Of the Wild by E. Wambheim

My first book of 2022 is a fairy novella I found on an ace rec list. It follows Aeris, the self-appointed guardian-father of 23 lost human children who become imbued with his Tree’s magic when they become part of his family. He’s a loving caretaker protecting them from danger. He’s also acutely dying, as is the magic in his domain. Enter a new human, William, who may be the chance he needs to at least ensure his family remains protected.

I found the story soft, lovely, and so wonderfully atmospheric. The descriptions of the Changes made to the children were a little grotesque in that fun fairytale way, without being sinister. The adversaries on the other hand were properly scary. Human adult William felt fully realized despite getting so little context — the story is told from Aeris’ perspective and he is charmingly unaware of the details of what appears to be a modern human world. Apart from hearing a call to save children, he doesn’t walk in that world. William and Aeris make a connection right away and I love where the story takes them in a short time.

A great start to the year’s reading.

How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith III

My first nonfiction entry for the year is written by a poet, teacher, journalist, and advocate I’ve been following since 2015. He’s gone in-depth on the history of slavery in America and how that history has been taught, spending a lot of time and research visiting plantations, including Monticello and the Whitney Plantation and the Angora Prison, and other places where the real story is hidden in plain sight.

I’m only three entries in so far, but I’m loving the storytelling and wide breadth and depths he hits. It’s really affecting to read his experiences at Monticello, especially when he learns that in the early days of the museum it was staffed almost entirely by Black men dressed in slave livery, like a horrific Gone With the Wind fantasy come to life. Like truly grotesque. Worse are the people he meets curating the visitor experience at Angora — ones grossly preserving an awful history by claiming it’s over now