KAZI 88.7 FM Book Review

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Shelley Fisher Fishkin, author of JIM: The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn's Comrade.  In the interview she highlights the irony in Twain's portrayal of Jim, contrasting Huck's limited understanding with Twain's deeper critique of society. Fishkin emphasizes the need for teachers to be well-prepared to teach "Huckleberry Finn," addressing its complex themes. Fishkin also discusses the contributions of notable Black writers Ralph Wiley and Ralph Ellison to the interpretation of Twain's work.Shelley Fisher Fishkin  is the Joseph S. Atha Professor of the Humanities, professor of English, and (by courtesy) professor of African and African American Studies at Stanford University.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of the mystery novel VERA WONG'S GUIDE TO SNOOPING (on a DEAD MAN). This is the second book in the series featuring Vera Wong, a 61-year-old tea shop owner in San Francisco. Vera, based on Sutanto's mother, investigates a murder involving a missing person social media personality. The book explores themes of social media, human trafficking, and the complexities of online personas.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Preston Lauterbach, author of BEFORE ELVIS: The African American Musicians Who Made the King. In the interview Lauterbach highlighted the influence of African American musicians on Elvis Presley. He noted that Elvis's first hit, "That's All Right," was originally recorded by Arthur Crudup, and songs like "Hound Dog" and "Mystery Train" had African American origins. Lauterbach also explored the economic exploitation of Black artists and the cultural appropriation by white artists. He shared insights into the evolution of R&B and its impact on pop music in the 1970s, emphasizing the importance of recognizing Black music's roots and contributions to American culture. Preston Lauterbach is author of the American music classic The Chitlin' Circuit (2011) as well as Beale Street Dynasty (2015) and Bluff City (2019).  He has co-authored three memoirs with significant figures in Black music, including Brother Robert (2020) with the stepsister of bluesman Robert Johnson, Timekeeper (2021) with Memphis soul drummer Howard Grimes, and the Blind Boys of Alabama biography Spirit of the Century.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed New York University Professor Linda Gordon about her new book, SEVEN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS THAT CHANGED AMERICA. Professor Gordon writes a captivating account of historical events that have shaped American society.  By exploring the transformative nature of individual and collective activism in the United States, Gordon reveals the unpredictable and unique significance of past actions that have heavily influenced and even changed the reality of the world that we see today. Professor Gordon is the winner of two Bancroft Prizes for best book in American history. She is a professor emerita of history at New York University and the author of numerous books, including THE SECONDING COMING OF THE KKK.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Forest Issac Jones, author of GOOD TROUBLE: The Selma, Alabama and Derry, Northern Ireland Connection 1963-1972. Jones discovered the connection between the Catholic Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland and the Black Civil Rights Movement during a 2021 visit to Belfast. He highlights  the parallels between the movements, including how the 1969 Belfast to Derry Catholic Civil Rights March in Northern Ireland was influenced by the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March. Forest Issac Jones is an award-winning author of non-fiction and essays, specializing in the study of Irish History, the US Civil Rights Movement and Northern Ireland.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Kimberly J. Lau, author of Specters of the Marvelous: Race and the Development of the European Fairy Tale.  In stories retold for generations, wondrous worlds and magnificent characters have defined the genre of European fairy tales with little recognition of yet another defining aspect—racism and racialized thinking. Engaging four classic fairy-tale collections, author Kimberly J. Lau connects close readings of the tales to the cultural discourses, scholarly debates, and imperial geopolitics that established and perpetuated ideas about racial difference and white superiority. Kimberly J. Lau is a professor of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of Erotic Infidelities: Love and Enchantment in Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" (Wayne State University Press), Body Language: Sisters in Shape, Black Women's Fitness, and Feminist Identity Politics, and New Age Capitalism: Making Money East of Eden. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com  

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Fernando A. Flores, author of the novel Brother Brontë. Set in Texas in 2038, it is a dark tale of a future where books are burned, the libraries are closed, and your neighbor may turn you in for having books. In the interview, Flores said, "...for those of us who have traveled to the valley by car, we've been through Three Rivers many times. And it's frightening because you posit an authoritarian police city-state with people that are coopted by the city-state, with people that resist the city-state, and with people that are just trying to get by, like our protagonist, Naftali, who's just trying to get by. And I say it's, it's a little bit frightening because of, you know, if, if you look at where we are today and where we could be in 13 years...I'm hoping it's not...prescient..."Fernando A. Flores was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up in South Texas. He is the author of the collections Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas and Valleyesque and the novel Tears of the Trufflepig, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a best book of 2019 by Tor.com. His fiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, Frieze, Porter House Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Austin, Texas.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed Keith Clark about his books Navigating the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines: A Roadmap for Readers, The Radical Fiction of Ann Petry, and Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines and August Wilson.  Clark is a Professor of English and African and African American Studies at George Mason University. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviews Lilliam Rivera about her 2024 novel Tiny Threads, a dark thriller set in Vernon, California, in the fashion world. Rivera discusses the novel's blend of horror, fashion, and personal trauma. She explores the connection between fashion and violence, drawing from her experience as a fashion editor. Rivera delves into the protagonist Samara's journey, her struggle with addiction, and the themes of generational trauma and class issues. Lilliam Rivera is a MacDowell fellow and an award-winning author of nine works of fiction: a dark thriller, four young adult novels, three middle grade books, and a graphic novel for DC Comics. Her books have been awarded a Pura Belpré Honor, been featured on NPR, New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, and multiple “best of” lists.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Betsy Leondar-Wright, co-author of Is It Racist? Is It Sexist? Two questions that seem simple on their face, but which invite a host of tangled responses. In this book, Jessi Streib and Betsy Leondar-Wright offer a new way of understanding how inequalities persist by focusing on the individual judgment calls that lead us to decide what's racist, what's sexist, and what's not.Betsy Leondar-Wright, PhD, has been a community organizer, a diversity workshop facilitator, and a sociology professor teaching critical race theory and economic inequality. She is co-author of The Color of Wealth (2006), among other publications. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed Brea Baker about her new book, "Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership." Through a close examination of historical events, Brea explores the significance of land ownership and how generations of black families have been impacted by systemic and discriminatory practices that led to the deprivation of land in black communities. You can learn more about Brea at www.breabaker.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com Sign-up for the Diverse Voices Book Review email notification of interviews available to listen to at https://forms.office.com/r/NtvGUfwUgb Web site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed legendary author Walter Mosley about his latest novel Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right, his third novel featuring New York private detective Joe King Oliver. In the novel, Oliver's 92-year-old grandmother asks him to find his father, her son, after she discovers she has a tumor that could be fatal. Oliver has been estranged from his father since he was a young boy. He swore to never speak to the man again when he was taken away in handcuffs. Through his hunt, he gains a deeper understanding of his father. In the interview, Mosley described the evolution of his protagonist through three novels, the complexities of writing about an ex-policeman, and the moral complexity of the world of the characters.Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated writers. He was given the 2020 National Book Award's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, and honored with the Anisfield-Wolf Award, a Grammy, a PEN USA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Robert Kirsch Award, numerous Edgars, and several NAACP Image Awards.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review hosts Hopeton Hay and Amanda Moore discuss their favorite novels of 2024 that were featured in author interviews. For Hopeton, his favorite novels were 54 Miles by Leonard Pitts, Jr., Guide Me Home by Attica Locke, and Kingdom of No Tomorrow by Fabienne Josaphat. Amanda's favorite novels were Flores and Miss Paula by Melissa Riverro, Skin & Bones by Renee Watson, and What You Leave Behind by Wanda Morris. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Alex Segura, author of the thriller Alter Ego. In the story, Annie Bustamante, a celebrated filmmaker and comic book artist, gets a chance to work on her favorite superhero, The Lethal Lynx. Despite her excitement, she's wary of the offer, and her suspicions grow when she receives anonymous warnings not to trust anyone. The novel also explores Annie as a single mother with a precocious teenage daughter who has a tumultuous relationship with her own mother. Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, a New York Times Editor's Choice and an NPR Best Mystery of the Year. He's also the author of the acclaimed Pete Fernandez series, as well as the Star Wars novel, Poe Dameron: Free Fall, and the YA Spider-Verse adventure, Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Joe William Trotter, Jr., author of Building The Black City: The Transformation of American Life. Building The Black City explores the history of African Americans in cities across America from the colonial era to recent times. He emphasized the agency of African people in building their own infrastructure and institutions despite being dispossessed of their labor. Trotter highlighted the importance of understanding the regional dimensions of black urban life, using New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah as examples.Joe William Trotter, Jr., is Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice, Director and Founder of Carnegie Mellon University's Center for African American Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE), and author of Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com  

 Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Eugene Rogan, a professor of modern Middle Eastern history at the University of Oxford and the director of the Middle East Center at St. Anthony's College, Oxford. Rogan discusses his book, The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East."  The conversation touches on the historical context of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, highlighting its decline and the reforms it undertook to modernize and compete with European powers. These reforms, however, led to social unrest and violence, including the 1860 massacre in Damascus. Rogan explains that the Ottoman Empire was generally tolerant of different faiths, but the massacre was an exception caused in part by the volatile changes and the imposition of reforms without the consent of the people.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed Rafael A. Martinez, author of Illegalized: Undocumented Youth Movements in the United States. Martinez, an assistant professor at Arizona State University, writes a thought-provoking narrative about the obstacles that illegal immigrants face in the United States. By examining various case studies about sanctuary locations, detention centers, and the plight of immigrant families, readers are able to discover how the undocumented youth attempt to fight for immigrant rights through the use of social media, television, and other forms of media publicity. You can read more about this book at rafaelamartinez.com. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Black cultural icon and poet Nikki Giovanni died on December 9, 2024, at the age of 81. On November 15, 2020, Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed her about her book of poetry and prose, Make Me Rain, which was just published the month before. In Make Me Rain, Giovanni calls attention to injustice and racism, celebrates Black culture and Black lives, and gives readers an unfiltered look into her own experiences. In our wide-ranging interview, Giovanni read some of her poetry, discussed an amazing conversation she had with James Baldwin in 1971 that was taped for the public TV show Soul!, and weighed in on having front porch conversations versus interaction over the internet.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the fantasy novel The Last One. Best known for writing crime fiction, Hall was approached by a publisher to write a fantasy novel series, which resulted in her new book. In the interview, Hall discussed how writing the fantasy novel required her to build an entire world from scratch, including creating new languages, creatures, religions, and social structures. She said it was very different from writing crime fiction where she could draw from real-world events and laws.Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author and Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist for And Now She's Gone. A New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister with James Patterson, Rachel is an Anthony, International Thriller Writers and Left Award nominee and the author of They All Fall Down, Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes and City of Saviors in the Detective Elouise Norton series. Follow her on Instagram at @rhowzelllall and Twitter/X at @RachelHowzell,   Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com  

Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed Fabienne Josephat, author of Kingdom of No Tomorrow. Kingdom of No Tomorrow  is a historical novel that delves into the Black Panther Party from 1968 to 1969 through the perspective of protagonist Nettie Boileau. She volunteers at the Black Panthers' Free Health Clinics in Oakland and develops a romantic relationship with Melvin Mosley, a defense captain in the Black Panther Party. Their move to Chicago to assist in founding the Illinois chapter exposes them to J. Edgar Hoover's secret operations against civil rights activists.In the interview, Josephat discusses her journey in writing her second novel, her trepidation in tackling such a sensitive subject, and the importance of accuracy and dignity in portraying the Black Panthers. The novel blends historical events with fictional characters, emphasizing the Black Panthers' community programs and the internal conflicts within the movement.Fabienne Josaphat was born and raised in Haiti, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. Her first novel, Dancing in the Baron's Shadow, published with Unnamed Press, Edwidge Danticat said, “Filled with life, suspense, and humor, this powerful first novel is an irresistible read about the nature of good and evil, terror and injustice, and ultimately triumph and love.” In addition to fiction, Josaphat writes non-fiction and poetry, as well as screenplays. Her work has been featured in The African American Review, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, The Master's Review, Grist Journal, Damselfly, Hinchas de Poesia, Off the Coast Journal and The Caribbean Writer. Her poems have been anthologized in Eight Miami Poets, a Jai-Alai Books publication. Fabienne Josaphat lives in South Florida.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com  

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Leonard Pitts Jr., author of the novel 54 MILES. Continuing with characters from his earlier work, THE LAST THING YOU SURRENDDER, set during World War II, "54 Miles" is a historical novel that unfolds during the crucial weeks of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 in alabama. The story revolves around characters grappling with past trauma. Pitts delves into the challenges of weaving these characters' stories into the larger tapestry of the Civil Rights Movement. He also explores the intricacies of interracial relationships during the era of Jim Crow laws and the complex emotional dynamics within the families of the characters.The author of five novels, Leonard Pitts, Jr. was a journalist for more than forty years, including a long tenure as a nationally syndicated columnist for the Miami Herald. He is the winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, in addition to many other awards.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Wanda Morris, the author of WHAT YOU LEAVE BEHIND. In her novel, a woman returns to her hometown to restart her career and her life, only to stumble upon a group of individuals whose ruthless ambitions threaten the lives of people in her community. Wanda Morris is the award-winning author of Anywhere You Run and All Her Little Secrets.  You can find out more about Wanda at wandamorriswrites.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Rudy Ruiz, author of the novel THE BORDER BETWEEN US.  Set in Brownsville, Texas, the novel follows Ramon Lopez's life from fifth grade to college, exploring themes of family dynamics, immigration, and coming of age. Ruiz draws heavily from his own experiences, fictionalizing real events and characters, such as his grandmother and a chili-selling story from his childhood. He emphasizes the importance of mentors and the universal themes of parent-child relationships and generational gaps. Rudy Ruiz is the author of The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez and Valley of Shadows. He is a winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book of Fiction, the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, and multiple International Latino Book Awards. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ruben Reyes, Jr., author of the short stories collection THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN. THERE IS A RIO GRANDE IN HEAVEN, Reyes's first book, blends speculative fiction with themes of Salvadoran immigration.  Reyes describes his book as speculative fiction about Salvadoran immigrants, ranging from domestic family dramas with weird elements to stories set on Mars. In the interview he shares how he was influenced by writers like Michael Crichton and Ray Bradbury, and that he aims to entertain while addressing issues like exploitation and privilege. Ruben Reyes, Jr. is a graduate of Harvard College where he studied History and Literature and Latinx Studies. His writing has appeared in Audible Originals, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Florida Review Online, Business Insider, The Acentos Review, Strange Horizons, Poynter, and other publications. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ken Krimstein, the author of the graphic narrative EINSTEIN IN KAFKALAND: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up with the Universe. During the year that Prague was home to both Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka from 1911-1912, the trajectory of the two men's lives wove together in uncanny ways-as did their shared desire to tackle the world's biggest questions in Europe's strangest city. In stunning words and pictures, Einstein in Kafkaland reveals the untold story of how their worlds wove together in a cosmic battle for new kinds of truth.Ken Krimstein is a cartoonist, author, and educator whose work appears in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Megan Kimble, author of CITY LIMITS: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways. CITY LIMITS examines the impact of urban highways on American cities. In the interview, Kimble discussed how highways were sold as progress in the 1950s and 60s, driven by car companies and oil industries. She argues that highways often disproportionately affect black and brown communities, citing examples like Houston's Fifth Ward. She also addresses the paradox of increased traffic due to induced demand and the environmental and economic costs of car-centric cities. Kimball advocates for the removal of urban highways to create more equitable and sustainable urban spaces.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Gabino Iglesias, author of the novel HOUSE OF BONE AND RAIN. In the interview, Iglesias explained how the novel was inspired in part by his personal experiences as a teen in Puerto Rico. The story follows a group of friends seeking revenge after a friend's mother is killed. Iglesias highlights the complexities of masculinity and the impact of colonialism, using Hurricane Maria as a metaphor for systemic issues. He emphasizes the deep bond among friends and the internal struggle between staying in Puerto Rico and seeking better opportunities elsewhere. The novel blends horror, crime, and political commentary, exploring themes of identity, opportunity, and the struggle for a better life.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Attica Locke, the New York Times Best Selling author, about her latest novel, GUIDE ME HOME, the final installment in her Edgar Award-winning "Highway 59" trilogy. Set in east Texas, the novel explores themes of race, integrity, and family dynamics through the character Darre Matthews, a black Texas Ranger. In the interview, Attica reflects on the impact of the evolving political landscape on her writing and the themes of her Highway 59 trilogy.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, May Cobb, the author of THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT. In her novel, a young writer works as a personal assistant to a wealthy Hollywood couple, but through an ironic twist of fate, she finds herself caught in the middle of a story that she cannot escape. May Cobb is award-winning author of The Hunting Wives, My Summer Darlings, A Likeable Woman, and Big Woods. You can find out more about May at maycobb.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comSign-up for the Diverse Voices Book Review email notification of interviews available to listen to at https://forms.office.com/r/NtvGUfwUgb 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Nicola Yoon, author of ONE OF OUR KIND.  Yoon describes her novel as "somewhere between a thriller and a horror. It's about a woman named Jasmine who, along with her husband and young son, moved to a suburb of Los Angeles that builds itself as a black utopia. And when Jasmine gets there, she expects to find safety and community, and at first, she does, but then things quickly shift..."Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING, THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR and a co-author of BLACKOUT AND WHITEOUT. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comSign-up for the Diverse Voices Book Review email notification of interviews available to listen to at https://forms.office.com/r/NtvGUfwUgb 

Diverse Voices Book Review host interview Frank Andre Guridy, author of THE STADIUM: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play. In this book, historian Frank Guridy recounts the contested history of play, protest, and politics in American stadiums from the Democratic National Convention at Madison Square Garden in 1924 to the Colin Kaepernick protest at Qualcomm Stadium in 2016. Moving between the field, the press box, and the locker room, this book recovers the hidden history of the stadium and its important role in the struggle for justice in America.  Frank Andre Guridy is an award-winning historian and the author of three books. He is a professor of history and African American studies and the executive director of the Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights at Columbia University. He lives in New York City.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comSign-up for the Diverse Voices Book Review email notification of interviews available to listen to at https://forms.office.com/r/NtvGUfwUgb 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed John Vercher, author of the novel DEVIL IS FINE. The novel is described by its publisher: "Still reeling from a sudden tragedy, our biracial narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged white grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of selling the land immediately and moving on. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is far more complicated than he ever imagined. In a shocking irony, he is now the Black owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother's side of the family..."Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Renee Watson, the author of skin & bones. Through a series of profound vignettes, her new novel tells the story of a woman who tries to live and thrive in a world that never truly sees the beauty that she has learned to love within herself.  Renée Watson is also the author of the young adult novel, PIERCING ME TOGETHER, which received a Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Honor. You can find out more about Renee at reneewatson.net.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Larry Tye, author of THE JAZZMEN: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America.  From the publisher: This is the story of three revolutionary American musicians, the maestro jazzmen who orchestrated the chords that throb at the soul of twentieth-century America..  What is far less known about these groundbreakers is that they were bound not just by their music or even the discrimination that they, like nearly all Black performers of their day, routinely encountered. Each defied and ultimately overcame racial boundaries by opening America's eyes and souls to the magnificence of their music.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

In 2014, Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Danielle Allen about her newly published book, OUR DECLARATION: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality. Featured on the front page of the New York Times, her book publisher writes in its description of the book: "Our Declaration is already regarded as a seminal work that reinterprets the promise of American democracy through our founding text. Combining a personal account of teaching the Declaration with a vivid evocation of the colonial world between 1774 and 1777, Allen, a political philosopher renowned for her work on justice and citizenship reveals our nation's founding text to be an animating force that not only changed the world more than two-hundred years ago, but also still can. Challenging conventional wisdom, she boldly makes the case that the Declaration is a document as much about political equality as about individual liberty."Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. She is a professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy.

Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed Walter Mosley about his latest Easy Rawlins novel, FAREWELL, AMETHYSTINE. Set in 1970 finds Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, LA's premier Black detective, at 50 years of age despite all expectations.  He has a loving family, a beautiful home, and a thriving investigation agency.  All is right with the world… and then Amethystine Stoller, his own personal Helen of Troy, arrives. Her ex-husband is missing. A simple enough case. But even as Easy takes his first step in the investigation he trips.  He falls into the memory of things past.

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Meg Gardiner, author of the thriller SHADOWHEART, a crime fiction pick of the month.  SHADOWHEART is the fourth book in Gardiner's UNSUB thriller series featuring FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix. In the thriller, Hendrix is  tracking a serial killer that appears to be following the modus operandi of a jailed serial killer.   In the interview Gardiner discussed the vulnerability of her protagonist, how she drives the pace of her novels, and how she uses different point of view characters to allow readers to understand and empathize with both the good and bad characters, and to give voice to those most invested in the story.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed award winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, author of ON JUNETEENTH. In the interview, Gordon-Reed discussed the historical significance of Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas. She also shared her personal experiences and perspectives on the holiday's origins, evolution, and cultural significance. Born and raised in Texas, Annette Gordon-Reed is a history professor at Harvard University and the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning THE HEMINGSES OF MONTICELLO.  Her web site is https://annettegordonreed.com/. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Abir Mukherjee, author of the new thriller Hunted.  Hunted, Mukherjee's sixth novel, follows the paths of a terrorist group in the U.S. planning and executing bombings in the U.S., the efforts of the FBI to stop them, and the search for two of the young adults in the group by their parents who hope to prevent catastrophe.  The novel has a multicultural cast of characters providing points of view from a U.S. and international perspective.  In the interview, Mukherjee discussed the use of crime fiction as a medium for social commentary and protest, particularly in Scotland, his home. Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed historian Manisha Sinha, author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920.  In the interview, Manisha explained her decision to focus on Reconstruction as the central theme, tying it to various other historical events and movements including the women's suffrage movement, the destruction of indigenous sovereignties, the Industrial Revolution, and labor conflict.Manisha Sinha is the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and a leading authority on the history of slavery and abolition and the Civil War and Reconstruction. She is also the author of The Counterrevolution of Slavery: Politics and Ideology in Antebellum South Carolina and The Slave's Cause: A History of Abolition Understanding American Democracy's History of Abolition.

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Chaitali Sen interviewed Gemini Wahhaj, author of the debut novel The Children of this Madness.  In The Children of this Madness, Gemini Wahhaj pens a complex tale of modern Bengalis, one that illuminates the recent histories not only of Bangladesh, but America and Iraq. Told in multiple voices over successive eras, this is the story of Nasir Uddin and his daughter Beena, and the intersection of their distant, vastly different lives.Gemini Wahhaj is a Bangladeshi American writer living in the US. She wrote her debut novel The Children of This Madness as a new immigrant in the US, while she was a graduate student in the creative writing program at the University of Houston and war raged in Iraq.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Steven Han, author of Illiberal America: A History.  In the interview they discussed the realities behind American history's myths, touching on progressive thinking's complexities, wealth concentration, and public good concepts. They also examined the impact of political strategies like the Southern strategy, and the Supreme Court's role in economic rights protection and the aftermath of Obama's election. Steven Hahn is a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian who studies American political and social movements. His acclaimed works include A Nation Under Our Feet and A Nation Without Borders. He teaches at New York University.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed, Kellye Garrett, the author of Missing White Woman, her latest novel. Her new book tells the story of a young woman who becomes an unwilling participant in a mystery that not only captures the attention of the public, but also forces her to face her past while fighting for her future. Kellye Garrett is also the author of the award-winning book, Like A Sister, and the co-founder of the Crime Writers of Color.  You can learn more about Kellye at www.kellyegarrett.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comSign-up for the Diverse Voices Book Review email notification of interviews available to listen to at https://forms.office.com/r/NtvGUfwUgb Web site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/  

Diverse Voices Book Review host interviewed George Pelecanos, author of the story collection Owning Up. In the interview they discuss the significance of storytelling in addressing social issues, particularly racial injustice, historical trauma, and violence. They highlight the emotional connection that stories can provide, allowing readers to empathize with characters and learn from their experiences. George Pelecanos is the bestselling author of twenty-two novels and story collections set in and around Washington, D.C. He is also a producer and Emmy-nominated writer of HBO's The Wire, Treme, The Deuce and We Own This City.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Marie Arana, author of LatinoLand.  LatinoLand is an all-encompassing overview of Hispanic America based on personal interviews, deep research, and Marie Arana's life experience as a Latina. At present, Latinos comprise 20 percent of the US population, a number that is growing. By 2050, census reports project that one in every three Americans will claim Latino heritage.  Marie Arana draws on her own experience as the daughter of an American mother and Peruvian father who came to the US at age nine, straddling two worlds, as many Latinos do.  Learn more about LatinoLand at Marie Arana - Latinoland: America's Largest and Least Understood Minority.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/  

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Ayana Mathis, author of the novel The Unsettled.  "The Unsettled is a spellbinding portrait of two fierce women reckoning with the steep cost of resistance: What legacy will we leave our children? Where can we be free? Learn more about the novel at The Unsettled — Ayana Mathis.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.comWeb site: https://diversevoicesbookreview.wordpress.com/ 

In celebration of Women's History Month, we're featuring an interview conducted by Teens Choice Book Show host Maya Hay in January of 2021 with Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, authors of A Black Women's History of the United States.  The book is described as "an empowering and intersectional history that centers the stories of African American women across 400+ years, showing how they are—and have always been—instrumental in shaping our country."At the time of the interview, Dr. Berry was the Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor of History and associate dean of the Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin, and Dr. Gross was the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.  Today, Dr. Gross is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of African American Studies at Emory University is and Dr. Berry is the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Learn more about About | Daina Ramey Berry (drdainarameyberry.com).  More information on Dr. Gross is available at About — Kali Nicole Gross. 

In 2020 Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Koritha Mitchell, author of FROM SLAVE CABINS TO THE WHITE HOUSE.  As part of our continuing recognition of Black authors for Black History this year, I'm reposting this interview that was originally posted on the podcast site on October of 2020.  In the book Dr. Mitchell argues that it is Black success that is most likely to draw the ire of white mobs. Using characters in literature by black female writers from Zora Neale Hurston to Lorraine Hansberry, and the role in the White House of former first lady Michelle Obama, she demonstrates how Blacks have pursued success not in response to the forces that oppose them so much as they are continuing community traditions of affirming themselves while acknowledging that the resulting success will attract hostility.  Learn more about Dr. Mitchell at https://www.korithamitchell.com/about/.  Koritha Mitchell, PhD is an award-winning author, literary historian, cultural critic, and professional development expert. Her research focuses on African American literature as well as violence in United States history and contemporary culture. She examines how texts, both written and performed, help targeted families and communities survive and thrive.

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Lisa B. Thompson, author of Underground, Monroe, and the Mamalogues: Three Plays. She was interviewed in August of 2020.  In these plays, the black feminist playwright and scholar thoughtfully explores themes such as the black family, motherhood, migration, racial violence, and trauma and its effect on black people from the early twentieth century to the present. The works showcase Thompson's subversive humor and engagement with black history and culture through the lens of the black middle class. In addition to being an award-winning playwright, Dr. Thompson is a professor of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Beyond the Black Lady: Sexuality and the New African American Middle Class. Learn more about Lisa B. Thompson at Home | Lisa B. Thompson (lisabthompson.com). Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Peniel E. Joseph, author of THE THIRD RECONSTRUCTION.  In THE THIRD RECONSTRUCTION Joseph weaves in his personal experiences growing up in segregated neighborhood of New York City with three critical periods in history in American history he describes as reconstruction periods: 1865-1898, 1954-1968, and 2008 to the present. In the book he writes, “There is the America that we might call reconstructionist, home to champions of racial democracy, and there is the America that we might call redemptionist, a country that papers over racial, class, and gender hierarchies through an allegiance to white supremacy. Since the nation's birth, its racial politics have been shaped by an ongoing battle between reconstructionist America and redemptionist America.”Peniel Joseph's web site is https://penielejoseph.wordpress.com/.Twitter -@PenielJosephInstagram - @dr.penieljosephDiverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshay

Diverse Voices Book Review contributor Amanda Moore interviewed Melissa Rivero, author of the novel Flores and Miss Paula.  Flora and Miss Paula explores the relationship between a mother and her daughter as they attempt to navigate their daily lives while coping with the loss of a loved one. Melissa Rivero is the author of the award-winning book, The Affairs of the Falcons, and she is a graduate of NYU and Brooklyn Law School.  You can learn more about Melissa at www.melissa-rivero.com.Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media:Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreviewInstagram - @diverse_voices_book_reviewTwitter - @diversebookshayEmail: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com