Book Review

Challenges Faced and Struggles Overcome

Conjure Women Afia Atakora

Set a few years after the abolition of slavery, Conjure Women tells the story of Rue. As a ‘conjure woman’, Rue has learnt how to treat minor ailments and birth babies. But when a baby is born with black eyes and other children succumb to a mysterious illness, Rue’s community starts to turn against her. Rue has many secrets, one of which could change her community forever. A beautifully written book for fans of Toni Morrison and Yaa Gyasi.

Widowland CJ Carey

In a reimagined timeline where the Nazis won World War II, women in Britain are subject to strict controls. As an elite ‘Geli woman’ with a high-up boyfriend, Rose enjoys some privileges and has seemingly settled into the role prescribed for her. She’s tasked with rewriting classic books to align them to this new world order. However, when Rose is sent to infiltrate Widowland – the slums where childless, husbandless women over fifty are banished to – in order to report back on a rebellious faction, she has to decide whose side she’s really on. A slow-burner, but ultimately gripping.

The Cancer Ladies’ Running Club Josie Lloyd

The Cancer Ladies’ Running Club is a surprisingly lighthearted, uplifting read based on the author’s own experiences with cancer. The main character is Keira, whose world comes crashing down after a cancer diagnosis. Struggling to come to terms with her illness, Keira finds solace, companionship and laughter in a running group of other cancer patients and survivors. Sea Prayer Khalid Hosseini

A father and son wait for a boat that they hope will take them to a new life. The father talks of the beauty of Syria before the bombs hit – the bustling markets, olive groves and tight-knit families. He talks of his hopes for the future and his belief that the country they’re travelling to will see all the goodness and potential in his son. Written in response to the death of Alan Kurdi and other refugee children, Sea Prayer is a deeply moving, beautifully illustrated book. It’s very short but welldeserving of a place on your bookshelf.

Beautiful Country Qian Julie Wang

The author moved to America when she was seven. While her parents were professors back in China, they found themselves relegated to working in sweatshops in the US. As undocumented migrants, the family had few rights and lived in fear of being sent back to China. Such fear that when Qian’s mother grew sick, the family could not seek help. A stunning memoir, Beautiful Country will take your breath away.

My Time Will Come Ian Manuel

Ian Manuel was sentenced to life in prison at just fourteen years old for his role in a botched robbery. He was placed in solitary confinement. This is Ian’s story of where it all went wrong, how he survived twenty-six years in the American prison system (most of which he spent in solitary), where he was beaten, chained and belittled, and how he came to befriend the woman he shot.

By Kate Duggan