Reads 365: No.25
April- Poetry & Prose
Poetry, literary works & lyrical fiction
Some of the books features heavy subject matter, so please be mindful of the content warnings and research them fully.
Your mental wellbeing matters.
The Talented Ribkins
by Ladee Hubbard
Johnny Ribkins can draw perfect maps from memory. His family has other talents. In the 1960s, they tried to be superheroes for civil rights. It didn't go well.
Now 72, Johnny owes money to a mobster and has one week to pay. With his niece Eloise in tow, he embarks on a road trip through Florida, confronting family history, buried treasure, and what happens when your "talents" can't save you from racism.
🎭 Utterly original.
💫 Perfect for:
• Magical realism fans
• Readers interested in civil rights era
• Anyone who loves unconventional narratives
• Fans of The Underground Railroad
⭐ Debut brilliance
📖Road trip narrative
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #TheTalentedRibkins #LadeeHubbard #MagicalRealism #CivilRights #BlackLiterature #SuperheroStory #RoadTrip #DiverseBooks
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Hattie migrates from Georgia to Philadelphia during the Great Migration. She has nine children. This is their story.
Ayana Mathis's debut spans 1923-1980, following Hattie Shepherd and her children through poverty, racism, illness, and survival. Each chapter is one child's story; together they're a portrait of Black American resilience and the cost of motherhood.
Oprah selected this for her Book Club. You'll understand why.
💫 Perfect for:
• Multigenerational saga readers
• Great Migration story seekers
• Fans of interconnected narratives
• Readers exploring motherhood and family
⭐ Philadelphia Black history
📚 Genre: Historical Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #TheTwelveTribes #AyanaMathis #OprahsBookClub #GreatMigration #BlackHistory #Philadelphia #Motherhood #FamilySaga #DiverseBooks
The Star Side of Bird Hill
by Naomi Jackson
Brooklyn. Barbados. Two sisters. Their mother's mental illness sends them "home" to an island they barely know.
When Avril's mental health deteriorates, Phaedra and Dionne are sent to Barbados to live with their grandmother. Naomi Jackson's debut explores Caribbean girlhood, mental health, family secrets, and what "home" means when you're caught between two worlds.
Lush, tender, and heartbreaking.
💫 Perfect for:
• Caribbean literature readers
• Coming-of-age story lovers
• Anyone exploring mental health in families
• Diaspora narrative enthusiasts
⭐ Debut novel
🌍Barbadian-American literature
📚Genre: Literary Fiction
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #TheStarSide #NaomiJackson #Barbadian #CaribbeanLit #MentalHealth #ComingOfAge #Sisters #Brooklyn #DiverseBooks
The Between
by Tananarive Due
Hilton survived drowning as a child. But did he? Something is wrong with time. Reality keeps shifting.
And someone or something wants him dead.
Hilton's reality fractures; is he losing his mind or caught between worlds? As a stalker threatens his family and his memories contradict themselves, survival means understanding what happened the day he drowned.
Black horror before it was a movement.
💫 Perfect for:
• Horror readers wanting psychological depth
• Afrofuturist horror fans
• Anyone who loves reality-bending narratives
• Octavia Butler fans
⭐ Afrofuturist horror pioneer
📚Genre: Horror
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #TheBetween #TananariveDue #BlackHorror #Afrofuturism #Horror #PsychologicalThriller #TimeTravel #ClassicHorror #DiverseBooks
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
by Deesha Philyaw
Black women. Church. Desire. Secrets. Deesha Philyaw explores what happens when you want what you're not supposed to want.
These interconnected stories follow Black women navigating faith, sexuality, motherhood, and the gap between who the church says they should be and who they are. Tender, honest, and unafraid of Black women's full humanity, including desire.
Essential.
💫 Perfect for:
• Short story enthusiasts
• Readers exploring Black women's sexuality
• Anyone interested in faith and desire
• Fans of complex, honest narratives
⭐ PEN/Faulkner Award • Story Prize Finalist • National Book Award Finalist
📚 Genre: Short Stories
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #SecretLives #DeeshaPhilyaw #PENFaulkner #ShortStories #BlackWomen #Faith #Sexuality #Church #NationalBookAward #DiverseBooks
The Shadow King
by Maaza Mengiste
Ethiopia. 1935. Mussolini invades. Women fight back. History forgot them. Maaza Mengiste remembers.
When Italy invades Ethiopia, Hirut becomes a guard for the "shadow king", a peasant pretending to be Emperor Haile Selassie to rally troops. Mengiste's historical epic centres the women warriors erased from history, exploring colonialism, war, photography, and resistance.
⭐ Lyrical war narrative. Devastating and brilliant.
💫 Perfect for:
• Historical fiction readers
• Anyone interested in Ethiopian history
• Readers seeking women in war narratives
• Fans of The Nightingale
🌍 Ethiopian-American
📚 Genre: Historical Fiction
#MarginsXReads#PoetryAndProse #TheShadowKing #MaazaMengiste #BookerPrize #Ethiopian #HistoricalFiction #WomenWarriors #WarNarrative #Colonialism #DiverseBooks
The Office of Historical Corrections
by Danielle Evans
What if there was a government department that corrected historical lies? And what if you worked there?
Danielle Evans's story collection culminates in a novella about a Black woman who works for the Office of Historical Corrections; a department that investigates inaccurate historical claims.
Sharp, satirical, and devastating, these stories explore race, truth, and American mythology.
Every story is a masterclass.
💫 Perfect for:
• Short story devotees
• Readers interested in race and history
• Fans of satirical fiction
• Anyone who loves smart, sharp writing
⭐ Title novella brilliant
📚 Genre: Short Stories
#MarginsXReads #PoetryAndProse #HistoricalCorrections #DanielleEvans #NationalBookAward #PENFaulkner #ShortStories #Satire #Race #AmericanHistory #DiverseBooks
April’s Poetry & Prose list