So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (2021)

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (2021)

Four young Black sisters come of age during the American Civil War in So Many Beginnings, a warm and powerful YA remix of the classic novel Little Women, by national bestselling author Bethany C. Morrow.

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the “old life.” It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.

by Bethany C. Morrow  (Author)

Get it now here

Bethany C. Morrow is a recovering expat recently returning from six years in Montreal, Quebec, to live and write in north country, New York.

A California native, Bethany graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology. Following undergrad, she studied Clinical Psychological Research at the University of Wales, Bangor, in Great Britain before returning to North America to focus on her literary work.

She is the author of the adult novel Mem (Unnamed Press) and the editor of the young adult anthology Take the Mic (Arthur A. Levine Books). A Song Below Water is her debut standalone young adult novel.

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Hi, my name is Keke, you might know me for my Vampire Diaries Reincarnated OC Nova Bennett. I’ve been working hard on my own original novels but recently things have been going south with my family’s financial situation.

I just turned 23 and am going to school to get my GED because I was kept from school a lot due to my mother’s declining mental health. I’ve lived in the same house all my life. My mother and her brother were raised here and so were my brother and I. Now corrupt capitalism is trying to legally steal our home from us.

I have been helping take care of my elderly grandmother & mother, while helping maintain the house and studying since I was 16. I don’t even have the proper time to find myself a therapist for my own mental health and now because of a few unpaid taxes that we weren’t notified of, we are going to lose our home.

Around 10 years ago, before I started helping with all the bills, a very dear friend of the family was killed. It was a hectic time and my grandmother probably did forget a few payments but we were still supposed to be notified about all of this by the sheriff and we weren’t. My grandmother even called the treasurer to make sure there were no missed payments and they told us there weren’t any. Flash forward now, the company that apparently now has claim on our property, our home. Even if we win this case, we still have to pay the taxes owed and it will be double or triple the interest we originally owed. They haven’t given us a set amount yet. The court date for that is coming up soon. On top of the money that the lawyer is asking from us to help fight this.

It makes me feel incredibly guilty and ashamed to ask but if you could spare anything at all, it would be very much appreciated. If you don’t have the extra funds and your struggling yourself don’t feel bad for not being able to share what you have, take care of yourselves first my lil sunbursts ☀️ please only chip in if you have extra to spare. Even if you can’t donate, please reblog this post to spread my family’s plea for help.

my venmo: kekehoney

please dm for paypal etc

my gofundme: https://gofund.me/fd428475

Mulan: A City Girl

(this was done as a commission for @significantfoliage :D)

Her mother complains that they’re country folk, that their families were born and died in farmland, and that they should do the same. She says this so often that her husband has stopped responding to her entirely.

Mulan doesn’t know what growing up in the country would have been like. She remembers it vaguely, like a dream. When she was a little girl, her father was summoned to the capital to serve the emperor as his one of his advisers.

Her father couldn’t have denied the emperor, so Mulan doesn’t understand her mother’s anger.

But it doesn’t matter, for she grows up in the city, grows up running through the palace, constantly trailing after her father and getting underfoot.

She’s a beautiful child, with large expressive eyes and a waterfall of shiny black hair. Her face is as pale as the moon, and her lips a ruddy red. Many people comment on it, saying that she’ll surely make a beautiful bride one day. Her father says nothing, reacting with stony silence until they change the subject.

Little girls grow up to be brides. She knows that.

But in the capital, she thinks there are so many things more interesting to do than becoming a bride. Like riding horses, and playing board games, and pestering her father into teaching her how to properly hold a sword.

Like archery.

She watches the men practice in the courtyard for hours, arrow after arrow hitting their targets. She wants to be able to do that, but her father says she’s not strong enough yet, that she has to wait to learn.

She’s ten years old, and she feels plenty strong. If her father expects time to dissuade her, then he’s sorely mistaken. But she can wait. The other advisors won’t help her learn how to hold a sword, but they do play Go with her, and that’s almost as good.

Mulan is awake even earlier than usual one morning, and she sees a boy a few years older than her on the practice field.

He’s very bad.

It’s no wonder he’s practicing when no one else can see him.

She walks up behind him, and he’s not very observant either, because she’s nearly on top of him when she says, “You’re holding it all wrong.”

He jumps nearly a foot in the air, and she covers her mouth with her sleeve to hide her giggles. His eyes narrow and he holds out an arrow threateningly, like he’s ready to stab her in the neck with it. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I am Hua Mulan,” she says. “I was walking, and saw you. You are so pathetic, that I thought I might try and help you.”

He scowls, lowering the arrow. “What do you know? You’re just a girl.”

For the first time, anger sparks inside her. Arrows held at her throat are fine, but insulting her skill is quite another matter.

The fact that she has no skill to speak of isn’t the point.

“Give me your bow and arrow, and I’ll show you,” she says heatedly.

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harryshumjr: As a new father, I realize the importance of reading to my daughter. The way they memorize and absorb words, phrases and images from Children’s books has a lasting impact on how they see themselves, interact with others, and view the outside world. I am honored to partner with TheConsciousKid & wongfupro to amplify Asian-American stories in these read alouds! This particular book “Grandpa Grumps” written by @katrinamoore1011 & @XindiYanart published by littlebeebooks - is my daughters favorite - finding connection with our grandparents through patience, curiosity and understanding. You can check it out now on TheConsciousKid YouTube Channel  and YouTube Kids App.