Tag New York City

A black cover shows thin handwriting over a dark purple sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge, with the authors in magenta, and the title in creamy yellow.

Bauder Book Talk: Meet two of the authors of Blackout

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A black illustrated cover where two people standing holding hands, backs to the viewer, with a sketched city in front of them and lots of small windows lit up.

by Carmen J.

What do you get when you have six talented young adult authors, a pandemic, and a beautiful excuse to celebrate many versions of black love and romance? You get Blackout written by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. Even better, you’ll get to see two of the featured authors (Clayton and Woodfolk) at the third annual Bauder Book Talk event on November 6 from 4:30-6:30 pm at HCLS’s East Columbia Branch.

Written and inspired during the 2020 pandemic and set in New York City during a blackout, each author contributes connecting narratives — which can stand alone — about Black teens in the midst of their unique, complicated, joyful, sometimes simple, often spontaneous, intense, surprising romantic journeys. Whether it’s two young men catching feelings on a stalled subway, a couple who must talk through their past relationship over a long walk across town, two girls whose chance encounter ignites a spark in a nursing home, each interwoven story shines to a satisfying conclusion at a Brooklyn block party. 

In particular, Woodfolk’s “Made to Fit,” Clayton’s “All the Great Love Stories … and Dust,” and the closing story titled “Seymour and Grace” (written by Yoon) are stand-outs. Bonus points for Blackout’s inclusion of queer love and the acceptance of the adults in their lives (Made to Fit). The warmth and feel-good feelings of Blackout remain long after the lights are back on.

EVENT HAPPENING ON NOVEMBER 6: Register now!

Celebrate the voices of young Black girls in literature at this year’s Bauder Book Talk. Dhonielle Clayton and Ashley Woodfolk share how their stories center joy, magic, and truth while creating space for Black teens to see themselves on the page. 

Clayton is a New York Times bestselling author and former middle school librarian whose work celebrates Black joy, magic, and possibility. She is the author of The Belles series and the Conjureverse series.

Woodfolk is the critically acclaimed author of The Beauty That Remains and When You Were Everything. Her work explores love, loss, friendship, and the complexities of finding one’s voice. A former publishing professional, Woodfolk is celebrated for her lyrical prose and heartfelt storytelling that resonates deeply with teens. 

Carmen J. is a teen instructor at HCLS East Columbia Branch. Among her favorite things are great books, all things 80s, shamelessly watching The Bachelor, gardening, and drinking anything that tastes like coffee.

The book cover shows a newspaper clipping against a black background, with the title, author's name, and "author of Bee Season" in newsprint, with a black and white photo of two people behind a cutout, as if looking through a peephole.

Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg

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The book cover shows a newspaper clipping against a black background, with the title, author's name, and "author of Bee Season" in newsprint, with a black and white photo of two people behind a cutout, as if looking through a peephole.

by Rebecca R.

Not your typical novel, Feast Your Eyes by Myla Goldberg is a fictional memoir of a photographer named Lillian Preston and all the people who make up her support system. Her story unfolds through several narrators through letters, journal entries, firsthand accounts, and descriptions (by Lillian’s daughter) of photographs taken by Lillian. 

Set primarily in New York City, the story outlines the hardships of being a professional artist. Lillian balances this struggle with single motherhood. Caring for her daughter Samantha and keeping up with her photography practice every day are constantly on Lillian’s mind. As Samantha gets older, this struggle intensifies with a legal battle over photographs that are deemed “obscene,” and charges are filed against Lillian and her gallery owner. You’ll have to read the book to learn the outcome of the case!

Samantha is in her mid-to-late teens when the case makes news headlines, and it affects Lillian and Samantha’s relationship. Later, they are able to find common ground, as they work together on photography projects; the creative spirit is what bonds them. There is a lot of drama and struggle in this story, but the way it is revealed keeps it from being heavy-handed. It also kept me engaged until the conclusion.

I also sensed that Samantha regretted the way she had treated her mom and only started to realize this towards the end of the book. Still, the reader can feel their deep bond throughout, which makes the story truly bittersweet.

Lillian herself—selfishly single-minded in her artistic drive but genuinely protective of her child and often desperately lonely—is both larger than life and thoroughly human. A riveting portrait of an artist who happens to be a woman.

Kirkus Reviews

For more New York City-centered novels with wonderful characters and a love of art as well, check out Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me; Amy Shearn’s Unseen City (available from HCLS via interlibrary loan); or E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Rebecca is the Assistant Branch Manager of the HCLS Glenwood Branch. She enjoys creative art projects and taking long walks with her puppy.

The book cover shows a brick townhome or apartment building shaded in blue shadows, with greenery from tree branches around the edges. There are marble steps and railings up to the front double doors, and eight windows on three floors, one lighted behind a curtain, and one dark but with a curtain pulled back as if someone is watching from the dark.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

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The book cover shows a brick townhome or apartment building shaded in blue shadows, with greenery from tree branches around the edges. There are marble steps and railings up to the front double doors, and eight windows on three floors, one lighted behind a curtain, and one dark but with a curtain pulled back as if someone is watching from the dark.

By Sahana C.

Fans of Jordan Peele’s Get Out, this book is for you. Romance author Alyssa Cole’s first venture into the thriller genre comes to us with a bang, a gentrification thriller that talks about all of the ways a neighborhood disappearing can truly be insidious.  

When No One is Watching follows Sydney, a Black woman recently returned to the Brooklyn neighborhood where she grew up, and Theo, a White man, who has also recently moved into the neighborhood with his extremely wealthy (and pretty catty) girlfriend/ex/it’s-complicated, Kim. Neighborhood shops disappear and turn into national chains, but it isn’t until Sydney hears about neighbors moving suddenly that she starts to think something unusual might be going on. She teams up with Theo to work on an accurate tour of the neighborhood, but is unsure if he’s trustworthy or part of the problem. 

Cole does a wonderful job marrying the two perspectives, Sydney’s and Theo’s, into a cohesive narrative, in a time and situation where their points of view appear to be polar opposites. When we are reading from Sydney’s point of view, it is nerve-wracking and jarring, a new problem around every corner. When we are seeing the world from Theo’s eyes, it is us trying desperately to understand problems that don’t hurt us the way that they hurt other people.  

This novel approaches gentrification with a firm and education-based stance. There are some moments where it feels like Cole is trying to make sure that her readers are walking away armed with facts, not just the thrill factor. Admittedly, that can feel a little distracting when there is the next big bad problem only pages away, but waiting with the characters and following the pace that Cole sets up is well worth it for the explosive finale.  

The influence of Get Out is clear as well, and fans of the movie will notice the pacing of the book matching closely to the movie. No matter how similar the two seem, however, the ending is still something that will catch readers by surprise, keeping you hooked to every page.  

It is an easy, captivating read for people who want the conventions of a thriller while also feeling like they are learning something. New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke wrote, “From the first page of When No One Is Watching, I felt like I was right there in the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood, filled with sharply etched characters and dialogue that zings. Then bam!  I was knocked over by the momentum of an intense psychological thriller that doesn’t let go until the final page. This is a terrific read.” 

When No One is Watching is available in print, audiobook on CD, and as an eBook and an eAudiobook through Overdrive/Libby.

Sahana is an Instructor and Research Specialist at the Savage Branch. She enjoys adding books to her “want to read” list despite having a mountain of books waiting for her already.

The cover of Heroic Measures shows the cityscape of New York, fading from deep gray-blue at the top to a reddish-orange near the bottom, with the title, author's name, and a silhouette of a dachshund in white superimposed in the foreground.

Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment

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by Aimee Z.

The cover of Heroic Measures shows the cityscape of New York, fading from deep gray-blue at the top to a reddish-orange near the bottom, with the title, author's name, and a silhouette of a dachshund in white superimposed in the foreground.

Septuagenarians Ruth and Alex Cohen have made a momentous decision: they are going to sell their Lower East Side flat in one of the Big Apple’s most desirable locations. According to their realtor, they’ll easily net a million dollars, which is enough to retire with their precious and equally senior dachshund, Dorothy. In their tiny kitchen, Alex wearing his hearing aids and Ruth in her serious bifocals study the open house listing due to appear online in a matter of hours as two calamitous events occur.

Over the radio, a news alert interrupts the broadcast. A large truck in the Midtown Tunnel has overturned. Traffic in Manhattan is suddenly gridlocked. The driver, now deemed a suspected terrorist, has fled, heightening domestic security all the way to Queens.

Ruth and Alex smirk and shake their heads. Ruth, in her heyday, and Alex by association, was once considered a Communist threat; a schoolteacher in her perky beret and peep-toe pumps who’d somehow found herself on the FBI’s secret enemy list.

But their moment of musing about the past is soon shattered with the appearance of Dorothy. The little dog lets out an ear-piercing howl, and to her parents’ horror, Dorothy’s bottom goes out. A race to the vet ensues, and despite the snarl of traffic, news anchors on the scene, and a now significant anti-terrorism military component, Ruth and Alex manage to get Dorothy to the pet ER.

There, they learn that Dorothy has slipped a disc and needs surgery. Devastated, Ruth and Alex return home to their landline ringing. Their euphoric realtor informs them that a bidding war is already brewing on their apartment. With their dog in the hospital, Ruth and Alex must now contend with an open house.

A parade of prospective buyers pours in the next day. Trend-setting young gentrifiers with way too much money, they tramp through the dated apartment speaking offhandedly about gutting everything – especially Alex’s beloved art studio. One woman in boots, eager to feel the apartment’s embrace, plops down on the couple’s bed, lotus-style, waiting to see if her restraints of self-centeredness dissipate.

It’s all completely hilarious, but it’s Dorothy who steals the show. In the hospital, recovering from surgery, she suspects the vet and his team of conspiracy – all over a mysterious wee-wee pad! Heroic Measures takes readers on a clever, satisfying journey, so wry and wicked, at one point I laughed out loud – startling my own dogs.

Heroic Measures is the basis for the film 5 Flights Up, starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton and available as a DVD from HCLS.

Aimee Z., now retired, was part of the adult research staff at HCLS East Columbia Branch. She lives on a lake with her two labs, Dixie and Belle, who enthusiastically approved the content of this review in exchange for a peanut butter and jelly biscuit.