The cutest black history children’s book, I See You HBCU is the ideal resource for parents who want to teach their young children about the importance and influence of historically black colleges and universities.
Beautifully illustrated and just 30 pages, little Ahman discovers a box marked “HBCU” while helping his parents carry boxes as they move into their new, larger home. He is bitten by the curiosity bug as he asks his mom and dad what the letters stand for.
He is in for an exciting lesson on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, from how they helped Black students to fit in when we couldn’t go to the same schools as whites to how Edward Waters College was the first HBCU in Florida.
The story centers on an adorable African American family, and the graphics are reminiscent of Boondocks by Aaron Mcgruder. As they respond to Ahman’s inquiries, the mother and father are kind and patient with him. You might feel like a young child on the sofa as your parents dance to the memories of their historically black institutions.
By the end of the book, the author adds an extensive list of HBCUs as a guide for readers!
This is an excellent book to start the conversation about higher education from an African American perspective if you have kids under 10. I think of this as the first of several books that will follow Ahman’s journey. Let’s hope the author feels the same way!
Ratings:
Age Appropriate for Content: 5/5
Storyline: 5/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Child Self and Self-Identity: 5/5
Thought Provoking: 5/5
Overall Rating: 5 / 5 stars
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Lifeline of a Soul: The Life-Changing Perspective I Gained While Teaching Entrepreneurship to Prisoners
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.
Imagine you are traveling and looking for a nice hotel. You have a choice between two that look promising.
One has 100 stars, receives some glowing reviews on its site, and even has reviews on Google Maps.
Photo by Bruno Maceiras
The other hotel looks nice from the pictures, but it doesn’t have a website, and you don’t know anyone who’s been.
You know very little about the amenities, and there is only one review.
Your only guideline comes from the very basic description on a third-party website that popped up when you Googled hotels.
Which hotel are you going to choose?
Books work in a similar way.
Book reviews are just as critical as book sales in the publishing world. They provide social proof that helps the right readers find and purchase your book.
Although our focus is on Self-Publishing, this is also true for traditionally published authors. Like with social media, publishers want to see if your book has an audience, a demand, and what you do to build awareness. Book reviews can help with that.
Start Early
The best way to garner book reviews for your book is to start at least 4-6 months (closer to six months) before the book releases. If you are a traditionally published author, your publisher will likely handle this by sending your book out for early reviews. If you are a self-published author, you can do the same.
Beta Readers
Recruiting beta readers is one of the most common methods. A beta reader is someone who reads a book before it is published in order to point out errors and make suggestions for improvements, usually without being paid. In essence, they serve as a test reader.
You want to recruit people who read within your book’s genre. Be careful only recruiting family and friends. You want people to read your book who will be honest and unbiased.
Give your readers instructions on what you expect from them. Let them know they will receive a free copy of the unfinished book and that you’d like them to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads when it is released. If you want to use their feedback on graphics for social media, say that.
A beta reader acts as a proofreader, your last line of defense before sending the book out into the world.
But, careful not to allow beta readers to change your story. While they can offer suggestions for improvements, a beta reader is not and should not replace an editor. While they can point out obvious typos, they should be looking at the big picture. What’s working? What feels weak? What makes sense in your head but doesn’t translate to the page?
You can find beta readers (paid and not paid) within your social circle (start with your email list or blog followers) on Fiverr, Reedsy, and Upwork to name a few.
Book Bloggers
What the heck is a book blogger?
A book blogger is a blogger who reads and reviews books because they love it! Most book bloggers do this for free, and others (like me) charge a fee. Like most bloggers, I used to review books for free. However, book bloggers receive tons of requests, which can become overwhelming. My list grew significantly after I had reviewed more than 30 books, been highlighted on Reedsy and Kindlepreneur, and established myself as an active, professional reviewer. Either I would stop reviewing books or charge a fee and limit my time. I chose the latter.
As you dig into book review blogs, check on these three things first:
Is the site active? Has the blogger published a post within the last month or so?
Do they have a policy with instructions on how to apply for a review? Submitting your book according to this policy is imperative if you want to be noticed.
Do they charge for reviews, and if so, how much? You want to be prepared for any fees (this should be part of your book marketing strategy).
Are they currently accepting queries? If they’re closed at the moment, it could be months before you hear back from them — if at all.
Recruiting readers can be like pulling teeth. Thankfully, there are paid options. Beta Readers and ARC are sometimes used interchangeably. Short for Advanced Readers Copy ARC is an early version of the book sent to readers to review before the book is released. There are several paid ARC services (such as Booksiren, Bookfunnel), but they can get pricey. Still, if you have a few coins saved, Google ARC Review Services to choose which fits your budget.
Amazon Early Review Program
The Amazon Early Reviewer Program is Amazon’s internal launch program that incentivizes customers who have already purchased a product to leave a review.
Wait…
Now, Amazon. You told us we aren’t allowed to incentivize reviews and post to your site. It’s okay when you do it. It’s a problem when we do it.
Anywho, here’s what you need to know about the program fromJungle Scout:
The Amazon Early Reviewer program allows a seller to submit one of their product SKUs (stock keeping unit) to be promoted by Amazon for review by a specific, pre-vetted reviewer.
The program costs $60 per SKU. However, you aren’t charged until you get one review or one year has passed, whichever comes first.
The product should receive between 1-5 reviews from reviewers who have been handpicked by Amazon.
Reviewers are chosen for the program because they have “no history of abusive or dishonest reviews” and they meet all of Amazon’s “eligibility criteria.”
Once program reviewers leave feedback, Amazon marks the review with an orange badge that reads “Early Reviewer Program.”
I have never participated in this program, but it is an option. If you know more about this or have used it, let me know!
Ask for the review at the back of the book!
Add a short, direct request for the reader to leave a review after they are finished reading as the last page of the book. Something simple like: “I’d love to hear your opinion about this book! Please consider leaving an honest review on the platform of your choice.” Something like that.
Additionally, if someone in your network has read your book, you may send them an email asking for their review. Direct requests are sometimes more effective than mass emails asking for volunteers. It seems thoughtful and personal.
So, how many beta readers, book bloggers, and early reviews should I strive for?
As many as you are able, but I would strive for at least 10-20 Amazon reviews within the first two months after your book release date. That shows your book has traction with real readers. You can also share those reviews (as stated) on social media graphics as social proof.
Be sure that you inform your beta readers/book bloggers to post their early reviews to the book’s Amazon page when it drops.
Title: Pretty Privilege Author: S.R. Graham Publisher: S.R. Graham Published: April 14, 2023 Page: 137
Eighteen-year-old Zuri Natrice Hall is sick of being treated like a caged bird. Constantly complimented on her beauty, paraded across beauty pageant stages, commercial sets, and in the streets of Myrtle Beach, Zuri musters up the courage to accept her win as Miss High School USA, a victory she knew she had in the bag before the contest was over.
Cringing on the inside, Zuri fake smiles through the speech she is forced to give and conjures up the fake tears she is expected to produce. In real life, Zuri despises being paraded around like a trophy. She hates the pageants and yearns to pursue her own dream of being a movie director.
But her mother is not having it.
Dr. Delilah Elise and Mayor Stephen Hall are their town’s Michelle and Barrack Obama, and Zuri, their only daughter of four, is their beautiful princess. Having abandoned her dreams of becoming the first woman in her family to become a doctor, Mrs. Hall expects Zuri to carry on the family legacy of dominating pageants and becoming Miss USA.
Everything Zuri does not want.
Finally, she sets out for college, hoping to live on her own terms. She is finally out of the cage and allowed to embrace her full, authentic self while navigating college life.
When Zuri catches the eye of rich and spoiled Dexter Malone at a party, she has no idea how complicated things will get. She eventually falls in love with the nerdy boy Calvin, but Dexter is determined to make her his no matter the cost.
Books about Black families tend to surround the burden of poverty and racism in some capacity. Rarely do we get to witness the Black family simply living life. I appreciated that about this book. Zuri’s parents successfully contribute to their household and community, are financially stable, and are happily married while raising their four children.
However, Zuri still has to make her own decisions and live life outside of her parents. And like most of us at Zuri’s age, her lessons will be learned the hard way.
The only thing stopping this from being a five-star is it’s a bit erotic for a young adult novel. Not that these kids ain’t out here doing the nasty in real life, but the details seemed a bit much for this kind of book.
Nevertheless, Pretty Privilege is a wonderful coming-of-age story that fans of young adult novels will love. It introduces some critical topics for parents and young adults, such as allowing your children to become their own person. It is also an eye-opener for young people to be careful when they do leave the nest and go out into this loveless world. Everyone is not your friend or has your best interest.
Ratings:
Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 4/5
Characterization: 4/5
Authenticity / Believable: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4/ 5 stars
To have your book reviewed on this blog apply here. The registry is open for a limited time.
Stay tuned for our next dope read. Next up:
I See You HBCU!
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.
Title: Hierarchy of Needs: Sculptor Series Part II Author: Christa Wojciechowski Publisher: Christa Wojciechowski Published: November 15, 2022 Page: 339
Part two of this wildly psychological series on the strength and depths of addiction continues Ona Price’s journey. She returns to the seedy underbelly of the drug scene due to the tragic event that closed book one. Her methadone will soon wear off while confined to the Plaza Hotel with Antoni, Oz, and Dr. Carver if she doesn’t do something fast. As the withdrawal symptoms take over, Ona fears everyone becoming aware of her addiction. She can’t have that and thus sneaks out of the hotel to meet Jojo, who will give her the much-needed dose to tide her over.
A woman who once celebrated Sonia Orlyk’s birthday gliding through her opulent house in a stunning gown soon finds herself hiding out at an apartment in Alphabet City with a group of Puerto Rican drug dealers. She currently shares a residence with four men—Jojo, Fatty, Lobo, Decoy—and Lobo’s mother who prepares the meals. Dazed most days and sleeping until eleven a.m., Ona returns to her toxic schedule.
Now Antoni is combing the streets of Manhattan in search of her.
We get a deeper glimpse into the internal darkness of drug usage from Ona’s and the other characters’ perspectives in book two, which is much more action-packed. Mr. Orlyk is also unhappy about what happened to his wife and intends to exact the most heinous retribution.
However, even though Ona’s circumstances are worse, it is refreshing to observe her in a world apart from the time she spends with Aunt Vee, the methadone clinic, the sculptor, and his estate.
Ona battles her addiction in Oblivion Black from a position of contentment. She believes she is cleaner than she actually is because of the methadone. She is enjoying her job, driving Aunt Vee’s lovely car, and developing feelings for Antoni. She is on the verge of becoming one of the “normies,” or non-drug users, and everything is flowing.
While this might seem like a good thing, it is the challenges we face that develop our character. So, Ona might have been doing well on the surface, but underneath, she was not really facing her addiction.
In Hierarchy of Needs, Ona is forced to confront both her own and other people’s demons when she descends to the bottom and must use all of her might to claw her way to the top. As the stakes rise and the threats multiply, more interesting characters are introduced.
While book two picks off where book one leaves (and it would be better to have read book one), book two is also a journey in itself. And while Ona and Antoni’s romance takes on a lesser role, I liked it because it highlighted the darkness that readers of dark literature may have been hoping for in the first book, which for most of the story, reads like a romance novel.
Once again, the author does a fantastic job illustrating withdrawal and the filthiness of life with addiction. It is poetic the way she weaves Ona’s words together.
“But if I accepted it as my god, if it was a sacrament to give and take of pleasure and pain, doing it would be an offering and getting sick would be sacrifice, and overdose martyrdom. Dealing would be the job of a missionary, to teach the ritual and spread its dichotomic communion. It was a way to worship any god.”
– Ona Price, Hierarchy of Needs
You’ll get chills down your spine and goosebumps on your skin after learning what happens to people who become addicted to the Russian Sleep Experiment.
It. is. wild.
Much of the specifics of book two are predicated on what happened at the end of book one, so I have to leave it here to not spoil it for you. But, if you liked book one, you haven’t seen anything yet. The second book is a wild ride.
To have your book reviewed on this blog apply here. The registry is open for a limited time.
Stay tuned for our next dope read!
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.
*Books are read in the order they are received. Be sure to check the queue before booking.
Title: The Courage to be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon that Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness Author: Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga Publisher: Atria Books Published: May 8, 2018 Page: 289
Written by Japanese writer Fumitake Koga and philosopher Ichiro Kishimi, in The Courage to be Disliked, an older man who adheres to Adlerian psychology and Greek philosophy has a conversation about life with a young man who is frustrated with life and thinks it’s unfair. Their discussion is built on the question of whether we choose to be happy. The dialogue-based style makes me think of modern-day interactions between young people and older generations and our own inner dialogues about life. (Neither person is named throughout the book.)
The young person’s argument that the world is confusing is an example of their discussion. The philosopher responds by asserting that we make the world complex, not that everything is complicated. He contends that life is subjective, and because we each see the world differently, it’s impossible to share our world with anyone else. The philosopher’s responses are simple, leaving you to wonder why you hadn’t considered it that way. I also appreciated how the young man’s genuine inquiries allowed the author to instruct through the philosopher.
The main takeaway from Kishimi and Koga is that unhappy people wind up living other people’s lives by chasing approval. They give up their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations in favor of conforming to others’ expectations. An example would be a young person who wants to be an author deciding to instead go to medical school to please his parents, whose wish is for him to be a doctor.
He must muster up the courage to deal with his parents’ disapproval of his decision to follow his literary ambitions.
Over the course of five discussions, the philosopher explains to his student how each of us can choose our own path in life, free from the constraints of the past and the expectations of others.
While I can’t entirely agree with the part about how trauma, according to Adlerian psychology, does not exist (and the dialogue style throughout the book does not particularly appeal to me), it is still a terrific inspirational read if you are interested in philosophy and psychology or want to know why people believe the way they do. The discussion will inspire you to evaluate life from a unique angle, possibly one you haven’t thought about before.
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.
Title: Oblivion Black Author: Christa Wojciechowski Publisher: Christa Wojciechowski Published: August 8, 2022 Page: 387
In this psychological romance, Ona Price nearly dies from a heroin overdose on the streets of Manhattan. As she shoots up in a McDonald’s where she and her Puerto Rican friend Jojo purchased the narcotics, this art school dropout almost kills herself. Fearful of losing her daughter to addiction, Ona’s mom Donna determines she should live with her aunt Vivian or aunt Vee in New Hope.
Ona is required to go there and attend weekly NA meetings in addition to taking daily dosages of the drug methadone to deal with the withdrawals. She gets into a flow but eventually finds her new life and routine mundane, so she looks for work. On her first attempt, she gets hired as the assistant to renowned Russian artist Antoni Azarov, also known as The Hands of God.
Immediately I sensed something was amiss. She got the job too easily, and there is something off about the boss. Azarov appears distant, arrogant, and unkind. A magnificent artist, he fashions clay into the bodies of beautiful women from the models sitting naked before him, creating a gorgeous statue. But, while Ona doesn’t like him at first, his coldness melts as the two soften to one another over cigarette breaks, and she becomes accustomed to working with him and Oz, the Black man who hired her and is like a father to Azarov. The physical link is evident between Antoni and Ona as she cuddles up against him on the back of his Ducati and sips bottles of wine at his affluent house, where she would spend many nights.
Yet, despite the growing tension, Antoni won’t touch her, and when she tries to touch him, he flings her across the room like a rag doll.
Either the man is gay or otherworldly.
This is the third book I’ve read from this author, and it is another psychological masterpiece. As someone who grew up around addicts, I can say the way Christa brings us into the world of addiction is strikingly accurate, from withdrawal symptoms to what addicts are willing to do for another hit. I also adored how diverse this novel is. Even though the author is not Black, she accurately captures the characteristics of the Puerto Rican youngster Jojo and the elder Black man Oz. Their identities didn’t come across as contrived or overly dramatic.
Speaking of characters, there is also the wealthy Panamanian from El Chorrillo. I enjoyed snobbish Sonia’s edge. Sure, she’s a harlot, but her story and character have depth. In my mind’s eye, she appears to be a real person with a past that has shaped who she is today. This story really starts to take off when she enters the picture. This wealthy wife purchases Antoni’s sculpture of Ona for ten million dollars. Determined to have The Hands of God put his hands on her body, Mrs. Sonia Orlyk is more than willing to pose naked in front of the extraordinary man in full glory.
Mr. Orlyk is a wealthy drunk his wife is no longer interested in.
But Sonia’s lust and seduction with Antoni Azarov go too far. Despite the fact that he is a brilliant artist, the tragedy that has characterized his life is beyond his control. Now Ona is about to be swept up in her boss’s drama while fighting her own demons. The dealer outside the clinic and Jojo, who is out of jail but back on drugs and wants to see her, are just two examples of the dangers of relapse lurking around every corner. She is already skipping meetings.
This book is not as dark as I thought it would be based on the description and cover, but the message is deep and layered. It is about the worst kind of darkness, the internal kind we cannot always see in others and even ourselves. It is what happens when our childhood traumas, unhealed and unchecked, follow us into adulthood. It is the study of the human mind and its addiction to drugs, lust, love, fame, and even art.
“Lovesickness. It was worse than dopesickness. Antoni was more dangerous than heroin.” – Ona Price
-Christa Wojciechowski
Oblivion Black is a lengthy read, but you won’t be able to put it down or forget about the characters.
Ratings:
Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5
Entertainment Factor: 4/5
Characterization: 5/5
Authenticity / Believable: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 5/5
Overall Rating: 4/ 5 stars
To have your book reviewed on this blog apply here. The registry is open for a limited time.
Stay tuned for our next dope read, part two in the Sculptor series.
Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews is a reputable review service that features writers from all over the world, both traditionally and independently published. We are listed on Kindlepreneur as a top-tier book review blog and Reedsy as one of their vetted active book blogs that provide insightful, excellent book reviews.
The PBS Blog 