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A New York Tate of Mind
A New York Tate of Mind
In which this reader and explorer reviews books, muses on literary (and other) matters, and shares some of her adventures.

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My 1-5 rating system:
1 = I did not like it and would not recommend it.
2= It was fine. Read it if the subject matter interests you.
3 = I enjoyed it and would recommend it.
4 = I really liked it, and think you should read it!
5 = One of the best books I've read.
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Review: Black Cake
2/5 stars Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson (2022) Very sad to be giving this 2 stars. It started out so well! A 5-star beginning, that...
tatedecaro
Mar 19, 20232 min read
2,387 views
0 comments


Review: How High the Moon
3/5 stars How High the Moon, by Karyn Parsons (2019) It's 1943 and young Ella lives in South Carolina with her grandparents, and her...
tatedecaro
Sep 5, 20222 min read
165 views
0 comments


Review: Patron Saints of Nothing
3/5 stars Patron Saints of Nothing, by Randy Ribay (2019) I liked this book as a YA novel - decent plot, relatable teenage characters,...
tatedecaro
Aug 16, 20222 min read
243 views
0 comments


Review: What Strange Paradise
5/5 stars What Strange Paradise, by Omar El Akkad (2021) Beautiful and haunting and cinematic. The narrative follows Amir Utu, a 9-year...
tatedecaro
Jul 7, 20222 min read
105 views
0 comments


Review: Clap When You Land
5/5 stars Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo (2020) Sixteen year old Camino Rios has grown up in the Dominican Republic (DR) with...
tatedecaro
Jul 1, 20221 min read
67 views
0 comments

Review: What's Mine and Yours
3/5 stars What's Mine and Yours, by Naima Coster (2021) I enjoyed this story, though I don't think it's going to stick with me. It was a...
tatedecaro
May 24, 20222 min read
104 views
0 comments


Review: The Other Black Girl
1/5 stars The Other Black Girl, by Zakiya Dalila Harris (2021) Y I K E S. Huh. That was unexpected and not... umm... yeah, just not...
tatedecaro
Mar 20, 20223 min read
755 views
1 comment


Review: Fifty Words for Rain
1/5 stars Fifty Words for Rain, by Asha Lemmie (2020) UGH. I'm so angry right now! Though it had it's flaws, I enjoyed this book... right...
tatedecaro
Feb 19, 20221 min read
171 views
0 comments


Review: Redemptor
3/5 stars Redemptor (Raybearer Book #2), by Jordan Ifueko (2021) This is the second book in Ifueko's duology, and since I have a terrible...
tatedecaro
Feb 9, 20222 min read
36 views
0 comments


Review: Call Us What We Carry
3/5 stars Call Us What We Carry, by Amanda Gorman (2021) Like everyone else, I was introduced to and blown away by Amanda Gorman when she...
tatedecaro
Jan 25, 20222 min read
98 views
0 comments


Review: The Deep
5/5 stars The Deep, by Rivers Solomon (2019) Decades back, pregnant African slaves were thrown from slave ships into the ocean. Their...
tatedecaro
Dec 29, 20212 min read
63 views
0 comments


Review: My Sister, the Serial Killer
4/5 stars My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018) I really enjoyed this dark, morbid, thriller/crime story - not...
tatedecaro
Dec 29, 20212 min read
47 views
0 comments


Review: Pet
1/5 stars Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi (2019) UGH. I really didn't enjoy this book. I'm so confused by all the praise it has received (including...
tatedecaro
Dec 24, 20212 min read
38 views
0 comments


Review: Firekeeper's Daughter
3/5 stars Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (2021) TW: grief, suicide, murder, drug addition, & rape Despite the heavy nature of...
tatedecaro
Dec 17, 20212 min read
44 views
0 comments


Review: Tongues
4/5 stars Tongues: On Longing and Belonging through Language, edited by Eufemia Fantetti, Leonarda Carranza, & Ayelet Tsabari (2021) I...
tatedecaro
Dec 12, 20213 min read
58 views
0 comments


In This Moment chapbooks
5/5 stars In This Moment: Revolution, Reckoning, Reparation, a chapbook series curated by Amanda Chestnut, coordinated by Jeanne...
tatedecaro
Nov 26, 20212 min read
156 views
0 comments


Review: Mixed Feelings
4/5 stars Mixed feelings: Poems and Stories, by Avan Jogia (2019) This book may be slim, but it packs a punch, exploring the complicated...
tatedecaro
Nov 18, 20212 min read
239 views
0 comments


Review: Where the Dead Sit Talking
2/5 stars Where the Dead Sit Talking, by Brandon Hobson (2018) TW: Drugs, suicide, sexual identity, violence against women This is a dark...
tatedecaro
Nov 17, 20212 min read
201 views
0 comments


Review: Conjure Women
3/5 stars Conjure Women, by Afia Atakora (2020) An impressive debut of historical fiction, the book is set on a large plantation in the...
tatedecaro
Oct 12, 20212 min read
68 views
0 comments


The Book Thieves 2022 Line-Up
My book club, The Book Thieves, met last night to choose all of our books for 2022, and I'm excited to share the list! If anyone is...
tatedecaro
Oct 8, 20214 min read
57 views
0 comments

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