Books like 'The Old African'
Readers who enjoyed The Old African by Julius Lester also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical horror historical-fiction children poc-mc social-commentary slavery black-mc
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Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsCalled “wholly engrossing” by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Grissom, this “fully immersive” (Lisa Wingate, #1 bestselling author of Before We Were Yours) story follows an enslaved woman forced to barter love and freedom while living in the most infamous slave jail in Virginia.Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary abuse action-adventure adult -
![Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong]()
Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes two captivating new novellas surrounding the events of Foul Lady Fortune and following a familiar cast of characters from the These Violent Delights Duet!In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous... -
![Kindred by Octavia E. Butler]()
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsThe first science fiction written by a black woman, Kindred has become a cornerstone of black American literature. This combination of slave memoir, fantasy, and historical fiction is a novel of rich literary complexity. Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary 20th-century afrofuturism audiobook book -
![The Book of Night Women by Marlon James, Robin Miles]()
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James, Robin Miles
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe Book of Night Women is a sweeping, startling novel, a true tour de force of both voice and storytelling. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they and she will come to both revere and fear...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc slavery 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty]()
Serafina and the Seven Stars by Robert Beatty
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSerafina and Braeden make an epic return in the hotly anticipated fourth installment of Robert Beatty's #1 New York Times best-selling Serafina series. Serafina, the Guardian of Biltmore Estate, has won battle after battle against the dark forces encroaching on her home. Now, tranquility has returned to Biltmore. Serafina doesn't trust it...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction action-adventure animals audiobook book fiction historical -
![Sold by Patricia McCormick]()
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsLakshmi is a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her family in a small hut on a mountain in Nepal. Though she is desperately poor, her life is full of simple pleasures, like playing hopscotch with her best friend from school, and having her mother brush her hair by the light of an oil lamp...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary abuse action-adventure audiobook -
![Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Boxed Set (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1-3) by Ransom Riggs]()
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children Boxed Set (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #1-3) by Ransom Riggs
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe New York Times #1 best selling series Includes 3 hardcover novels by Ransom Riggs and 12 collectible peculiar photographs. The movie adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is in theaters December 2016... -
![Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland]()
Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation makes her middle grade debut with a sweeping tale of the ghosts of our past that won't stay buried, starring an unforgettable girl named Ophie.Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. But that was before the night in November 1922, and the cruel act that took her home and her father from her...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary audiobook book children-books -
![Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Eve Bunting]()
Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Eve Bunting
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis unique introduction to the Holocaust encourages young children to stand up for what they think is right, without waiting for others to join them.Ages 6 and up...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction social-commentary 20th-century animals book bullying children-books -
![Malevolence by Smauggy]()
Malevolence by Smauggy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Pretty princess who lives in tall towers built by slaves she calls 'monsters' thinks she knows what it's like to live in fear..."~Every young faerie girl fantasizes about her dream wedding.The beautiful gown with the lace train that trails behind her as she walks barefoot across the soft grass, holding a bouquet of daffodils and baby's breath...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc reverse-harem enemies-to-lovers poc-author fantasy harem -
![Mojado by R. Allen Chappell]()
Mojado by R. Allen Chappell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsChappell takes a bold new direction with this thriller, raising storytelling and knowledge of the Navajo culture to an entirely new level. When Mexico's bloodiest predator invades the Reservation it's up to Charlie Yazzie and his friends to take charge the Navajo way... -
![John by Annie Baker]()
John by Annie Baker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe week after Thanksgiving.A bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.A cheerful innkeeper.A young couple struggling to stay together.Thousands of inanimate objects, watching... -
![Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty, فاطمه طاهری]()
Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty, فاطمه طاهری
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMove without a sound. Steal without a trace.Willa, a young night-spirit, is her clan's best thief. She creeps into the cabins of the day-folk under cover of darkness and takes what they won't miss. It's dangerous work--the day-folk kill whatever they don't understand--but Willa will do anything to win the approval of the padaran, the charismatic leader of the Faeran people...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure animals audiobook book children-books -
![Bring Me the Head of Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp]()
Bring Me the Head of Ivy Pocket by Caleb Krisp
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMeet the girl who ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE is trying to avoid! The completely unreliable and totally irrepressible Ivy Pocket must orchestrate a most daring and brilliant rescue in the wickedly funny conclusion to the Ivy Pocket trilogy. Neil Gaiman meets Lemony Snicket and the Series of Unfortunate Events in this hilarious series that the Huffington Post called “a must-read... -
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![Queen & Conqueror by Isabelle Olmo]()
Queen & Conqueror by Isabelle Olmo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow does one conquer a kingdom without spilling blood? You offer your hand in marriage to the king who killed your husband. Almira was raised by a calculating father who forged her in political cunning. She’s prepared for this moment since childhood. Like pieces on a board, she lays out the players one by one. One. King Alton, the brother-killer... -
![Queen & Conqueror by Isabelle Olmo]()
Queen & Conqueror by Isabelle Olmo
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHow does one conquer a kingdom without spilling blood? You offer your hand in marriage to the king who killed your husband. Almira was raised by a calculating father who forged her in political cunning. She’s prepared for this moment since childhood. Like pieces on a board, she lays out the players one by one. One. King Alton, the brother-killer... -
![The Resident Evil at Blackthorn Manor by Catherine Coulter]()
The Resident Evil at Blackthorn Manor by Catherine Coulter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn Grayson Sherbrooke’s second Otherworldly Adventure, he goes to Scotland to Vere Castle, the home of his aunt and uncle, the Earl and Countess of Ashburnam. His aunt Sinjun had written to him that her resident ghost, Pearlin’ Jane, warned that evil was coming. But Grayson doesn’t make it to Vere Castle... -
![The Trees by Percival Everett]()
The Trees by Percival Everett
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPercival Everett’s The Trees is a page-turner that opens with a series of brutal murders in the rural town of Money, Mississippi. When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive, they meet expected resistance from the local sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a string of racist White townsfolk...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc slavery social-commentary 21st-century adult audiobook book -
![The Killing Snows by Charles Egan]()
The Killing Snows by Charles Egan
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis book is fiction. The story that inspired it was not. In 1990, a box of very old documents was found on a small farm in the west of Ireland. They had been stored for well over a hundred years and told an incredible story of suffering, of love and of courage. In 1846, a young couple met during the worst days of the Great Irish Famine... -
![A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time by Mary Pope Osborne]()
A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time by Mary Pope Osborne
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA spirited holiday mission!The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie back in time to the foggy streets of Victorian London, where they must help Charles Dickens. But the famous author has everything he could possibly want. How are they supposed to help him? It's not until Mr. Dickens rescues them from being thrown in jail that they discover his secret past and the sad memories that haunt him...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction action-adventure audiobook book children-books family fiction -
![It Dreams in Me by Kathleen O'Neal Gear]()
It Dreams in Me by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSora, the High Chieftess of the Black Falcon Nation, has been banished by her own people until she can find healing for her broken spirit. Her seductive, murderous rampages have led to war with nearby clans and caused dissension in her own, as well. If another body was to turn up, Sora will certainly be blamed--even her own clan will demand her death... -
![Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches (Archibald Finch #1) by Michel Guyon]()
Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches (Archibald Finch #1) by Michel Guyon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happened 500 years ago was never supposed to resurface.Exploring his Grandma’s scary manor, Archibald stumbles upon a dark family secret, linked to a time of great fears and superstitions. Key to that mystery: an ancient terrestrial globe, populated by the most fantastic creatures...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction poc-mc action-adventure audiobook book children-books exploration -
![The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic by Nick Joaquín, Gina Apostol]()
The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic by Nick Joaquín, Gina Apostol
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNick Joaquin is widely considered one of the greatest Filipino writers, but he has remained little-known outside his home country despite writing in English. With the post-colonial sensibilities of Junot Diaz, Teju Cole, and Jhumpa Lahiri and an ironic perspective of colonial history resonant with Marques and Llosa, Joaquin is a long-neglected writer ready to join the ranks of the world classics... -
![Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia]()
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers.Montserrat has always been overlooked... -
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![The Kindred of Darkness by Barbara Hambly]()
The Kindred of Darkness by Barbara Hambly
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen James Asher and his wife Lydia's baby daughter Miranda is kidnapped by the Master Vampire of London, the stakes are high: blindly follow the Master Vampire's instructions, keep out of the way of the human networks that serves the vampires, destroy the interloper who seeks to seize control of the London Nest, and find the key to the Nest's tortuous inner workings: The Book of the Kindred of... -
![The Phantom of the Opera by Diane Namm, Gaston Leroux]()
The Phantom of the Opera by Diane Namm, Gaston Leroux
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe lights dim at the Paris Opera House. The exquisite Christine Daaé enraptures the audience with her mellifluous voice. Immediately, Raoul de Chagny falls deeply in love. But the legend of the disfigured "opera ghost" haunts the performance, and as Raoul begins his pursuit of Christine, he is pulled into the depths of the opera house, and into the depths of human emotions... -
![The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho]()
The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear, and connecting with our natural world.Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo just like Grandma. The haenyeo dive off the coast of Jeju Island to pluck treasures from the sea--generations of Korean women have done so for centuries... -
![ابق حيا by إبراهيم أحمد عيسى]()
ابق حيا by إبراهيم أحمد عيسى
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsجاءت (أبق حيا) لتحمل نذيرا ما، من بقعة بعيدة في التاريخ، القاهرة الفاطمية و احدي حقبها التي غاب عنها التدوين حد ان جهل عنها البعض.المعاناةُ تجعلنا أقوى. تُجبرنا على الصمود. تصنعُ ما نحن عليه، لنتحلى بالإصرارِ على مواصلةِ الطريق. تجعل أحلامنا المستحيلةَ قريبةً. فقط علينا أن نصبرَ حتى نجني ثمار الإيمان؛ فالكوارثُ تختبرُ إيمانَ البشر، والتضرُّع وحده لا يكفي، فالإيمانُ قولٌ وعملٌ... -
![A Woman of Endurance: A Novel by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa]()
A Woman of Endurance: A Novel by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCombining the haunting power of Toni Morrison's Beloved with the evocative atmosphere of Phillippa Gregory's A Respectable Trade, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa's groundbreaking novel illuminates a little discussed aspect of history--the Puerto Rican Atlantic Slave Trade--witnessed through the experiences of Pola, an African captive used as a breeder to bear more slaves...Categorized as:
historical-fiction social-commentary slavery poc-mc black-mc romance fiction historical -
![Jilo by J.D. Horn]()
Jilo by J.D. Horn
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAged Mother Jilo is wise in the ways of magic…but once upon a time, she was just a girl.1950s Georgia: King Cotton has fallen. Savannah is known as the “beautiful woman with a dirty face,” its stately elegance faded by neglect, its soul withering from racial injustice and political corruption... -
![Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones]()
Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn award-winning author makes her fiction debut with the coming-of-age story of three young black children during the Atlanta child murders of 1979.Its summer in Atlanta and black children are disappearing. By the time the heinous killing spree is over, 29 will be dead...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc 21st-century audiobook bildungsroman book coming-of-age -
![The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead]()
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsCora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape... -
![Gathering of Waters by Bernice L. McFadden]()
Gathering of Waters by Bernice L. McFadden
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsGathering of Waters is a deeply engrossing tale narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi--a site both significant and infamous in our collective story as a nation. Money is personified in this haunting story, which chronicles its troubled history following the arrival of the Hilson and Bryant families.Tass Hilson and Emmett Till were young and in love when Emmett was brutally murdered in 1955...Categorized as:
black-mc historical-fiction poc-mc social-commentary 20th-century adult audiobook book -
![The Alchemist's Cat by Robin Jarvis]()
The Alchemist's Cat by Robin Jarvis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe year is 1664 when young Will Godwin comes to London. In order to survive, he becomes an assistant to a wicked alchemist, Elias Theophratus Spittle. On an errand one freezing night, Will finds a mother cat and her three kittens, and brings the family back to his master's lab... -
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![The Way of a Serpent by Torgny Lindgren]()
The Way of a Serpent by Torgny Lindgren
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Unto him that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."As the narrator suggests, that is the inescapable conclusion of this slim, moving parable about a Swedish peasant family at the end of the 19th century... -
![The Titanic Locket by Suzanne Weyn]()
The Titanic Locket by Suzanne Weyn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDon't touch anything in The Haunted Museum!It looks like the high point of Samantha's spring vacation is going to be a glimpse of a cute boy she sees at The Haunted Museum in England... -
![The Stones of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston]()
The Stones of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis last of the series starts at the origin of Green Knowe. Roger, the son of a Norman lord, first child to live in the grand old manor, finds ancient stones that magically transport him back and forth in time so he can meet and befriend Toby, Linnet, Susan, and Tolly - future inhabitants of Green Knowe...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books classics -
![The Rifles by William T. Vollmann]()
The Rifles by William T. Vollmann
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe story of John Franklin’s doomed 1845 attempt to discover a Northwest Passage, from the National Book Award-winning author of Europe CentralVaulting through time to another flashpoint in the long struggle between Indians and Europeans, William T. Vollmann's visionary fictional history now focuses on the white explorers of the mid-1800s, desperately dreaming of forging a Northwest Passage... -
![Rootwork by Tracy Cross]()
Rootwork by Tracy Cross
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSet in a small parish in Louisiana in 1889, Rootwork follows sisters, Betty, Ann and Pee Wee. When school lets out for the summer, the girls head off to stay with their hoodoo-practicing aunt, Theodora, an empowered woman equally feared and revered by the local townspeople. They learn how to make “hot foot powder” and the secrets of a good “black cat bone”...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc black-mc horror fiction fantasy historical witches-wizards -
![The Ghost of Sir Herbert Dungeonstone by Kate McMullan]()
The Ghost of Sir Herbert Dungeonstone by Kate McMullan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat are those strange noises coming from the dungeon at DSA? Wiglaf and his stalwart cohorts Angus and Erica decide to investigate and inadvertently free the long-imprisoned ghost of the school founder?Sir Herbert Dungeonstone. Overjoyed to be on the loose again, Sir Herbert wreaks havoc, threatening to spoil the greedy headmaster?s plan to turn DSA coed...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction action-adventure book children-books dragons female-author fiction -
![The Brothers Grimm Volume II: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm]()
The Brothers Grimm Volume II: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWe all know the stories — or do we? We know who Snow White is, but what about Rose Red? And what happens to an all-too willful child? Learn more intriguing stories about "Wise Folks," "The King's Son Who Feared Nothing," and . . . well . . . "Donkey Cabbages"--to name a few...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction anthologies children-books classics fiction historical horror -
![The Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey]()
The Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMitsuko is being haunted by ghosts and bad luck. An angry spirit commands her to keep a forgotten promise and assigns her a series of impossible tasks. She turns to the mischievous shape-shifter Goranu for help. Together they journey through a landscape of Japanese myths and legends made real... -
![Deathscent by Robin Jarvis]()
Deathscent by Robin Jarvis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRobin Jarvis’s latest creation is a world set in an alternate past. This strangely familiar Britain consists of ninety-three individual ‘blessed isles’ floating in the deep darkness and the story begins in December in the Gloriana Kalendar, when Elizabeth Tudor has reigned for one hundred and seventy-eight years... -
![Seven Ghosts by Chris Priestley]()
Seven Ghosts by Chris Priestley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJake and the other finalists in a writing competition have been invited to a stately house for a tour like no other. As their guide leads them through grand rooms, hidden nooks and magnificent grounds, they hear the stories of seven ghosts who haunt the halls...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction anthologies children-books fiction ghosts gothic historical -
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![A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney]()
A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor generations, the marsh-surrounded town of Shimmer, Maryland has played host to a loose movement of African-American artists, all working in different media, but all utilizing the same haunting color... -
![The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by Dorothea Jensen]()
The Riddle of Penncroft Farm by Dorothea Jensen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLars Olafson's move to a farm near Valley Forge brings him friendship with the ghost of an eighteenth-century ancestor who recounts his adventures during the American Revolution...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction action-adventure book children-books coming-of-age fiction historical -
![Circle of Fire by R.L. Stine]()
Circle of Fire by R.L. Stine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMia Saxton has no friends at Miss Pemberthy's School for Young Ladies--until she gets invited to join a group of girls who perform spells. But their practices become dangerous and someone ends up dead...Categorized as:
children historical-fiction book children-books fiction historical horror paranormal -
![Faces of Terror by R.L. Stine]()
Faces of Terror by R.L. Stine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsConvinced by a nightmare that something terrible has happened to her brother Thomas, Elizabeth Nelson travels to Cliff House, the home of her brother's employer, to investigate...Categorized as:
historical-fiction book fiction historical horror mental-illness mystery young-adult -
![The Horror of Devil's Root Lake by Amy Cross]()
The Horror of Devil's Root Lake by Amy Cross
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Once upon a time, there was a monster. An actual, real monster, like you hear about in stories. And this monster killed children. Hundreds and hundreds of children.” When her son Charlie is killed in a tragic accident, Emily Carter sets out to discover the truth... -
![Where They Burn Books, They Also Burn People by Marcos Antonio Hernandez]()
Where They Burn Books, They Also Burn People by Marcos Antonio Hernandez
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo standalone books with alternating chapters—the way the combination is meant to be read.They’re devoted to God. But will doing the Lord’s work lead them into darkness?1549. Convinced he’s destined to fulfill a whispered prophecy, Friar Diego de Landa labors to convert the Maya of the Yucatán Peninsula...Categorized as:
historical-fiction poc-mc fiction horror historical literary-fiction latinx-mc indigenous-mc
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