Tuesday 13 September 2016

Graphic Novels With Latinx Main Character/s

I was talking to Naz @ Read Diverse Books the other day, and we kind of had a lightbulb-type moment.

We both love graphic novels, and Naz was interested in reading graphic novels with Latinx main characters.

If you've read this blog before, you'll be aware that I'm a complete comics/superheroes/graphic novels nerd... but we struggled to think of any.






Now, as the major English-language graphic novel publishers are American, you'd think that there would be a little more Latinx representation then there currently is.

Still, I was sure that Latinx main characters must exist out there somewhere - so decided to track them down.
















After a lot of research and much SCREAMING AT THE DAMNED COMPUTER, these are the books I could find (I have no idea whether they're any good, but I found them dammit!):








Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

The first of two sets of brothers on this list, Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá are from São Paulo, Brazil.

Gabriel Bá is also the artist on Gerard Way's Umbrella Academy (I love that series! SO BAD!) So you can be damn sure that these books are now on my TBR.




-Daytripper

Brás de Oliva Domingos is the child of a famous Brazilian author, he dreams of being one himself, but is stuck writing the obituaries of famous people.

Goodreads describes this as  'a magical, mysterious and moving story about life itself.'

Amazon: UK - US


- De:Tales : Stories from Urban Brazil

These are short stories told in comics form - and according to Goodreads are 'Brimming with all the details of human life, their charming tales move from the urban reality of their home in São Paulo to the magical realism of [the authors'] Latin American background.'

Amazon: UK - US

















The Hernandez brothers

Gilbert, Mario, and Jaime Hernandez seem to be the veterans of USA Latinx graphic novels, and have literally decades of work under their belts.




-Love and Rockets

This is a series about (according to our old pal Goodreads) 'three Southern California Mexican-Americans armed with a passion for pop culture and punk rock' which started in the 80s, going on to span many volumes and spin-offs.

(Seriously, I think it's possible to read nothing but this series, and it's related series, for the rest of your life.)

The first volume is 'Music for Mechanics.'

Amazon: UK - US








Marble Season

By Gilbert Hernandez, one of the above creators of Love and Rockets, this is a coming-of-age story about Latinx brothers growing up in 1960s America.


Amazon: UK - US















Julio's Day

A sort-of spin-off from Love and Rockets, Julio's Day is a stand-alone graphic novel from Gilbert Hernandez which shares some of the settings and themes of the Love and Rockets world.

Julio's Day follows Julio from his birth in 1900 to his death in 2000 - 100 years over 100 pages (and yes, I've totally added this to my TBR.)

Amazon: UK - US







Roller Girl

This an 'all-ages' (i.e. kids & people (like yours truly,) who are not ashamed to read kids' books,) graphic novel about Astrid Vasquez, a 12-year-old who has always done everything with her BFF Nicole.

So when Astrid signs up for roller derby summer camp, she figures Nicole will too - except Nicole goes to dance camp with another friend. What will roller derby camp be like on her own?

Amazon: UK - US








City of Clowns

This is a graphic novel version of Daniel Alarcón's story of the same name.

Our protagonist here is Oscar 'Chino' Uribe - a Peruvian journalist who begins documenting the lives of Lima's street clowns, while coming to terms with the realities of his late father's life.

Amazon: UK - US













Anita Blake

This is a graphic-novel-fication (shhh! It's a word now!) of the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton.

Anita is half-Mexican on her mother's side, and is generally pretty awesome. The first volume (like the first novel) is Guilty Pleasures.

Amazon: UK - US






Mi Barrio

This is entrepreneur Robert Renteria's graphic memoir of growing up in LA, based on his prose memoir 'From the Barrio to the Board Room.'

Amazon: UK - US





Ghetto Brother: Warrior to Peacemaker

This is a biography in graphic novel form, telling the story of Benjy Melendez - a Bronx gang-leader from the 1960s who led the Ghetto Brothers. This is the story of a gang that promoted peace, instead of violence, and managed to bring a gang truce to their area.

I've added this to my own TBR, because the more I read about it, the more I wanted to know!

Amazon: UK - US












Exilia The Invisible Path Book 1

The only graphic novel by Cecilia Pego which I could find in English, Goodreads describes this as a 'dark fantasy and mystical thriller graphic novel saga, originally crafted in ink, watercolor and oil painting.'

It features Exilia - who is apparently expelled from her convent and ends up in a post-apocalyptic quest (as we've all done, at some point in our lives...)

Amazon: UK - US







Ghosts

This is a brand-spanking new all-ages (kids) graphic novel from Raina Telgemeier about two sisters - Catrina and Maya - who move to the coastal Bahía de la Luna because the coastal air is better for Maya's cystic fibrosis.

But Bahía de la Luna has a secret - it's a town full of ghosts. Maya really want to see one. Catrina? Not so much.

Amazon: UK - US


















Mr Mendoza's Paintbrush

Originally a short story, this graphic novel adaptation is about Mr Mendoza - the resident famous graffiti artist of Rosario, Mexico.

The residents of Rosario have a variety of opinions on Mr Mendoza and his satirical art, but rumours and speculation start to fly when a message is painted on the side of a pig: 'Mendoza goes to heaven on Tuesday.'

Amazon: UK - US















Awkward

This was actually already on my TBR. Another 'all-ages' title, this features young protagonist Penelope Torres - known as Peppi.

Peppi has just arrived at a new middle school, she has 2 cardinal rules for survival: don't get noticed by the mean kids, and join groups with similar interests to her own.

But a chance run-in with quiet Jaime Thompson leaves the mean kids calling her 'nerder girlfriend,' and instead of ignoring them, she treats Jaime very badly...

Amazon: UK - US

















Superheroes

You know I like me some powers and capes, so I had to find some Latinx superheroes for this list.

It was more difficult than it should've been - especially since Latinx characters, where they exist, seem to be part of superhero team rather than having their own titles.

I wanted to go with title-characters because there's a guarantee that their story will take centre stage and not be eclipsed by others.

I did find some, so take a look:






Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)

This is a DC series about teenager Jaime Reyes who has the powers imbued by a mystical Blue Beetle scarab. (Yeah... just go with it.)

This is technically a legacy character - i.e. another individual has taken up the mantle of a previous superhero - but there are very few people who remember the original 1930/40s character.

The modern Blue Beetle books start with the 2006 run - Vol 1, Shellshocked.

Amazon: UK - US
















Araña/Arana (Anya Corazon)

Meet Anya, a Marvel Latinx Spider-Girl who goes by the name of either Araña or Arana. In all honesty, this one was a surprise to yours truly - I'd never heard of her. Ever.

I don't know whether this is Earth-616 (the main universe/timeline for Marvel) or an alternate universe or timeline (there are a lot of them - hence the requirement to number them.)

The only book I could find for Anya was Arana Volume 1: The Heart of a Spider from 2005.

Amazon: UK - US







Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

The Spider-Man of the 'Ultimate' universe (Marvel - multiple universes, gotta love 'em. So many Spideys that it's now known as the Spider-Verse. #TrueStory,) is Miles Morales - a black-Latinx teenager.

This is usually a Brian Michael Bendis (BMB) title, which y'know, usually means pretty good quality. I was disappointed by the small rant against diversity fans earlier this year though :/ I expect better of BMB.

I recommend starting with Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man: Volume 1: Revival (Man, that's a long title!) because previous books in the ultimate series are kind of leading from the Peter Parker of that universe to Miles Morales, so there's crossover (as far as I understand it; really Marvel, if we could stop labelling everything as #1? That would be handy.)

(Yes, Miles Morales - one of the poster-boys for Marvel diversity - is both alternate universe AND a legacy character. Sigh.)

Amazon: UK - US















Nova (Sam Alexander)

Another legacy (i.e. takes up the name of a previous hero,) character, Nova is a dude who flies through space - often with the Guardians of the Galaxy - and also has his own title-series.

You can check him out in Nova, Vol 1: Origin.

Amazon: UK - US





















Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes)

Yet another legacy character (but, y'know, being the Ghost Rider is basically just being the vessel of the Power of Vengeance, so I suppose that makes more sense,) Robbie Reyes' stint as Ghost Rider began in 2013/2014.

His title-series run begins with All-New Ghost Rider, Vol 1: Engines of Vengeance.

Amazon: UK - US








Vibe (Cisco Ramon)








Played by the amazing Carlos Valdes (I love him!) in the CW series The Flash, Vibe was also given his own DC comics title-series which so far only has one volume - Justice League of America's Vibe, Vol 1: The Breach.

Vibe uses vibrations and inter-dimensional physics to see through alternate universes and timelines (a handy talent in the comics world, let's face it,) and also to move objects, 'blast' stuff, and levitate.

Amazon: UK - US














Coming Up...

There's more good news for graphic novel fans later this year -

La Borinqueña, a new Marvel heroine, will be making her debut in November.

Bread and Butter (issue #1) by Liz Mayorga will also be out later this year (and yours truly will be doing a mini-review.)

And there's an anthology (La Raza Anthology) on Kickstarter which promises great things :)





Ok, my dearest nerdlets, I'm going to go take a long lie down now because you wouldn't believe how long this post took me... phew!




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Sunday 11 September 2016

Nerd Church - Behold My Selfish Kindness

This week, my dearest nerdlets, has been an... interesting... one in the online bookish community.

The centre of the interesting-ness is a video by a vlogger/booktuber who feels the need to rant for 20+ minutes about diversity being b*llsh**.











Some myths clearly still need to be dispelled. There is still so much ignorance around this topic.





There's also a lot of disagreement over how strongly people should speak/type/tweet/whatever when they have issues with someone.

I personally usually like to take the tack which focuses on the positives - supporting the good, while reasonably explaining why the bad is bad.

I know a lot of people take a more antagonistic approach, but this is the one which works for me.











Part of why I try so damned hard to keep to the positive - even when dealing with people who, in no uncertain terms, are bigots - is because I've had to learn to be selfish.

People often say that mental illness makes you selfish. In some ways that's true. But it's because you have to be.

You have to learn self-care. You have to learn to somehow put yourself before others. You have to learn that your opinions matter. Because you're never going to be able to help others unless you take care of yourself.












Part of why I don't swear and act aggressively to people who probably deserve it is because I am anxious about offending people. Yes, even people who deserve it.

I am terrified of saying something offensive to anyone.

It's part of the anxiety side of my illness - my hands start to shake and I can't breathe.

If you've never had an anxiety flare-up and/or a panic attack - imagine dying in slow motion while your body and brain are screaming at you to f**king run.

Of course, the depression side also chimes in: 'how dare you say something horrible? Yes, this person is the scum of the earth - but you're worse. You're nothing.'

I can't let either of those sides get too firm a hold of me again. I can't go back to the times where I hoped that I would die in my sleep.





This is the same reason I often won't get involved at all in heated online discussions. I'm sorry. I would love to help you. I have to be selfish. I'm finally in somewhat of a recovery period, and I can't jeopardise that.












But there are things I can do to help - I will promote the positives of diversity, I will support diverse books and diverse authors.

And I will kill trolls with kindness where possible - I like to refer to this as 'troll-hunting' ...turns out trolls get confused when you remain pleasant and logical. (They also fear the smiley face - little tip!)




I can't abide adding to the bad feeling and hatred in this world - there's enough of it without me.

No matter how horrible a person is, I can't hate them.  I hate what they stand for, but not them. They have been damaged by the hatred of the world. I pity them.












When you accuse people of cowardice or hypocrisy for not engaging in the Twitter melee, please spare a thought for the people like me, for those who have struggled and learned the hard way to put themselves first. And for those who just can't stand any more hatred in this world.

Please understand that hatred and anger can only go so far - even when justified. You need love, and pity.





Feel free to disagree with me, I'll still love you :)




Nerd Church is a weekly post where I try to make the world make sense. It doesn't seem to be going that well, but I'll keep trying!








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Saturday 10 September 2016

5 Diversity Myths Debunked

In case you aren't aware, there's been a lot of discussion about diversity in the online bookish community this past week.

Now, the purpose of this post is not to get into the who-said-what's or the intricacies of the (fairly heated) words which were exchanged on all sides.









No, the purpose of this blogpost is to debunk some of the misconceptions about diversity that seem to be floating around.

I figured it was time to set some things straight. (Particularly since the video at the centre of all this seems to have perpetuated a lot of these misconceptions.)





I'd like to point out that it's ok to disagree with what I'm saying. Just don't act like a jerk. (Great motto for life, actually.)










Myth 1 - If I read diversely, I won't be 'allowed' to read books by white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, able-bodied, neuro-typical, authors with no mental health problems.

No-one is telling you to stop reading the books you would normally read. THE POINT IS TO ADD VOICES, NOT TAKE THEM AWAY.

This means you'll get a varied outlook on life, and a chance to look at things from a different perspective.

Think of it this way - if the only song you ever heard was 'row, row, row your boat,' then you'd think it was the only song in existence. There's nothing wrong with 'row, row, row your boat.' But you'd miss out on so many other great songs.

That's what you're doing when you don't read diversely - you're hearing the same song over and over without realising there are other songs out there.













Myth 2 - This is all a conspiracy against white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, neurot-typical, able-bodied people with no mental health problems.

Are you hearing yourself right now?

I know this might be difficult to understand but THIS IS NOT ABOUT WHITE, CIS-GENDERED, HETEROSEXUAL, NEURO-TYPICAL, ABLE-BODIED PEOPLE WITH NO MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS.

IT IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK AGAINST YOU.

This is about the other billions of people on this planet (yes, I mean billions - there are over 1 billion Han Chinese people alone.)

How we got to the point where such a specific set of identifying characteristics was deemed the 'norm,' and dominated the global culture, (certainly Western culture,) is really beyond me.

It's about representation for other people. It's about the world not being geared to a 'select' group of people.

Sorry, but it's not about you. It's about everyone else.













Myth 3 - Diverse books aren't of the best quality. That's why they're less popular.

Think about this. It's ok to dislike a particular book, or dislike the way a particular author writes.

But if you can't find quality among any diverse books, then the problem isn't with the authors, it's with you.

The reason non-diverse books (for want of a better phrase,) are more likely to be bestsellers is down to marketing, opportunities, and the fact that biases - conscious or sub-conscious - will mean that people head for what has been established as the 'norm.'

Publishers are more likely to look favourably on white authors. Maybe they don't ask outright what your background is, but there are ways of telling.

An author named Mr Mohammed is more likely to be either a person of colour (PoC,) a Muslim, or both, than an author named Mr Jones. Of course Mr Jones could be a PoC and/or Muslim, and Mr Mohammed could be a white atheist.

But in one snap second, the person reading your manuscript will make a judgement.

And many agents and publishers ask for a biography.

You shouldn't have to hide who you are, but every word you write - from 'I was born in place with a high percentage of PoC...' to 'I and my same-sex spouse or partner live in...' - will form a picture of who you are in the mind of the person reviewing the application.

And people, unfortunately, are biased.















Myth 4 - There are no biases in stories.

Honestly, I would love it if this were true. It's not.

When the hero is almost always the white, straight, cis-gendered, able-bodied, neuro-typical person with no mental health issues, it gives a skewed view of the world.

How many PoC heroes can you name? A lot less, probably.

How many LGBTQ+ heroes can you think of? How many of those are queer women?

How about disabled heroes who don't get magically cured within a chapter or two?

How many confirmed autistic-spectrum characters can you name? How about characters with mental health problems who aren't walking stereotypes?

Where diverse characters are included, all too often they are either villain or victim. They are the people who either need protecting, or that the 'normal' people need to be protected from.

The other day, a book made me feel physically sick. The subtext confused gay men with paedophiles, then quickly threw a smoke-screen by having those same characters also be homophobic.

Yes, the only gay characters in this book were homophobic paedophiles.

This was not a self-published book, neither was it a book from decades ago.

It was published by an imprint of a major publishing house. It was published last year.

How many hands must this book have passed through without the clear issues being brought up? How did the editor let all this slide? WHY ARE THERE PEOPLE ONLINE GIVING THIS BOOK A RANKING OF 5/5????













Myth 5 - I shouldn't read stories about diverse characters, because they're not 'for' me.

I'm going to point out two things to you.

Firstly, even if a book wasn't written with you in mind, or about people like you, then you can still read it. You can still enjoy it. You can still love it.

Would you stop a queer girl reading Harry Potter because there aren't any queer female characters in it? Would you stop a deaf kid reading about Narnia because the Pevensie kids can hear?

Secondly, if you are able to read about, and relate to, historical characters from a time you'll never visit, or future characters from a time you'll never see, then why can't you relate to characters who are actually like the people around you?

People are people. (Even when they're aliens, vampires, werewolves, etc.)

If you can accept a human kissing a lizard-person in a TV show, then why is the issue that they're both female??????

(Yes, I know books and TV shows are different. But you get my point.)












Shall I sum-up for you lovely people?




Don't be afraid to read diversely.

Diversity is not a threat. It's a way of hearing different voices. It's a way of listening to each other. It's a way of beginning to understand each other.

Diversity is not a threat. It's a gift.







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Friday 9 September 2016

Friday Fics Fix - That Changes Everything I See

This week, my dearest nerdlets, I have something a little similar to a fic that I recommended in 'Friday Fics Fix' a few weeks ago...




Sherlock is a TV series with a devoted fanbase  (- this is an understatement, obviously.)












Clearly, he's also a character who speaks to people who clamour for someone like them on their TV screens.

Whether it's a good or a bad thing that this is all headcanon instead of canon, is debatable.

(Fangirling notes:

Headcanon, aka headcannon, head canon, and other variants, is something which fans accept and treat with the same due reverence as canon, but which is unofficial.

-Example: the Marvel movies without Ant-Man still have Ant-Man in them, you just can't see him.

Canon is the official material of the fandom. It's the things that are actually mentioned in the book, TV series, etc. It's therefore the basis of the fandom.

-Example: Harry Potter is a wizard at Hogwarts.)














On the one hand, the headcanon allows a multitude of identities to find resonance with Sherlock and his character. On the other, a canonisation of one, or several, of these under-represented identities would make a huge difference for the diversity movement.

So, whether your headcanon is for an asexual Sherlock, or an autistic one, (or hell, maybe both, I'm not the headcanon police,) there is probably a fic out there for you.

This week's fic might just be it.





This fic features a Sherlock on the autistic spectrum, written by an author who is also on the spectrum.

It's a little clunkier in terms of prose than the last fic I recommended which had an autistic Sherlock, but it's still well worth the read.

I definitely enjoyed the informed perspective involved, and found the discussion of ADHD medication (something which displayed knowledge of the topic,) quite interesting.





I also liked the Johnlock aspects of this fic, as all too often depictions of autism seem to suggest that non-neuro-typical people don't have any emotion and/or can't feel love. Which is not true.

(Fangirling note: Johnlock is a romantical/sexual relationship between Sherlock and John Watson.)









So, this week's fic is:


Give it a shot. I'll be back with more fanfiction next week :)







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Thursday 8 September 2016

Comics Wrap-Up - You're Not From San Francisco, You're From Hunter's Bar






Single Issues




This week I read Bread and Butter #1 by Liz Mayorga, about a young Latina woman trying to make her way in San Francisco (hence the song-lyric title to this post) by working at a coffee shop.

It took me a while to get used to the art style - I think it was the lack of background in most of the panels that felt a little odd - but it grew on me.

I'll be doing a mini-review of this nearer to its release date.

(Latina, rather than Latinx, is the form used in the publicity materials from Rosarium Publishing.)





Other Stuff



Women Write About Comics talked about the first gay couple to front a DC series - The Midnighter & Apollo.

(In honesty, I didn't read all this article because it's fairly damned long. But I skimmed it and there are some good points so I figured I'd link it for you guys.)



-0-



And you can take a look at this awesome book trailer for Ta-Nehisi Coates' first Black Panther book - A Nation Under Our Feet (UK - US.)










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Wednesday 7 September 2016

Mystery-A-Thon Anticipation Post

mystery-a-thon

Hello my nerdlets!

Today I thought I'd write a quick post about the lovely Ely's Mystery-a-Thon, which starts next Monday.






Who's running this deal-y?

Well, that would be Ely @ Tea & Titles (hence her name in the pic)



What's it about?

Reading crime & mystery books between 12-19th September, and talking about them on social media etc.

Whatever books you want - that simple.

Personally, I'm only going to be reading 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie (UK - US) (because it's my birthday next week and I'm hoping the family will've got the non-too-subtle hints I dropped about the new Harry Potter, and The Fireman by Joe Hill. So I'll be reading those.)




Where can I find out more?

Over on Ely's Mystery-a-Thon post. Go check it out! :)

Tuesday 6 September 2016

Review Time! - As I Descended by Robin Talley











Title: As I Descended

Author: Robin Talley


Genre: YA, Ghost Story, Horror, LGBTQ+ (F/F and M/M)

Release Date: 6th September 2016

Amazon: UK - USA










A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

A young adult re-telling of Macbeth. In a boarding school. With LGBTQ+ protagonists. Hell yes!

I sooo wanted to read this - so much so that when my request to receive an eArc was declined on Edelweiss, I marched myself straight over the NetGalley to see if it was listed there.

And on NetGalley I was approved!!!!!!! XD XD

Happy book nerd all around!!!!!!!





Premise:

Lily wants her girlfriend to come to the same college as her after they graduate.

Maria deserves the best, and the Cawdor Kingsley prize would mean the scholarship of her choice. It would be perfect.

The thing standing in their way? Queen bee Delilah Dufrey.

It wasn't meant to go down like this. But after that night with the Ouija board, nothing goes to plan.

They wanted Delilah out of the way, and they just might get it.





Best bits:

Let's just take a moment to appreciate the diversity in this book:

The central relationship is between two girlfriends, one of which is Latina, and the other of which is disabled.

The two main supporting characters are boyfriends Mateo (another Latinx character) and Brandon.

None of this feels forced, and none of the characters feel 2-dimensional.

As well as being diverse, it is a damn good horror/ghost story.

With enough nods to the original Macbeth to keep the bard lovers reading, Talley weaves a story full of creepy tension and layers of meaning.









Because there is some deep sh** going on beneath the surface here - themes of ambition, insecurity, and hypocrisy all feature.

And Talley doesn't shy away from the issues either.

Her characters face the sting of homophobia in a variety of forms, and the irritation of being the only people of colour (PoC) in the school and therefore used by the establishment as proof that the school has left its racist roots behind.

The achievements of Lily and Mateo are often put down to 'affirmative action' - despite how hard they work, they can never get full credit for what they've done; and this, understandably, makes Lily in particular pretty damned angry.

The way Talley deals with these issues is truly skilful. She neither belittles them, nor makes them the central point of the book. They are an aspect of a complex plot filled with complex characters.

Honestly, there's so many excellent points that I could make about this book that I couldn't possibly get to them all. You'll have to read it to find out ;)





Not so great bits:

Personally, I would've loved an expansion on some parts of this book.

What is up with minor characters Austin and Felicia, who clearly know a hell of lot more than they should? Why is the dining room such a focal point for the spirits? Is the woman really La Llorona, like Mateo thinks? I NEED MORE!

It would've also been a plus to up the exploration of the Brandon/Mateo and Lily/Maria relationships.

I felt like there was so much more space for development there, and was left slightly unsatisfied when this aspect didn't fulfil its potential.

I also found the ending slightly underwhelming. There was nothing wrong with it - I just felt like it needed more POW!









('POW!' is now officially a technical term. I've decided.)

There're some issues in this book that people may have trouble with, including (but not limited to,) - death, ghosts, homophobia, self-harm, suicide, drugs, and a disturbing lack of interest by the authorities in what is happening at this school.

I didn't notice any swearing, but the odd word might've snuck in there.

There's a lot of violence, blood, gore, and references to the sexy times.

If you don't like ghosts or horror, then maybe try a different book. ;)








Verdict:


Well-written diverse YA horror with complex themes and characters!!!!!!!!

Book, will you marry me? ;)






Update 27th Jan 2017 - In the interest of fairness and openness, here is a Goodreads review from a reviewer who had a lot of problems with the representation of various people in this book.







Buy Now UKBuy Now USAGoodreadsAuthor's Site








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