Recently, BookTok has been blowing up all over social media. From It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover to The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, reading has officially become a media trend. However, the majority of these novels and these online literature spaces have excluded People of color.
In Very Much So, Brittany Walker shares with us some of her favorite books, and recently she created "A Very Much Bookclub," which is for all of her listeners who love to read as much as she does.
Today, I'll share some of the books she's selected for the book club!
Her most recent reads include: The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley and Kin by Tayari Jones. Both novels were written by African-American women, which is becoming increasingly rare due to widespread book bannings across the country.
Tayari Jones is an acclaimed American novelist known for her powerful explorations of race, love, and social justice. She earned her undergraduate degree from Spelman College and went on to receive a master’s degree from Arizona State University and an MFA from the University of Iowa, where she was a member of the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In addition to her academic achievements, Jones has built an impressive literary career, authoring several novels, including An American Marriage, which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2019. Her work has also been supported by fellowships from organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts, solidifying her reputation as a leading voice in contemporary literature.
Kin, which Walker is still reading, centers on a young woman navigating complicated family relationships and the weight of inherited expectations. Without giving away key plot points, the story explores themes of loyalty, identity, and what it truly means to belong to a family. Through emotionally layered characters and subtle tension, Jones examines how personal choices intersect with family ties, ultimately revealing the quiet but powerful influence of kinship on one’s sense of self.
Leila Mottley is a rising literary voice known for her raw, poetic storytelling and focus on marginalized communities. She attended Smith College, where she studied creative writing and gained national recognition at a young age for her literary talent. Mottley’s debut novel, Nightcrawling, was published when she was just 19 and became a bestseller, earning a spot on The New York Times Best Sellers list. She was also the youngest author ever selected for Oprah's Book Club, solidifying her place as an influential new voice in contemporary literature.
The Girls Who Grew Big follows a group of young girls navigating the challenges of growing up in a world that often forces them to mature too quickly. Without revealing major plot points, the novel explores themes of girlhood, resilience, and the loss of innocence, highlighting how friendship and shared experience shape identity. Through vivid, lyrical prose, Mottley captures the emotional intensity of adolescence while examining the societal pressures that impact young women’s lives.
This blog will continue to share the stories that we're reading in verymuchabookclub! We implore you to join in! Read with us and experience the magnificent work of Mottley, Jones, and other talented authors sharing stories that have historically been ignored and publicly ridiculed for years on end.
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