In Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi provides an unflinching and unvarnished look at life for people of color in the US with just a touch of fantasy. While there are brief sojourns to the past, the novella primarily takes place within the last three decades and moves briefly in the near future. Instead of music, television or other cultural references, Onyebuchi frequently uses the death of yet another young black man at the hands of those charged with their, and our, protection to let readers know the year they have moved into (it is both a shocking and sobering reminder of the number of these deaths that have happened, and continue to happen, and of how long this has been occurring).

Riot Baby is a difficult but powerful read. It is grim and, at times, tragic, but it also gives voice to a rage that, as history illustrates, silencing and/or repressing will get us nowhere. It reminds us of the inequities that must be addressed before we can begin taking the steps to create a better world for everyone. This is a journey worth taking.

In the anticipated fifth installment of the Wayward Children series, Seanan McGuire returns to Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children and picks up the story of Jack, Jill, and the Moors.

If you have read the previous Wayward Children novellas (Every Heart a Doorway, Down Among the Sticks and Bones, Beneath the Sugar Sky, In an Absent Dream), you are probably thrilled to hear a new novella is available. If you have not yet read them, this is the perfect reason to pick up the first one and read them all in preparation of this month’s addition to the series.