Good White Racist, by Kerry Connelly

If you are white, you are more than likely a racist.  If you object to this statement and declare you are not a racist, Kerry Connelly will vehemently insist you are wrong.  She fills her book Good White Racist? Confronting Your Role in Racial Injustice with plenty of anti-white accusations and finger-wagging.  What's that you say, you work with black people?  You have black neighbors?  Some of your best friends are black?  You married a black person?  You adopted a black child?  Don't kid yourself.  You. Are. A. Racist.  Maybe even a white supremacist.  You are "using people we say we care about as props to create a universe in which we are always good."

Anyone who is an actual racist won't give a flying flip about what Connelly has to say.  But anyone who has friends and family members from other races, and who really believes that racism is horrible, will be irritated and annoyed by Connelly's "arguments."  I think she's writing this book as a penance for her own past racism.

I want to give a couple of examples of the absurdity of this book.  These examples aren't necessarily the core of her argument, but illustrate her perspective.  First example: Connelly remotely interviewed a "queer latinx" writer for her podcast.  Even though the interview was not face-to-face, Connelly felt like they had a good rapport, and carried on a correspondence with her, with plans to get together at some point.  In an online exchange, she said, "one of these days, my friend, a meal together."  The writer was deeply offended that Connelly called her "friend" when they had never met face-to-face, because "as a latinx, I take friendship seriously," unlike "white folks [who] have a habit of assuming particular relationality when there has been no defining of relationality."   Now, I have lived among Hispanics, and have known them to be exceedingly friendly, welcoming, and dedicated to family and friends.  "Mi casa su casa" and all that.  I don't think this latinx writer rebuked Connelly's friendliness due to race, but due to the fact that she is thin-skinned, over-sensitive y groserx.  But to Connelly, she bows to accusations of racism because, well, she's a "good white racist."

Second example: For this one, I will quote her at length because I find it so ridiculous.  (She is favorably referencing work by another author.)

A white child would understand that the question "Is that where the scissors belong?" really means, "Put the scissors on the shelf," while a child who had not been raised with this type of coded language might receive the question as a literal one, with several possible answers.  His response would be considered cheeky at best; at worst, it would reinforce a "problem child" label.

To attribute such a miscommunication to racism seems racist in itself.  It reminds me of Joe Biden's gaffe: "Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids."  People like this attribute any behavioral or academic differences to race, rather than poverty, parents' education levels, home environment, or other non-racial factors.  I have known plenty of well-behaved, respectful students who understand the "codes" of the classroom perfectly, not because they are conforming to whiteness, but because their parents taught them manners, courtesy, and self-discipline.  Parents of any race can and do raise kids this way.

One stylistic point: Connelly has a potty mouth.  The book is full of casual swearing that takes away from her arguments, with a style and tone that makes social media interactions look scholarly.  She even draws attention to it at one point with that stupid old trick, "If you're more offended by my swearing than by the larger point I'm making, then, well, you're beyond help."  Yes, I agree, clergy accepting slave children as a tithe was horrible, much worse than using the F-word, but that doesn't mean I think it's constructive or acceptable to use the F-word to make a point about this or any other moral argument.

Writing Good White Racist? was probably a good exercise for Connelly.  I'm sure she feels better about herself for writing it.  But I think she missed the mark and will only annoy her intended audience.  Racism is bad.  So is this book.  I didn't need to read this book to know that racism is bad.  Neither do you.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Through the Eyes of Love, by Shawn Bolz

I want to hear from God and speak to people the way pastor Shawn Bolz does.  In Through the Eyes of Love: Encouraging Others Through Prophetic Revelation, Bolz tells story after story of personal encounters with God.  The topic is prophetic words, but Bolz takes the mystical element out of it.  This isn't magical mind reading, it's a matter of, as the title says, looking at people through eyes of love, and being willing to step out on faith to talk to people, even strangers, about life and about God.

Bolz packs the book with scripture and with real-life examples.  Prophecy isn't always telling someone's darkest secrets--although that does happen.  More often, it's simply telling someone that God loves her, or quoting a passage of scripture.  Sometimes that word or verse of scripture is exactly what God wants her to here, and you can be the vessel for conveying a message from God.  This takes some practice, and takes some boldness, but Bolz will inspire both in you.

One measure of whether I like this kind of book is whether it inspires me to spend more time reading and studying the Bible, and whether it inspires me to spend more time loving others.  One both counts, Through the Eyes of Love gets high marks.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Liar's Legacy, by Taylor Stevens

Taylor Stevens's newest novel Liar's Legacy is a sequel to Liar's Paradox.  To save time, I will merely copy portions of my review of Liar's Paradox because my thoughts are pretty much the same:

"Stevens writes the action well.  The fighting and hunting scenes are breathless and exciting.  The weakness of [Liar's Legacy] is the rest of the story.  Why are these people hunting each other?  Who is Clare, really?  Who's calling the shots?  To the extent that these questions are answered, I never really cared.  Stevens falls into the same problem as a number of movies I've seen, where assassins are targeting each other but the motivations are murky.  That's the case here.  Stevens sheds little light on who these assassins have worked for, or who their targets have been.  We just know they are now targeting each other.  It just seems pointless and cartoonish. . . ."

That's pretty much it.  It's a pointless hide-and-seek chase on an international stage.  I wanted to like this more, but quickly got bored of the pointlessness of it.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Follow Me, by Kathleen Barber

What happens when a young lady who has, through constant posting and tireless effort, gains over a million followers on social media, but gets one who follows just a little too closely?  We see fandom turn to obsession.  In Kathleen Barber's novel Follow Me, Aubrey posts all about her social life and has become a well-known social media influencer.  She lands her dream job in D.C., which works out great for one of her online admirers, who couldn't be more pleased that she is moving to his town.

Throughout Follow Me Aubrey's tension builds as the creepy men around her and the creeping online stalker seem to start colliding.  There's the handsy coworker who she initially trusted and liked.  There's the landlady's creepy son, who lets himself into Aubrey's apartment.  There's Nick, the super cool college boyfriend with whom she rekindles a friendship (with benefits).  There's the creepy guy who hangs out at the museum where Aubrey works.  With the creeping she experiences online, will she be able to find a normal boyfriend?

At first, I thought, "Well, this is going to be predictable and a bit dull."  Of course Barber knows better than that.  My predictions were wrong, and she took the story in a direction I didn't expect.  She accomplished her goal: to keep me eagerly reading to the end.  There were things I didn't love about the book.  Aubrey makes some dumb decisions.  One of the key relational connections was just a little too coincidental.  Some of the characters were just a little too cardboard cutout.  However, Barber makes up for it with the tension she builds and the way she brings it all around.  This is a good beach read or a keep-you-up-all-night-on-a-Saturday-night read.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The True Story of Zippy Chippy, by Arte Bennett, illustrated by Dave Szalay

Zippy Chippy is a racehorse who never won a race in 100 tries.  Arte Bennett tells his story in the children's book The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn't.  Despite coming from a strong bloodline, Zippy Chippy never ran fast, and sometimes just stood there in the shoot when a race started.

Despite his history of losing--or not even starting--every race, his playful personality made him a crowd favorite, even among people betting on races.  Due to the notoriety he gained, he showed "you can lose and lose and lose and still be a winner."

This is a cute story with cute illustrations by Dave Szalay, especially for horse lovers and race fans.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

I've Got a Home in Glory Land, by Karolyn Smardz Frost

Karolyn Smardz Frost was an archaeologist working in Toronto when she uncovered the home of Thornton and Lucie Blackburn.  In I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, Frost reconstructs the dramatic story of the Blackburns's escape from slavery to freedom in Canada.  The result is a breathtaking example of the determination to be free, an insightful encapsulation of life in the US and Canada in the 19th century, and an inspiring tale of some of those who set the groundwork of freedom for many others.

I've Got a Home in Glory Land is the kind of history book that is captivatingly readable, and that sheds a great deal of light on the larger picture by focusing on the unique experiences of an otherwise relatively unknown family.  Frost has done a great service by bringing the Blackburns's story to light.

Deep State, by Chris Hauty

Chris Hauty's first novel, Deep State, is a timely, politically-charged page turner.  Hayley Chill's career takes a fast track to the inner circles of power as she moves from an Army base to the basement office of a congressional aides into the President's circle of trust.  When she sees evidence that the President's Chief of Staff may have been murdered, she becomes a target herself. 

Hauty keeps the action going with the cat-and-mouse, who-can-you-trust game.  He presents a convincing, if a bit dark, view of Washington political culture.  It all comes together very nicely in the final confrontation.  However, not to give away the ending, but Hauty tears down a pretty good novel with his denouement.  The character of the president is, in part, clearly modeled after President Trump, and I was impressed that Hauty didn't let politics get in the way of a good story.  But at the end, he let stupid politics ruin a good story.  This is obviously a novel and a genre that will have politics infused into the story, but in my opinion the way Hauty does it takes away from an otherwise enjoyable political thriller.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!