Tag: prejudice

Janice P. Nimura—The doctors Blackwell *****

Janice P. Nimura—The doctors Blackwell *****

When Elizabeth Blackwell was eleven, she and her family left their home town, Bristol and sailed to New York. Their father’s finances centred around sugar refining, but when he died, Elizabeth found work until her two oldest brothers reached an age when they could support the family. Gradually, Elizabeth was determined to become a doctor, but in the 1800s, men did not wish to release their monopoly on the profession and Elizabeth found it difficult to find a university that would accept her. 

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Wiz Wharton’s—Ghost Girl, Banana *****

Wiz Wharton’s—Ghost Girl, Banana *****

Lily’s older confident sister, Maya shrugs off the past whenever Lily tries to remember their childhood in Hong Kong before they were sent back to their father in London once their mother, Sook-Yin’s died. Lily learns that she is has been bequeathed a large amount of money on the condition she comes to Hong Kong to claim it. She has no idea who Hei-Fong Lee is nor why he would leave her so much money. When she learns her sister has received the same letter, she confronts Maya, but her sister says to ignore the offer.

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Nnedi Okorofor’s — Who fears death *****

Nnedi Okorofor’s — Who fears death *****

Set in Africa, this futuristic fantasy focuses on the life of Onyesonwu. After her mother is raped, Onyesonwu’s mother escapes to the east away from the genocide of the Nuru tribe against the Okeke. In Jwahir, Onyesonwu is born but she is of mixed blood and the Okeke avoid her. But something is changing. Strange powers begin to develop — her singing attracts owls, she can change into a vulture and soar above the landscape. She goes to the town’s sorcerer and begs him to train her, but he turns her away because she’s a girl. Her destiny is written in the Great Book, but how will she accomplish these tasks to stop the bloodshed happening in the west that will eventually catch up with the Okeke living in the east?