year at Basgiath War College.   Her best friend, Dain, is one of the more annoying characters in Fourth Wing , even if I do understand his motivations and reasoning. H...

      5/5 stars   *Spoiler alert!*   Our History Has Always Been Contraband is an interdisciplinary collection of contemporary and historical essays, edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D.G. Kelley, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. Its aim is to defend the importance of studying and including the Black experience in curricula all over the United States and world, in response to a series of book and curricula bans that brand Black studies as radical and racist (looking at you Florida though it’s not alone in this by any means).   “To talk about the importance of teaching Black History… we must be honest about ourselves and talk about values; values shape what one thinks is important to preserve. The history of Black people throughout the African diaspora has been riddled with stereotypes, myths, and miseducation… Marcus Garvey … who rallied for Black people to move back to Africa, had a mindset that Black Americans were going back to the Motherland to civilize...