January 31, 2022
Dear Gorgeous Readers,
KatieΒ @basicbsguideΒ and I cordially invite you to join in our February Book Selection for #πππππππππππππππππππ. We will be reading the ππππ’π¨π§ππ₯ ππ¨π¨π€ ππ°ππ«π πͺπ’π§π§ππ« and πππ° ππ¨π«π€ ππ’π¦ππ¬ πππ¬ππ¬ππ₯π₯ππ«, ππͺπ―π¨, ππ―π£πΆπ³πͺπ¦π₯, ππͺπ―π¨Β by Jesmyn Ward.
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This book has been on my radar for years and I am thrilled to finally read it! β£
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As usual, this is a read at your own pace situation with a lively discussion via Instagramβ£
chats at the end of February!β£
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You must have a private or public Instagram account to join the discussion at the end of the month. If you would like to participate, please DM me over on @dearmrhemingway and I’ll add you to the group.
xoxo,β£
Kellyβ£
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P.S. Meet one of my 9-month-old Pekin ducksβ¦..Lemon!!!!β£
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ππ²π§π¨π©π¬π’π¬ β£
“Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to understand what it means to be a man. He doesnβt lack in fathers to study, chief among them his Black grandfather, Pop. But there are other men who complicate his understanding: his absent White father, Michael, who is being released from prison; his absent White grandfather, Big Joseph, who wonβt acknowledge his existence; and the memories of his dead uncle, Given, who died as a teenager.β£
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His mother, Leonie, is an inconsistent presence in his and his toddler sisterβs lives. She is an imperfect mother in constant conflict with herself and those around her. She is Black and her childrenβs father is White. She wants to be a better mother but canβt put her children above her own needs, especially her drug use. Simultaneously tormented and comforted by visions of her dead brother, which only come to her when sheβs high, Leonie is embattled in ways that reflect the brutal reality of her circumstances.β£
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When the childrenβs father is released from prison, Leonie packs her kids and a friend into her car and drives north to the heart of Mississippi and Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman, there is another thirteen-year-old boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all of the ugly history of the South with him in his wandering. He too has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons, about legacies, about violence, about love.”
