Book Review

Black Diva of the Thirties: The Life of Ruby Elzy
by David E. Weaver

Ruby Elzy was an African-American soprano whose career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1940s. She originated the role of Serena in Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess, starred in a few musical plays on Broadway, and appeared in a handful of films. Unfortunately, her life was tragically cut short when she died after an operation in 1943. Weaver's book is the first published biography, and it is very enjoyable to read. Weaver did a great deal of research, especially around interviewing Elzy's family, friends, and colleagues, but wrote the book with a more general audience in mind. He really brings Elzy to life and makes clear what a loss her death was.

Book Review

Pet
by Akwaeke Emezi

This short and engaging young adult novel is set in the fictional city of Lucille. Due to a revolution in the recent past, Lucille is free of monsters and thus a place of safety and community. Jam is very close to her parents and her best friend Redemption, and has grown up in the belief that monsters no longer exist. One day, Jam cuts herself in her mother's studio, causing a strange and fearsome creature to emerge from a newly-finished painting. Pet, as the creature calls itself, has come to hunt a monster, which it claims is lurking in Redemption's home. Jam must figure out how to protect her friend from something no one else will admit even exists.
Pet was really good. I loved the details of Lucille, a city that could be almost anywhere and a setting that is not very distinct from the present. I loved the examination of the dangers of what we miss when we let our assumptions about the world cloud our vision. You can't fix what you can't or won't see.