YA Fiction or Adult Fiction? This is the question that runs through one’s mind when reading THE CICADA TREE by Robert Gwaltney and published by Moonshine Cove Publishing. At an author’s event presented by the Atlanta Writer’s Club, Gwaltney explained how he had obtained an agent, who shopped around the manuscript. Time passed, and eventually Gwaltney decided to withdraw the manuscript from the agent and send it off to an indie publisher, who accepted and published it. THE CICADA TREE is a fascinating read that becomes gripping after the first few chapters. Once the narrative gets you in that Mayfield Shine, it does not let you go into the end.

Books about slavery are never easy reads. YELLOW WIFE, by Sadeqa Johnson, is no exception. Taking place in the late 1800s, the novel’s protagonist is Pheby Delores Brown. We meet her on Bell Plantation in Virginia. She is the daughter of a slave and a slave owner, Master Jacob. The first antagonist of the novel is Missus Delphina, Master Jacob’s wife. Missus Delphina has a generally nasty disposition, made all the more surly by the fact that she’s aware that Master Jacob has slept, and is currently sleeping with, Pheby’s mama. Pheby is a mulatto, who has been told by her mama that though she is a slave in name, she should never think of herself as a slave in heart and mind.

By the way, G.E. Moore has crafted some of the best monstrous villains since Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. His antagonists are like Nyarlathotep, or Pennywise, or Shelob. They are entities that do more than render flesh from bone. They attack the emotions, feed on the sprit and mental energies of their prey. They are terrible to behold, and threaten to do awful things to those caught in their webs. In this way, BEALZ is like urban fantasy-horror. Trying to label this novel is as difficult as trying to see through the shifting realities of its characters. BEALZ isn’t meant to be contained in a neat box. It is intended to be experienced, for the reader to become one with the narrative.

ROLAND’S LABYRINTH, by Anne Echols and published by She Writes Press (September 2025), tells the story of Roland, a young man from Spain who is under apprentice to a surgeon in France in the 1400s. The novel is historical fiction, though that should not dissuade readers from giving it a try. The historical elements are skillfully interwoven in the plot so that the narrative pace is fast. The fact that the tale unfolds against the backdrop of potential war also raises the stakes for all the characters involved.

Funny enough, though, I highly recommend this book to young male readers. I feel that too many published books today don’t produce novels that have young male readers as their target audience. THE CRIMSON WITCH has a lot of action and a lot of attitude that I think would appeal to teenagers. The characters speak in an urban way, with lots of swearing and slang. A reviewer on Amazon mentioned this as a point against recommending this to a YA audience, but I feel that type of attitude is why books published today don’t appeal to many teenagers or young boys. Give them something they want to read and that will excite them. THE CRIMSON WITCH has a lot of the narrative plot lines that are settled by fisticuffs. Aurora’s main goal is be stronger than everyone else, which is very reminiscent of Japanese anime. She’s a lot like Goku, or Naruto, which are hugely popular amongst young men.

In Days to Come, by Lisa Timpf, is the type of book that makes one wish more people read and appreciated poetry. Timpf’s writing conjures a tone that slips right into the consciousness, leaving one with the impression that they are conversing with a childhood friend.

I have often suggested to my prose-writing students to study poetry, and Paola Caronni is definitely one that should be analyzed for the clear yet concise language she uses that invokes lyric yet concrete imagery. “I harvest red tomatoes, bite their sweet inviting meat / dripping joyous blood that tickles my naked arms.”

This is noteworthy considering the obstacles Sonia has endured throughout her life, and it reveals the bright spark the poet carries for a future that can be so much better than the past, no matter what trials happened in yester-years.

DON’T CRY, PHOENIX is a collection of 56 poems from poet Sonia F.L. Leung.

In each bend you discover surprises, tragedies, wisdoms and little bursts of learnings, such as the poems about the making of clay tsa-tsas.